Jordan Spieth reacts to his "VERY LUCKY" eagle during Masters opening round
Jordan Spieth made an eagle when he chipped in at the par-5 15th hole at Augusta National, but he knows had it not been on such a good line, his ball would have ended up in the water.
Jordan Spieth reflected on his 1-under par opening round of 71 at Augusta National on Thursday and admitted his chip-in eagle at the par-5 15th hole was "very, very lucky".
Augusta had been brutal all day and only 12 players out of the 88 in the field managed to shoot under par during the opening round and had it not been for Spieth's lucky break at 15, he'd have been one of the many players starting Friday's round over par.
The former World No.1 had started well, but a triple-bogey nightmare 7 at the par-4 9th suddenly sent Spieth from 1-under par to 2-over par in a matter of minutes.
Spieth bounced back with a birdie at the 10th and five holes later, the 27-year-old caught one of the luckiest breaks of his Masters career, when his chip looked destined to run off the fast Augusta greens and into the water, but his accuracy proved as crucial as ever with the ball ending up in the hole.
WATCH SPIETH'S "LUCKY" EAGLE AT 15 BELOW:
"That one was going into the water! He knows it!"
Jordan Spieth triple-bogeyed the ninth but hit back with 'very lucky' eagle at 15: https://t.co/eVy94MwMXN pic.twitter.com/sNrrxm6mTk
— Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) April 9, 2021
"Probably the luckiest break I've ever got out here, if not anywhere," said Spieth.
"The idea is to hit it online, but that was very, very lucky," he said. "That was at least a three-shot break. If it goes in the water, I'm dropping, and I've got to get up-and-down for it to be a three-shot break. If I don't get it up-and-down, it's a seven or worse. As many shots as I hit that were a yard off earlier in the round, it was more than made up for there."
Spieth was a little surprised to see himself six shots off the lead, with Justin Rose producing a phenomenal 7-under par round on a very challenging day, but the American was pleased to see Augusta showing its teeth.
"I'm glad the course is firm if you're six back after one round," Spieth added. "So I'm not really going to be focused, I don't think, on Rosey. That's a heck of a round. And I just assume that this golf course is going to be just as challenging going forward and pick your spots."
