Jordan Spieth is well known by now as being unafraid of trying the unusual or ill-advised golf shot. It's why fans flock to see him in such numbers and everyone else knows he is never out of contention until the final putt drops.
In the latest chapter of Spieth's unofficial book titled: "What about If I try this?..." the three-time Major champion used the rules to his advantage in order to attempt another Houdini performance during the final hole of his third round at the Valero Texas Open.
Stood on 18, Spieth hooked his drive on the par 5 into the left trees after missing a fairway which has only been found by the entire field around a quarter of the time since Thursday's first attempt.
Chipping back out into the fairway almost certainly would have made the most sense, but this is Spieth - so here's how it actually went...
More than 350 yards to the pin and with trees and large rocks in front of him, the 30-year-old attempted a booming high slice which was shot down almost immediately. Spieth's ball crashed into a branch in front of him and ended up further left behind a large raised concrete drain in an unmaintained area.
Unable to thump it back out into the fairway or onto the green in front of him, Spieth assessed his options and was heard asking the rules official where he would be able to drop if he launched his golf ball onto the roof of the clubhouse about 100 yards to his left. Again, makes total sense.
On the NBC broadcast, PGA Tour Senior Director of TV Rules Orlando Pope explained that the clubhouse is still technically in bounds, and that Spieth would receive a free drop "from an immovable obstruction" (the clubhouse) and also "a temporary immovable obstruction" (the scoreboard) - all permissible under rule 16.1a.
It was a risky shot but one that, if successful, would allow the three-time Major winner an outside chance for a par. So he did it.
Spieth cracked a sand wedge onto the roof of the clubhouse before it bounced down and into the gutter where it may well stay forever. Drop taken, the Dallas-born golfer punched a low runner up onto the green to give himself a 50-foot look at par.
Cinema.Jordan Spieth hits it onto the ROOF of the clubhouse @ValeroTXOpen. https://t.co/5S5ROxqmmG pic.twitter.com/H0obEXNOjuApril 6, 2024
Unfortunately for Spieth, despite all of that adventures he had been on, the ball dropped three putts later and he would have to make do with a double-bogey seven - dropping him back from five under (T7) to three under (T17), 12 shots behind leader, Akshay Bhatia.
Spieth will tee off alongside Parker Coody and Mac Meissner in Sunday's final round at 10:20am CDT (4:20BST).
