Spieth, a Texas native, salvaged a roller coaster round thanks to the hole-in-one
Texas native Jordan Spieth buried a hole-in-one in his home state, sending the Valero Texas Open crowd into a frenzy on the 16th hole Thursday afternoon.
Spieth wasn’t too happy when he walked up to the 16th tee box, after his double-bogey on the par-5 14th pushed his opening round at the tournament to 4-over.
However, that all changed when he struck a perfect fade off the tee and sent his ball flying straight to the flag 183 yards away.
Spieth and the crowd watched as the ball bounced perfectly on the green and made its way toward the hole. It never deviated from its line, which was right in the heart of the cup as it fell in for a hole-in-one. It was the third of his PGA Tour career.
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Jordan Spieth of the U.S. plays a tee shoot on the sixth hole during the first round of the Valero Texas Open at TPC San Antonio April 4, 2024, in San Antonio. (Brennan Asplen/Getty Images)
The crowd went wild, and even though he didn’t play his best golf Thursday, he threw his hands in the air to celebrate. Perhaps it was a sigh of relief.
Spieth began his opening round with a bogey on the first hole and picked up another one on the fourth before back-to-back birdies on five and six got him back to even. But the roller coaster continued with a bogey on seven and one on nine put him at 2-over in his first nine holes.
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He had another bogey at 11, though a birdie on hole 12 negated that. The hole-in-one, though, seemed to put Spieth on the right track to finish strong. He birdied 17 before making par on 18 to end with a 1-over 73.
Jordan Spieth of the United States celebrates after making a hole-in-one on the 16th hole during the first round of the Valero Texas Open at TPC San Antonio April 4, 2024, in San Antonio. (Raj Mehta/Getty Images)
With golf’s first major of the year next week — the 2024 Masters — many who are invited like to take a week off to prepare for Augusta National Golf Club. Spieth, though, enjoys playing in his home state and clearly wants to stay in tournament mode before heading down to Georgia.
Spieth is likely hoping to pick up where he left off Thursday instead of the up-and-down scoring he saw in his opening round. His finish has him tied for 76th.
It’s been a struggle the last two outings for Spieth, who was cut from both The Players Championship and the Valspar Championship in back-to-back outings. However, he is 37th in FedEx Cup points (501) after two top 10 finishes this year, including a third-place finish at The Sentry to open the new year and a sixth-place finish at the WM Phoenix Open.
Jordan Spieth of the United States celebrates after a hole-in-one on the 16th hole during the first round of the Valero Texas Open at TPC San Antonio April 4, 2024, in San Antonio. (Raj Mehta/Getty Images)
Spieth has a green jacket in his closet as the 2015 champion at Augusta National.
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Scott Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital.
