Jordan Spieth hit a tee shot that rolled to about three feet on the Par-3 7th at Royal Portrush on Friday. It looked like a routine par save. It turned into a three-putt double bogey. And if you’ve watched Spieth over the last few years, that probably didn’t surprise you.
The crowd groaned. Spieth stared at the ground for a second. Then he walked off, three shots worse than he’d expected to be with a wedge in his hand. It was the kind of moment that used to be unthinkable for the three-time major winner. Now it’s just another Friday at a major.
A tough start with no rhythm
Spieth opened his second round with back-to-back birdies on 4 and 5. That gave fans a flicker of hope. But he bogeyed the 6th, then stepped to the 7th tee and watched everything fall apart. The 3-putt from inside three feet went viral on social media. NUCLR GOLF posted a clip that showed the entire sequence. It’s hard to watch if you’re a Spieth fan.
The first putt rolled past the hole by about four feet. The comebacker never had a chance. It lipped out. Spieth was at +4 for the tournament at that point, and the cutline was sitting at +1. He had seven holes left on the back nine, including two Par-5s. But the margin for error was essentially gone.
This is the same guy who won the 2015 Masters and U.S. Open in the same season. The same guy who made that crazy bunker shot at the 2017 Open. But the game has been slipping for a while. He hasn’t won since the 2022 RBC Heritage. His putting, which used to be the best part of his game, has become unpredictable. Sometimes he looks like the old Spieth. Other times he looks like someone fighting a swing that doesn’t want to cooperate.
Lucas Herbert steals the show
While Spieth was grinding just to make the weekend, Lucas Herbert was doing something else entirely. The Australian shot a 62 on Friday. He was even par after the first round. Then he went out and nearly broke the course record. He missed a short putt on his final hole that would have given him a 61. Still, it’s the round of the tournament so far, and it put him right in the mix.
The leaderboard is packed. A lot of big names are within a few shots. Rory McIlroy is lurking. Jon Rahm is in the conversation. But Herbert’s round is the kind of thing that can change a career. One hot Friday at a major and suddenly everyone knows your name.
Spieth still had a chance as of this writing. If he can get a couple of birdies on the back nine and post a 70 or 71, he might sneak through. But he needs help. The cutline could move. It could also stay at +1, which would leave him on the wrong side of it.
Either way, the short-game issues that used to be his strength are now the thing holding him back. And that’s a tough thing to fix in a few holes.
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