Jordan Spieth makes extremely improbable birdie using baseball swing

By Dave Kovaleski February 17, 2018 at 9:21am

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Jordan Spieth usually makes golf look easy, but on the fifth hole at the Riviera Country Club in the first round of the Genesis Open, he was in trouble.

He sprayed his drive left on the par-4, 414-yard hole into a patch of thick rough. Not only that, but his ball nestled down in a very difficult hillside lie.

At this point, most golfers are thinking bogey but would be happy with a par.

But Spieth is not most golfers.

How about THIS birdie from @JordanSpieth?!

The highlight reel continues … #QuickHits pic.twitter.com/A62uaJlUpu

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 15, 2018

With his feet well below the ball, Spieth hacked his way out of the rough using a swing that looked more suited for baseball than golf.

He did, in fact, play baseball all throughout his childhood, quitting at 13 to focus on golf. But his mom, Christine, has said in the past that he could have been a Division 1 prospect had he continued to play.

Spieth played QB, PG + pitcher growing up. Broad sports background = greater physical literacy http://t.co/cfwwDA7z0g pic.twitter.com/acrVUvmGwF

— LanceGillPerformance (@LGP_Inc) July 8, 2015

His baseball experience served him well on this shot, as he managed to chop out of the rough and land just off the green.

For his third shot, Spieth was off the green, in the rough, but about pin high. He chipped on to the elevated green and watched his shot roll into the cup for an extremely improbable birdie.

That is unreal 👑

— Mannion (@Mannion_93) February 15, 2018

Add it to the Spieth highlight reel. The more difficult the shot, the more creative he becomes.

"I'm gonna try something stupid here."

– @JordanSpieth pic.twitter.com/1ZcewrKhRj

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 3, 2017

Although the result is not always good.

Jordan Spieth awkward stance turns golf into an action sport, mixes in some skiing pic.twitter.com/53AX7Ph5f8

— Superdrunkmark69 (@cjzer0) September 29, 2017

Spieth went on to card an even round of 71 on Thursday, followed by a 1-under 70 on Friday.

Heading into the weekend, he’s tied for 26th place, six shots behind Patrick Cantlay, Sam Saunders and Graeme McDowell.

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Dave Kovaleski

Contributor, Sports

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Dave is a lifelong sports fan who has been writing for The Wildcard since 2017. He has been a writer for more than 20 years for a variety of publications.

Dave has been writing about sports for The Wildcard since 2017. He's been a reporter and editor for over 20 years, covering everything from sports to financial news. In addition to writing for The Wildcard, Dave has covered mutual funds for Pensions and Investments, meetings and conventions, money market funds, personal finance, associations, and he currently covers financial regulations and the energy sector for Macallan Communications. He has won awards for both news and sports reporting.

Location

Massachusetts

Languages Spoken

English

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Sports