Jordan Spieth rewards fan who saved his Players Championship

In all likelihood, Jordan Spieth would have been watching the weekend of the 2023 PLAYERS Championship from a couch at home with the rest of us if it weren’t for one well-placed fan on Friday afternoon.

Turns out that fan was Matt, a 23-year marine from Colorado Springs, Colorado, who prevented Jordan Spieth’s errant tee shot from soaring into the water during Spieth’s second round.

Jordan Spieth was two over par for his round when he stepped into the 9th hole tee box on the daunting 587-yard par 5 at TPC Sawgrass.

Had Matt not been in the right place at the right time Spieth would have been left hitting his third from some 250-plus yards out and it would have been a challenge to save his par, to say the least. Instead, he was able to avoid the costly penalty, strike his second to the right of the green, and then chip in for the eagle.

Matt is the reason Jordan Spieth is around for the weekend.

The cutline at this year’s Players Championship wasn’t officially determined until everyone had completed their second round early on Saturday. Turns out that magical number ended up being exactly +2.

Assuming that Spieth wouldn’t have gone on to save what would have been a remarkable par, and the Texan would have clearly had his work cut out for him to do so, Jordan wouldn’t have been playing Saturday and Sunday at this year’s Players Championship if it weren’t for Matt.

Jordan Spieth thanked Matt, and rightfully so, by rewarding him and his friends with tickets for the rest of this weekend’s action and a signed flag.

Spieth certainly took advantage of the fortunate and bizarre break that he had gotten during the second round by firing a 6 under-66 on Saturday. A result that saw him climb inside of the top 20 on the leaderboard after third-round action.

The three-time major winner trails leader Scottie Scheffler by eight shots going into the final round of this year’s Players Championship, a deficit that may prove to be insurmountable on Sunday, but none of this would have even been possible if weren’t for one well-placed fan at exactly the right time.