Best of the Decade: The Best Golf Shots of the 2010’s
By Bill Felber
2. Jordan Spieth, 13th,14th and 15th holes, Royal Birkdale, 2017 British Open
Let’s begin with the basics. Jordan Spieth came to the 13th tee of the 2017 British Open in a flat tie with Matt Kuchar, having surrendered a two-stroke lead. He sliced his drive so far off line that it stopped in a utility area close to the course’s practice range, a substantial set of mounds among numerous obstacles blocking his view of his target, the green some 200 yards off in the abstract distance.
The rest was magic. Taking an unplayable lie followed by a free drop from some tournament-related obstacles, Spieth launched a 3-iron over the dunes, into the blind and ultimately inches short of a pot bunker protecting the green.
He pitched over it and holed the putt for an unthinkable bogey 5 that did cost him the lead, but merely by one stroke. On the very next hole, Spieth made that back by nearly holing a 6-iron on the par 3 14th. Reaching the par 5 15th in two, Spieth then rolled in a 50-foot eagle putt to cap the most sensational three-hole stretch of play of the entire decade.
The eagle moved him a shot ahead of Kuchar, who birdied, and when Spieth finished by birdieing the 17th and 18th he wrapped up a three-stroke win.
Which of them qualifies for the best golf shots…the 3-iron from t4he range, the near ace, or the 50-foot eagle putt? You can decide for yourself.