Jordan Spieth says he’s glad he ‘didn’t fall off’ cliff after hitting ‘life and death’ shot
Jordan Spieth of the United States plays his second shot on the eighth hole during the third round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am at Pebble Beach Golf Links on February 05
By Ben Morse, CNN
Jordan Spieth’s knack of salvaging an errant shot has become a trademark of his game.
The three-time major winner took those recovery skills to another level at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in Saturday’s third round in what proved to be a bit of a cliffhanger.
After his drive on the par-four eighth hole landed precariously near the edge of a cliff, rather than taking a drop to move his ball — that would have cost a shot — Spieth decided to take it on.
He addressed and readdressed the ball a few times, adjusting his footing to ensure his stance was stable.
And despite the almost 70-foot drop just inches in front of him, Spieth connected cleanly with the ball, quickly moving himself back from the edge of the cliff as soon as he’d made contact.
After playing the shot, Spieth could be heard on TV cameras saying to his caddie Michael Greller: “That was by far the most nerve-wracking shot I’ve ever hit in my life.”
‘Awfully close’
Perhaps understandably Spieth was still talking about that cliffhanger moment after he’d finished his round.
“I’m glad I finished the round and didn’t fall off that cliff on eight,” Spieth said in an interview with CBS.
“It was by far the most nerve-wracking shot I’ve ever hit. Like Michael (Greller) said afterwards: ‘I should have grabbed the ball and thrown it in the water’ because he was trying to get me not to hit it. I was like: ‘Michael, please don’t walk up there’ because then he would’ve seen definitely not to hit it.
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“It was awfully close. I’ve never had a life and death situation on a shot before. So I thought I wouldn’t really have nerves the rest of the day after that one.”
Remarkably, Spieth was able to salvage a par from the hole, with the perilous shot landing just over the green. From there, he was able to chip onto the green and roll home a 10-foot par for par.
Spieth is known for taking on shots from awkward lies. A clip of him hitting an almost vertical shot at the Ryder Cup last year — after which, he almost ran into Lake Michigan — went viral.
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