Jordan Spieth was apparently willing to risk it all to save par.
Spieth apologized to his wife, newborn child and parents after watching a replay of his outrageous shot at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am on Saturday.
With his ball inches from the edge of a 68-foot cliff, Spieth decided to hit rather than taking a penalty drop, and managed to save par — and his life.
“This is downright terrifying right now,” analyst Colt Knost said on the CBS broadcast.
Spieth somehow managed to strike the ball and then instantly run backwards away from the cliff over the Pacific Ocean.
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He said he only realized the peril of the shot after watching replays. “I just saw the blimp shot from overhead, and it really bothered me,” Spieth said Saturday.
“So I can’t imagine while she was watching that live,” he said of his wife, Annie. “They actually came out — my son was out for the first time ever on 3 and 4, and I don’t know where they went from there. … So, yeah, I mean, my parents are here too, so not only do I have to explain to my wife, I got to explain to my mom, my dad.”
In real time, Spieth said that he figured if he could see the ball, he could hit it. “It was just kind of weird because it was like, well if I can get a swing on it and I can hit it then why would I take a drop?”
He answered that question in the next breath. “You’re never over — I guess I saw a 65-foot cliff,” he said.
Spieth’s caddy apparently tried to talk him out of it, but it was only after the fact that the golfer realized the obvious truth:
“Not worth it, to be honest.”