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Jordan Spieth Shoots 64, Still “Frustrated”

MastersAll the great golfers are always hard on themselves. That’s how they push themselves to get better. “I can always get better” is a refrain often heard among the best athletes.

Jordan Spieth is no different.

The twenty one year old leads The Masters by two shots after shooting 64 and barely missed tying the course record of 63 held by Nick Price (86) and Greg Norman (96).

Spieth was riding a wave of confidence heading into the fifteenth hole having birdied six of his last seven holes. He was eight under par and striping it like no one else at Augusta today.

He was in the middle of the fairway and 220 yards out and he and his caddie decided on a hybrid to battle the wind, land on the green and give him an eagle opportunity.

But his shot was too deep sailed over the green and left him with a delicate chip back up to the flag. It was his poorest play of the day as he needed two chips to get on the green and then two putts for his only bogey of the day.

After he saw his shot sail long he let out his frustration and talked about it afterwards. He felt he and his caddie may have over-analyzed the situation.

2015 Masters

I was frustrated because I felt like we played it too safe. Felt like we were protecting something. Michael thought that with the side wind, that it was a hybrid. We were feeling a little down, a little side. I had adrenaline. He did exactly what I want him to do. It was also my responsibility to then bet on myself to hit a shot solid. If I hit a 4 iron solid, it’s a perfect club. I can hit it in the right bunker and it’s an easy up and down from there. And if it turns over towards the hole, then it’s a perfect club.  

Michael was protecting the miss and figured that if I miss the 4 iron, it may not be enough. I think it may still have been. Obviously hindsight thinking is easy there. But the wind was flipping, a little down, a little into, a little down, a little into. I needed to bet on myself to hit a good, solid shot there, and I didn’t. A little mud on the right side of the ball kept that hybrid from cutting. 

And I would have been fine over the green there. I would have been just fine. But that one tree has that one branch that comes down, I couldn’t go up in the air. Had I had room to do that, I could have just lofted it up in the air and just trickled on the green and worst I would have made was par. But that’s what you get. It wasn’t a great shot. 

He’s right, it wasn’t a great shot. But like any great player he bounced back. He carded a birdie on eighteen to get that stoke back and finish with a three shot lead.

Great players just think differently.

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