WHO said Jordan Spieth is not a gambler? And who said he is not as bold and as daring as a Mount Everest climber?
But before discoursing on that, though, listen up, fellas.
You are leading a major with two holes to go.
The penultimate hole is a par-3.
Easy as ABC?
Well, to pros, yes. To them, a par-3 is, should be, “greenable” all the time.
Only in April, Spieth won the Masters, the year’s first major, in a rare wire-to-wire finish en route to establishing several records.
So, in this the 71st hole of the US Open that Spieth faced on Monday, with a seemingly solid two-shot lead in his palm, a greened tee shot could more or less assure him a safe trip to a second major podium finish.
Wrong.
He missed the green. Two on. Then, horror of horrors, three putts. Double bogey.
The mammoth mishap dropped him to minus 4. Worst, Spieth opened doors to Dustin Johnson, who was in hot pursuit a flight behind.
Johnson, who lost a two-shot margin at the turn to Spieth on Spieth’s spectacular birdies on 12 and 16, fought back with a 4-foot birdie on 17 for a share of the lead with Spieth.
Then came the 18th, which, for its sheer length of 601 yards, can spell death or divine destiny for Spieth—if not Johnson, too.
Aware of Johnson’s lead-tying birdie on 17, Spieth, summoning all his strength, courage and holy-grail prayers, ripped a drive that found the tightest fairway in Chambers Bay at the wind-swept, seaside Tacoma in Washington State.
Well and good. But is Spieth not facing a still stupendous, terrifying 287-yarder to the green? It’s a par-5, right?
Will he go for the green and hopefully make it and next snatch either an eagle or a birdie to lead by either two or one? Safe leads, more or less?
Or will he lay up, which, to conservatives, would be the most prudent thing to do?
A little pep talk from his caddie, Mike Greller, helped: “Jordan, you’ve done this before. I see no reason why you can’t do it again.”
Always, two heads are better than one.
Because conservatives rarely gamble, Spieth unmasked his true colors.
Spieth shouldered home a 3-wood to produce the shot of the tournament, the ball dramatically hitting the backboard of the green before gingerly rolling back and serenely sitting some 20 feet below the cup.
Two putts later, he was 1-up over the still-to-finish Johnson.
But Spieth had anxious moments as Johnson, the last man standing capable of toppling him from his perch, was yet to be done for the day. For Spieth, the wait had seemed like eternity.
After a booming drive on 18, Johnson reasserted his reputation as the longest in the Tour, needing only a 5-iron to be on in two that ensured a Hollywood-like script of a climactic ending to the 115th national golf championship of America.
Johnson was 15 feet or so from victory.
He missed the super-delicate downhill putt.
Johnson was 3 feet or so from forging an 18-hole playoff with Spieth.
He missed. Gosh! How could he?
Spieth is a back-to-back major winner. By one.
Again, Johnson is a major loser, after also blowing away the US Open at Pebble Beach in 2010.
“I am in shock,” said Spieth, 21, who will gun for the British Open next month as the youngest US Open champ since Gene Sazaren in 1922.
Johnson found consolation by lovingly carrying his daughter off the green, as all well-meaning fathers do on Father’s Day—feigning pain. Always, toddlers are to be made free of agony.
The following day, Johnson would turn 31. Still hurting to the bone he may be, blow the candles, please?
It’s just golf.
That’s It. Friends keep asking me after our dismal sixth-place finish in the Singapore Southeast Asian Games: “What’s wrong with our athletes?” I keep saying, “Nothing.” And I next say, “The question should be, ‘What’s wrong with our sports officials?’” Their smile says it all: “Perdition makers.”… Cheers again to the ever-dapper GM Anthony de Leon and Lanie Licudine of plush Baguio Country Club (BCC) for their usual graciousness. May your tribe increase, guys. And here’s a high-five also to the BCC staff, especially to the verandah, Raisins Bake Shop and Hamada personnel. Mabuhay!