UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash. – Jordan Spieth was helpless. For the first time all day he could not control the outcome. The nerves came flooding through his body.
Spieth has just signed for a final-round 69 at the U.S. Open and sat in the scorer’s tent awaiting his fate. Dustin Johnson was playing the par-5 18th hole and needed to make birdie to force an 18-hole Monday playoff with Spieth. Eagle, and the outright victory for Johnson, also was a real possibility.
“Yeah, I didn’t enjoy not being able to control it,” Spieth admitted. “It was tough watching him.”
Johnson hit a laser 5-iron to 13 feet on 18 setting up the most intense drama of the week. He blew the first putt 4 feet by the hole, then missed the birdie putt to hand Spieth his second consecutive major championship.
“It looked like he hit a decent putt,” Spieth said. “It’s all kind of a blur.
“I very much feel for him. He’s a great champion. He’s certainly proven that he closes tournaments out. That was just an odd deal, very odd.”
