The fourth hole-in-one of Jordan Spieth‘s PGA Tour career could have easily never happened.
And not in the sense of his ball bouncing the wrong way or the wind suddenly gusting, but it was down to a change to his golf bag the day before he teed off at the Valero Texas Open.
The three-time major champion struck a 7-iron into the heart of the 16th hole at TPC San Antonio on Thursday, but he was using this 7-iron for the first time.
“I had to take some off of a 7-iron and so I lined up to hit like a 185 shot and hit a little fade with the wind that kind of was able to ride the slope then. I hit it and I picked up the tee because I did what I wanted to do,” he explained.
“And then as it landed and started to – everyone started to stand up, it was the people right in line with it so I thought maybe there’s a chance, and then it went in.
“It’s actually a brand new 7-iron this week, only the 7-iron. I like hitting my 7-iron and so I’ve got it to where, when I’m testing my gaps, it like goes five yards too far in the gap. I didn’t know why.
“On Wednesday after the pro-am I was hitting on the back of the range, I had them just bring a brand new 7-iron for new grooves and it was up in the right spin window, so knocked four, five yards off of it. If I didn’t change 7-irons yesterday, then I wouldn’t have made it. It’s funny.”
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Maybe he still would’ve made an ace, but it would’ve caused a larger club-choice headache for Spieth and his long-time caddie Michael Greller.
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Speaking of headaches, Spieth carded a score symptomatic of his erratic nature in the first round on the Oaks course. He may have had a hole-in-one, but he also made five bogeys and a double-bogey on his way to a one-over-par 73.
This is a crucial time in the season when players are looking to peak and find their best form heading into the Masters, a competition Spieth conquered in 2015 and often plays well at when not slipping on the Green Jacket.
He is also a previous winner of the Valero Texas Open but Spieth has missed his last two cuts and hasn’t made a top-10 since February. However, he believes his results haven’t reflected the quality of golf he has played so far in 2024.
“Luckily I’ve been in these scenarios before where I probably would have been a lot more impatient. I feel like I’m fine at letting things come to me, but, you know, to some extent you get pretty frustrated,” he added.
“So just seems like a bad blackjack run, you can’t get up from the table, and maybe the hole-in-one turns it around a bit. Again, I think I’m being patient and I’m optimistic, it’s just I’d like a little bit of a result or two to show with what’s felt like a lot better year than it’s produced as far as results.”
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