Jordan Spieth 9 on 15th hole: How quadruple bogey on Par 5 ‘Firethorn’ adds to Masters meltdowns
In 2015, Jordan Spieth became the second-youngest player ever to win the Masters at 21 years old. At the time, it had golf fanatics asking not if he would win again at Augusta, but how many times he would sport the green jacket.
Flash forward to now, and Augusta National has molded into a house of horrors for Spieth at the 2024 Masters.
The three-time major winner struggled early and often during his Round 1 performance at the prestigious event. Spieth has been playing inconsistent golf as of late, which could be chalked up to the wrist injury that he is powering through, but the worst of his game came out on Friday morning.
Spieth was one of a number of golfers who were forced to finish their first 18 holes on Friday morning, due to darkness on Thursday evening. While the dark clouds may have vanished from the Georgia sky, they did not evade Spieth, as he posted a quadruple bogey on the 15th hole, leading to his worst round ever at the Masters.
It’s not the first time Spieth fell apart at Augusta National, and not the first time that the Par 5 “Firethorn” hole gave him trouble. If the 2015 Masters winner wants another chance at winning a gold jacket, he has his work cut out for him in Round 2.
Here is more on Spieth’s meltdown at the 15th hole and his history at the Masters.
Jordan Spieth is the only player in the last 20 years with multiple scores of 9 or worse at the 15th hole at #TheMasters
— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGolf) April 12, 2024
It’s not the first time that the 15th hole at Augusta gave Spieth problems, either. At the 2017 event, Spieth also was forced to jot down a nine on his scorecard at the 15th hole during the opening round.
It puts Spieth in the Masters history books for all the wrong reasons.
Jordan Spieth is the only player in the last 20 years with multiple scores of 9 or worse at the 15th hole at #TheMasters
— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGolf) April 12, 2024
While the two troublesome moments at the 15th hole certainly may live in Spieth’s nightmares, none will be as horrific as his meltdown at the 2016 Masters.
Spieth was in the driver’s seat on the final day and appeared to be well on his way to earning his second consecutive gold jacket. Despite bogeys on the 10th and 11th hole, he still was in possession of first place heading into the final seven holes.
Then, everything fell apart for the then-22-year-old at the 12th hole. Spieth found water twice, and then ended up in the bunker. The result was a quadruple bogey, as the defending champion at Augusta for that tournament saw his lead vanish in the span of minutes, falling three strokes behind the leader.
It opened the door for Danny Willett to claim the 2016 Masters, earning his first gold jacket. Spieth finished tied for second.
Since then, Spieth has accumulated three top-five finishes, including a T4th spot at the 2023 Masters. However, he has been unable to finish atop the leaderboard since the 2015 event.
