Jordan Spieth expressed frustration with his caddie during Thursday’s opening round of the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach.
It happens. Players and caddies often times have these types of exchanges.
But when it was caught on live TV during the Fox Sports telecast, the situation was there for everyone to see.
Spieth was at even par when his tee shot on the par-4 eighth tumbled over the cliff. After a penalty drop, he sent his third shot flying over the green into deep rough, the worst place to miss. He muttered to himself, “Two perfect shots.”
He then said to caddie Michael Greller, “Two perfect shots, Michael. You got me in the water on one and over the green on the other.”
Spieth ended up with bogey. He shot a first-round 1-over 72.
U.S. OPEN: TV info | Photos | Tee times | Scores
Later, he explained the exchange to reporters.
“We were talking about potentially one less [club on the third shot], and I said, ‘But isn’t it playing about 60 with a fade?’ And then he said yes,” Spieth said. “So we both agreed on that. It was clearly a 4-iron off the tee. At the same time, when you hit a couple of shots exactly where you want to, and the first one is in the water and the next one is dead over the green, I’m going to be frustrated that as a team we didn’t figure out how to make sure that didn’t happen.
“Yeah, I may have looked like the bad guy there, but my intentions were that we should be in play if the ball is hit solidly, and I was out of play on both shots.”
After the round, Greller told ESPN that he didn’t even remember the exchange.
“What exchange? What did he say? I don’t remember.” Greller told ESPN’s Michael Collins.
