Jordan Spieth got elbowed back in the fairway, but missed cut at hometown Nelson
Jordan Spieth gestures as the gallery applauds his putt on the sixth green during the second round of the Byron Nelson golf tournament in McKinney, Texas, Friday, May 3, 2024. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
McKINNEY, Texas (AP) — Jordan Spieth got elbowed back into the fairway on the 16th hole Friday, and still missed the cut in his hometown tournament.
Spieth’s wayward drive at the 495-yard par 4 went well right into the trees before suddenly rolling back into the fairway. The ball had ricocheted off the arm of a male spectator sitting with a group under the trees.
After getting to his ball in the fairway 223 yards from the hole, Spieth took out another ball that he signed and walked over to the spectator who had a significant welt just above his right elbow.
Even after that fortunate bounce, Spieth’s approach shot landed on the left fringe and he ended up with a bogey that dropped him to 4-under par. He parred his last two holes for a 1-under 70 at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, and finished at 4-under 138, two stokes below the cut line.
Jordan Spieth stretches to see where his shot from the rough landed on the sixth green during the second round of the Byron Nelson golf tournament in McKinney, Texas, Friday, May 3, 2024. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
It was only the second time in his 12 Nelson starts that Spieth missed the cut. Before not playing last year because of a wrist injury, Spieth was the runner-up to K.H. Lee in 2022, and had his only other top-10 finish the previous year. His other missed cut was 2017.
The Dallas native made his first PGA Tour start at the Nelson as a 16-year-old amateur in 2010, when he finished tied for 16th.
___
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf