Jordan Spieth gifts tickets and signed flag to the Marine fan who saved his errant tee shot from going in the water to help him make the cut at The Players: ‘Sorry & thanks!’
Jordan Spieth has gifted a fan tickets for this weekend’s Players Championship after the latter helped the golfer make the cut for the tournament by preventing one of his tee shots from going into the water.
The three-time major winner swung for his last hole of the second round when the freak accident happened on Friday. It was a miracle for the 29-year-old Texan, who saw his ball rebound off Lt. Col. Matt Cutler, a 23-year-old Marine from Colorado Springs, instead of going into the water.
After the notable highlight, Spieth admitted that he got lucky on the play and didn’t know how to thank the fan, at first, so he got him tickets for Saturday’s third round, as well as a signed flag with an apology.
‘To Matt. Sorry & Thanks!,’ the note on the white pennant read. However, Cutler, who has been deployed to Okinawa, Japan, Germany, Afghanistan and Iraq from his time in the military, didn’t want anything in return, Spieth revealed.
‘I spent a little time with him yesterday,’ the former world No. 1 added. ‘He didn’t want anything, but I thought if I could do anything for him I’d try to and the tour stepped in and hooked him up, too. So hopefully he’s having a good weekend.
World No. 15 Jordan Spieth met up with the fan he hit with his tee shot on Friday, Lt. Col. Matt Cutler, a 23-year-old Marine from Colorado Springs
Spieth offered Cutler tickets for the Players’ third round on Saturday as well as a signed flag
‘And his knee, I mean, once I found out he was an active Marine I don’t really think getting hit in the knee really does much to those guys.’
Facing his last hole of the day sitting at two-over par Friday, Spieth needed a birdie in order to make the projected cut of one-over.
But his tee shot went horribly wrong, heading hard right and towards the water. Before it got there, however, it struck Cutler in the knee – ricocheting back onto the fairway.
That set Spieth up with a great second shot that landed just out of the right green-side bunker.
His ensuing chip was perfection: going right to the cup and falling in for an eagle to end his round at even par – firmly above the cut line.
Not only did it guarantee Spieth made it to the weekend but it also afforded him the chance to muster a charge on Sunday to sit at six-under through three rounds.
Without taking Sunday’s scores into account, Spieth would pocket around $400,000 in his current position of T-14 through the final round.
The second youngest golfer to have ever won the Masters (behind only Tiger Woods) has not had much luck on TPC Sawgrass over his 11-year career.
He missed out finishing on the podium in his first tournament appearance in 2014, ending up in fourth place overall. From 2015 to 2021, he didn’t make the cut and finished tied for 41st in 2018.
Three years later, in 2021, Spieth tied for 48th. Not expecting much from himself at this year’s event, Spieth shot a 6-under 66 in the third round Saturday.
He is six-under for the tournament, nine shots behind leader and fellow University of Texas Austin graduate Scottie Scheffler.
The three-time major winner needed to make birdie as his final tee shot headed towards water
Lucky for him, his shot hit a fan (blue polo, white hat) in the knee, rolling onto the fairway
Spieth was 6-under through three rounds, nine shots behind leader Scottie Scheffler
