Jordan Spieth was understandably still a bit aggravated after he seemingly shot himself out of contention with a triple-bogey 8 at Firestone’s infamous 16th hole.
But after the third round of the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, the world’s second-ranked player felt strongly that the tee box on the 667-yard hole known as “The Monster” should be moved up 50 yards.
At least when the course is as firm as it was Saturday.
“I think it’s a poor hole from where we play the tee box. It doesn’t need to be there,” Spieth said. “It can actually be a really good par-5 from 50 yards up, which is still on the same tee box.”
Spieth had just finished a round of 1-over 71, which left him at 210, tied for 10th and 5 strokes back of co-leaders Jason Day and Scott Piercy.
Spieth felt the triple bogey cost him the $1.62 million first-place prize and left him thinking about the British Open July 14-17 and the PGA Championship two weeks later.
“If you’re going to make one of them this year, well, I say one of them this year. I’ve had a different big number that cost me a tournament,” he said of his quadruple-bogey 7 at No. 12 in the final round of the Masters, where he tied for second. “But this one is what it is. I kind of got over it, obviously birdied the next hole, made a nice putt. I’ll go into tomorrow trying to get some momentum out of the round to carry into the majors.”
With Day’s inability to find the fairway, Spieth looked like he was making a charge with birdies at Nos. 11 and 14. Then came 16.
Considering a 3-wood but electing to avoid trouble, Spieth found the fairway with a 357-yard tee shot. Laying up short of the water, his second shot left him in the fairway, 86 yards from the pin. But his third found the water.
“I thought I actually put a good shot on it when I struck it. I maybe struck it a groove low, which would make it fly a couple yards shorter,” Spieth said. “I thought I still had enough velocity down breeze to fly it far enough and obviously by the crowd reaction in mid-air I thought it had to get up.
“It was a smart decision to lay it to a go-to number, it was just one in a blue moon of just mis-hitting it and it falling short.”
After a penalty stroke, Spieth’s fifth went over the green into the rough. His 12½-foot putt for double-bogey was three inches off.
“I did the hard work, which was hitting two good shots to a really good number, 86 yards which is a go-to number for me,” he said. “A little down breeze with the firm green makes you want to get a little cute with it because I’m aware of what can happen, which is happened on my second wedge, which is ricocheting over the green.
“Tough lie. Hit a good shot below the hole; hit a great putt. Somehow I made an 8 without really missing a shot. But if you’re going to name a hole this year where you can make an 8 without really missing a shot, I’d name the 16th hole here.”
Spieth said the hole wasn’t designed to be played at 670 yards.
“There’s not a chance anybody has held that green in two,” he said. “Even from 30, 40 yards up, which we have played before, you can get down onto the upslope, but you’re hitting 6-iron into that green. It’s still probably not going to hold the green. But if you hit a great shot, you can put it in an easier location to make birdie, if you hit two perfect shots from the up tee.”
Spieth suggested from the back tee, players who want to go for it could send their ball into a bunker to make it easier.
“But you’re hitting the shot like this, and it wasn’t designed to be played from 670,” he said. “I was in the dead center of the fairway and I landed it in the right first cut carrying 295. With how firm the course is, it would be a better hole if it were moved up a good 50 yards and guys could potentially go for it and if you hit a good drive, you have a decision to make.”
Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read her blog at www.ohio.com/marla. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MRidenourABJ.