SHEYBOYGAN, Wis. — It didn’t take long for Whistling Straits to produce a signature shot in the Ryder Cup.
Unfortunately for Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas, it didn’t help them in a 3-up loss to Jon Rahm and Sergio Garcia.
Two holes down with two to play, Thomas hit his tee shot on the par-3 17th hole to the right of the green, only to watch as it bounced left and shot across the green and down a nearly vertical slope toward Lake Michigan.
The ball ended up lodged in deep rough on a ridge about 10 feet high. Spieth studied it a long time before pulling out a wedge and taking a wild swing at the ball, which somehow plopped onto the green about five feet from the hole.
How did @JordanSpieth …
A) Not fall over?
B) Get it that close?pic.twitter.com/jxi11xBCN3— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) September 24, 2021
The momentum from Spieth’s swing sent him falling backward down the slope, and he nearly ran backward as he tried to steady himself before going too far and ending up in the lake.
“I don’t think I exaggerated that fall,” Spieth said. “Once I started moving I had to keep moving until I found a flat spot.”
Thomas would miss the putt and the Europeans would win the match 3-up. But the video of Spieth’s shot will surely live on at least through the weekend.
“It was kind of one of those shots you practice as a kid for fun,” Spieth said. “You don’t ultimately want to have it, and chances of it going there, you could roll a thousand balls off the green and you’re not going to end up there.”