Entertainment

Jordan Spieth will miss Masters cut, derailed by first-round quadruple bogey

Published

8 months ago

April 13, 2024

The par-5 15th hole has been the site of many iconic Masters moments, from Gene Sarazen’s “shot heard round the world” albatross in 1935 to Tiger Woods’ 258-yard 3-wood Friday to flag-high that essentially secured a record 24th straight Masters made cut.

Jordan Spieth will depart Augusta National early this week, remembering the 15th hole for a more unpleasant reason.

Spieth made a quadruple-bogey 9 on the 15th hole in the opening round of this Masters (which he completed Friday morning), en route to a missed cut with rounds of 79-74 at Augusta National. Spieth finished at 9-over 153, well outside the cut line, for his second Masters missed cut in three years.

The Masters cut line (top 50 and ties) was projected at 4-over 146 late Friday afternoon, but increasingly firm and windy conditions meant the line could easily move to 5-over, or potentially 6-over, by day’s end.

Spieth’s missed cut is a startling outcome for a player whose game has proven to fit Augusta National’s demands more than most, and it stems back to the mercurial 15th in the opening round. After safely laying up to 77 yards, Spieth missed the green long on his third shot, and his pitch rolled across the green and into the pond fronting the green. He walked all the way back around the pond to play his sixth shot, which again sailed over the green. He chipped on and two-putted for 9, tying the highest single-hole score of his PGA TOUR career.

Masters Tournament


HOLE	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	OUT
PAR	4	5	4	3	4	3	4	5	4	36
R1	6	5	4	3	5	3	4	4	4	38
STATUS	+2	+2	+2	+2	+3	+3	+3	+2	+2


HOLE	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	IN	TOT
PAR	4	4	3	5	4	5	3	4	4	36	72
R1	4	4	3	4	5	9	3	5	4	41	79
STATUS	+2	+2	+2	+1	+2	+6	+6	+7	+7		+7

Spieth began the 15th hole at 2-over, and he ended it at 6-over. He wouldn’t get any closer to the cut line for the rest of his Masters.

Spieth, 30, reported wrist trouble that affected his preparation for last week’s Valero Texas Open, but he finished T10 anyway in his final start before the Masters. The week began with buzz regarding whether the Texan could

could recapture the form that produced a win and a pair of runners-up in his first three Masters appearances (2014-16). It wasn’t meant to be, but the good news for Spieth lies within his lifetime Masters invitation per his 2015 victory. He’ll have more chances to earn a second green jacket.

Others set for an early exit at Augusta National include Justin Rose (7-over), Sam Burns (9-over), Brian Harman (9-over) and 1992 Masters winner Fred Couples (12-over).

Rose opened in 1-over 73, safely inside the projected cut line, but made just one birdie in a second-round 78 that sent him to his third missed cut in 19 Masters appearances. The Englishman finished runner-up at the 2015 and 2017 Masters, but a green jacket has eluded him.

Burns stood well outside the cut line after an opening-round 80, but he moved to the precipice with birdies on Nos. 10, 12 and 13 in the second round, which put him at 5-over total. The LSU alum made bogey on No. 15, double bogey on No. 16 and bogey on No. 17 to finish outside the line for the second time in three Masters starts.

Harman will lament a back-nine 47 in his opening round, which included a triple bogey on No. 16 followed by back-to-back double bogeys on Nos. 17 and 18. That followed an encouraging 2-under 34 to start the Masters, and he carded a respectable even-par 72 in a blustery second round. Although he was 2-under across three of his four nines, that 47 means the reigning Open champion will sit this weekend out.