As the saying goes, “It’s better to be lucky than good.” Jordan Spieth got to experience that first-hand at The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass this weekend.
Spieth was struggling mightily on day two, failing to catch a break. Then, he hit his tee shot on the par-five ninth hole — his final hole of the day after starting on the back nine — and it looked like it was heading for the water. Instead, it hit a fan’s knee and bounced back into play.
It didn’t just stay dry, though. The ball wound up in the fairway, which allowed Spieth to turn that lucky shot into a walk-off eagle.
The best part? That meant he made the cut and will move on to Saturday’s third round.
Of course, the fan’s efforts didn’t go unnoticed. As Spieth walked up to his ball, he made sure to check on him and give him a glove after getting hit with the shot. And after he signed his scorecard and found out he was playing the rest of the tournament, Spieth acknowledged how close he was to going home.
He also wants to give the fan a proper thank you — with more than just a souvenir glove.
“I got an extremely lucky break on 9 or I wouldn’t be playing the weekend,” Spieth said, via the AP. “Trying to get that guy’s information and see literally whatever he wants this weekend. Because everything from here on out is because it hit him.”
After shooting a 3-under-par 69 in his first round on Thursday, Spieth carded two bogies and two double bogies to come away with a 3-over 75 on day two. That put him back at even par, with the projected cut sitting at 1-over.
Let’s put that in perspective. If he shot a par on his last hole, he would’ve missed the cut. Sometimes, it takes more than skill.
Through Friday’s second round, two players — Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Adam Svensson — sit atop the leaderboard at 8-under. Ben Griffin, Min-Woo Lee and Collin Morikawa all sit right behind them in a three-way tie for third place at 6-under. Second-round play was suspended as a storm system was making its way to the area.
