Spieth’s quadruple bogey leads to an early exit

CROMWELL, Conn. — Jordan Spieth reached the 18th green at TPC River Highlands during his practice round Tuesday at the Travelers Championship. He felt no need to try any shots out of the front bunker. “I know what it does,� he told caddie Michael Greller. Indeed. Spieth’s hole-out a year ago in the first playoff hole against Daniel Berger didn’t just produce a win. It also ignited a celebration that was just as memorable. Spieth’s club throw with his gloved left hand toward the back bank of the bunker. Greller’s casual rake toss to his left. Then the side bump/chest bump between the two. Spieth — and perhaps others in this week’s field — may very well hole out from that same bunker this week. It’s doubtful anyone, though, could recreate the impromptu and unfettered show of emotion that followed. “That was pretty special,� Spieth said. “I don’t think we could do that again, no matter how many times we tried.� It’s a good thing, considering Spieth admitted he basically “blacked out� after his ball rolled into the cup for the unlikely birdie. He knew the shot was a good one but thought the ball would roll a few feet past the cup, so he strained to pick up the read for the comebacker over the lip of the bunker. “Then it drops,� Spieth said, “and you just react.� The fortunate thing, according to Spieth, was that no one got hurt in the process. Spieth said that while he’s thrown clubs in the past, he’s never done it in celebration. But this time, he couldn’t help himself. In typical Spieth fashion, he explained in detail Tuesday how he usually twirls the club after a bunker shot or chip shot, so his hand slid halfway down the shaft instead of staying on the grip. That gave him better accuracy and control as he tossed the club. “If my hands are still on the grip and I really threw it, it could have hurt somebody,� he said. “Instead, it was like throwing a baton, like throwing the middle of the baton.� Meanwhile, Greller’s rake toss — the unsung moment of the celebration — was a nice, high lob to his left. Greller, incidentally, retrieved the rake after the awards ceremony and has it in his home. Then as Spieth climbed out of the bunker, he launched sideways at Greller, who opted for the full chest bump. “Better than the other way around,� Spieth said. “There’s been a lot of pretty bad celebrations on the PGA TOUR. There’s been a lot of missed high fives — I’ve been part of plenty of them. It’s pretty hard to miss when I’m going into Michael for a chest bump.� The holed shot didn’t end the tournament, though. Berger still had a 50-foot birdie putt to extend the playoff, and Spieth followed his celebration by helping to quiet down the frenzied crowd. Spieth’s win was sealed when Berger narrowly missed. “I don’t regret anything of the celebration,� Spieth said. “I thought it just pure emotion. … It felt the moment and that’s where I was living. Then it was OK, I had it now Daniel’s got his turn. You know, let’s chill out. Once that was done, then it was time to celebrate.� Spieth, of course, has seen the replays of the shot many times — “every single day� for the following week or two after the tournament. Then it pops up every now and then on social media. Bill Haas knows what it’s like to produce a highlight moment in a pressure-packed situation. His chip shot from a half-submerged lie in the water at the 17th hole finished inside 3 feet, allowing him to save par in a playoff against Hunter Mahan at the 2011 TOUR Championship. One hole later, Haas won not only the tournament but the FedExCup title. “That was a really good shot that worked,� Haas said Tuesday after walking off the 18th hole (no, he did not try to recreate Spieth’s shot from the bunker). “But I seem to remember the bad ones more than the good ones. The best players remember the good ones more.� Haas is being too humble, of course. After all, he has six TOUR wins along with that FedExCup title. Yet when Spieth and Greller talk about the moment, they don’t focus on the shot. Only what followed. “More about the celebration, for sure,� Spieth said.

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The PGA TOUR travels to Jackson, Mississippi, for the Sanderson Farms Championship located at The Country Club of Jackson. The field should be similar to last week’s season-opening A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier, with another opportunity for a handful of TOUR veterans and rookies looking to make an early impact. Zach Johnson, Jimmy Walker and Jason Dufner join another slew of rookies such as Doug Ghim, Maverick McNealy, Scottie Scheffler and Kristoffer Ventura looking to gain important FedExCup points as well as an early victory similar to last year’s winner, Cameron Champ. The course will measure at 7,421 yards, sets up as a par-72 and will be putted on Bermuda grass this week. Country Club of Jackson measured as the ninth longest course last season but shouldn’t be an issue for the “non-bombersâ€� on TOUR. The average driving distance is shorter here than the TOUR average and a lot of the distance comes from the four par 5s, three measuring more than 550 yards and one measuring more than 600 yards, as well as the par-4 18th, measuring just over 500 yards. Players such as Champ, Luke List and Wyndham Clark all ranked inside the top-five in driving distance last season, but they might choose to club down this week. The fairways are narrow and recorded 11% less fairways hit in regulation compared to the TOUR average. This is also why the highest approach shot distribution comes from 200-plus yards, with the second-most coming from 125-150 yards. Even though hitting fairways is important, hitting your irons well is a higher priority. In 2018, of the golfers who finished inside the top 10 at Sanderson Farms, nine gained strokes in Strokes Gained: Approach The Green. Looking back to 2017, the top five finishers gained an average of 5.52 with their approach shots, so starting your lineups with golfers who’ve been hitting their irons well isn’t a bad strategy. Another key metric to focus on this week is par-5 scoring average — 56% of the total birdies came from the par 5s in 2018. TOP VALUES Emiliano Grillo ($9,400) Grillo is making his first start of the new season and ranks first in Strokes Gained: Approach the Green over the past six tournaments. He also has gained strokes with his irons in nine of his past 10 starts, averaging three strokes gained over the field in that stretch. Grillo missed just three cuts last season and much of it was due to his poor putting, losing more than 10 strokes on the greens. Grillo has done well during the fall season with two top-10s (2016, 2017 OHL Classic at Mayakoba) and a victory (2015 Safeway Open), so hopefully he leans on experience while showing improvement in his putting. Aaron Wise ($8,500) Even though distance off the tee isn’t a huge advantage over the field, it never hurts. Wise ranked just inside the top 35 in driving distance last season, and he’ll use that to his advantage on the par 5s this week. Speaking of those par 5s, Wise ranks first in par 5 scoring average and second in birdie or better gained in the past 24 rounds. Cameron Tringale ($7,300) Tringale finished a respectable T36 last week at Greenbrier and shot three rounds in the 60s but left room to play better, hitting just 69% of his greens in regulation and 51% of his fairways. He also didn’t do much on the greens when he did hit them, gaining less than a stroke with his putter, but he’s been playing solid golf over the past few months. Coming into last week, Tringale ranked inside the top 15 in Strokes Gained: Approach the Green, top 20 in par-5 scoring average and first in birdie or better gained over the past six tournaments. Wes Roach ($6,300) Roach finished his 2019 season gaining strokes through approach in four of his last five tournaments and enters Sanderson ranking 13th in Stroke Gained: Approach the Green, as well as inside the top five in birdie or better gained over the past six tournaments. He struggles on Bermuda greens, ranking 63rd in Strokes Gained: Putting over the past 24 rounds, but is so precise with his irons that he’s worth a look in his salary range. Put your knowledge to the test. Sign up for DraftKings and experience the game inside the game. Writer’s bio: “I’m a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is reidtfowler) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.â€�

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18-Hole Match for Charity will be Televised Live on GOLF Channel Tuesday, Sept. 22; Encore on NBC, Dec. 26-27; Also Streaming on Select NBC Sports apps and GolfPass Benefiting the Payne Stewart Family Foundation, Pros Will Pair Up for a Team Competition With First Peek at Payne's Valley Golf Course ORLANDO, Fla. - NBC Sports and Excel Sports Management announced today the Payne's Valley Cup, a special 18-hole charity team exhibition match headlined by four of the world's top golfers to commemorate the grand opening of Payne's Valley Golf Course at Big Cedar Lodge in Ridgedale, Mo. Payne's Valley represents the first public golf course design for 82-time PGA TOUR winner Tiger Woods, who will team up with World No. 3 Justin Thomas (Team United States) to take on major champions Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose (Team Europe) in the Payne's Valley Cup. Airing live on GOLF Channel on Tuesday, Sept. 22 (3-7 p.m. ET), the Payne's Valley Cup will feature an entertaining mix of some of the best competition formats seen during Ryder Cups and Presidents Cups: Fourball, Foursomes and Singles matches. NBC will televise a special encore as two separate telecasts on Dec. 26 and 27 from 4-6 pm ET. The four players competing in the Payne's Valley Cup have an eclectic resume: all four have been World No. 1; are major champions, all have won the FedExCup and have been part of victorious Ryder Cup teams. The made-for-television exhibition match will be produced by NBC Sports, featuring all four players mic'd up during competition while showcasing Woods' new golf course that pays tribute to Ozarks-native and World Golf Hall-of-Famer, Payne Stewart. "Payne's Valley is the first public golf course that I have designed. I couldn't be prouder of how it turned out," said Woods. "It was an honor for me and my TGR Design team to work with Johnny Morris and Big Cedar Lodge on this spectacular golf course. I am thrilled that it will be featured during the Payne's Valley Cup." "The breathtaking beauty and pure majesty of my native Ozarks is something you have to see to believe. To be able to harness this unique landscape and make it come alive through our golf courses has been an honor that has been driven by passion," said Johnny Morris, noted conservationist and founder of Bass Pro Shops and Big Cedar Lodge. "Tiger and I have a twenty-year friendship that started through fishing and has evolved into a great partnership. We look forward to showcasing this destination to the world through the Payne's Valley Cup and truly believe we are creating ‘America's Next Great Golf Destination." Through a partnership between Morris and Woods, the 18-hole layout of Payne's Valley, named in honor of golf legend, Ozarks native and dear Morris friend Payne Stewart, was created with the intent to foster a deeper connection to nature through the game of golf. Being celebrated as one of the most remarkable golf holes in the world, the course features an unforgettable par-3, 19th bonus hole designed by Morris to celebrate the nature and beauty of the Ozarks. After the final hole, golfers traverse a breathtaking, cliff hanger nature trail and journey through a beautiful nature cave system to return to the clubhouse. FUNDRAISING – PAYNE STEWART FAMILY FOUNDATION: To honor the namesake of the golf course and one of Missouri's all-time great sports legends, the Payne's Valley Cup will raise funds for the Payne Stewart Family Foundation - a foundation that supports beneficiaries that were vitally important to the late Stewart, including Kids Across America, the AJGA and The First Tee. ON-SITE EVENT AND SAFETY INFORMATION: The match will be closed to the public, with a select group hosted by Big Cedar Lodge granted access on-site to preview the amenities at Payne's Valley Golf Course and walk the course for the exhibition match. The Payne's Valley Cup will implement a comprehensive health and safety play that will follow all recommended protocols put in place by the PGA TOUR and local government, utilizing testing measures to help protect the health and safety of the players, officials, the production team and others on-site. DIGITAL/STREAMING COVERAGE: In addition to live coverage on GOLF Channel, the Payne's Valley Cup will stream live via GOLF Channel and NBC Sports mobile apps, GolfChannel.com and on GolfPass.

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