Jordan Spieth's round took an unusual turn at the Valero Texas Open. A stray tee shot led to him and his caddie moving a massive boulder. That was only the beginning of a bizarre ruling that could save his tournament.

During the second round at TPC San Antonio’s Oaks Course, his tee shot on the par-4 12th hole missed the fairway and landed in the native area. When Spieth and his caddie, Michael Greller, reached the ball, they saw it resting next to a large rock classified as a loose impediment.

Since loose impediments can be moved under the rules, Spieth and Greller lifted the rock together to access the ball.

“I would have never thought about trying to move the rock to begin with. I would have thought it would have been at least embedded in the ground or something that wouldn’t be deemed like a loose impediment that I would be entitled to move. But good on Jordan for even thinking of trying it,” one commentator noted.

Then came another development. Officials noticed an ant near the ball and reviewed the area. It was identified as an ant bed, which falls under abnormal course conditions as per Rule 16.1. 

According to this rule, such a condition “exists when a dangerous animal (such as poisonous snakes, stinging bees, alligators, fire ants or bears) near a ball could cause serious physical injury to the player if he or she had to play the ball as it lies.”

“This could end up being a massive break here for Jordan Spieth,” said the commentator with the ruling still under review.

Based on the rule, Spieth was granted relief under the rules and allowed a club-length drop, giving him a playable position compared to where he started.

Jordan Spieth Hangs on the Cut Line After Two Rounds at Valero Texas Open

At the Valero Texas Open, Jordan Spieth closed the first two rounds at 1-under par, placing him in a tie for 60th. By the end of Friday’s play, he was right on the projected 36-hole cut line.

Across the two rounds, his scores reflected a steady start. The 32-year-old opened with a 1-under 71 in Round 1 and followed it with an even-par 72 in Round 2 to hold his total at 1-under.

On the greens, Spieth lost 3.127 strokes to the field in the opening round, ranking 128th out of 132 players in putting. Off the tee, he averaged 307 yards with a driving accuracy of 78.6 percent.

Late in the round on the 16th hole on Friday, Spieth made a long birdie putt to move back to 1-under, bringing him in line with the cut.

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Written by

Aditi Singh

Edited by

Siddharth Shirwadkar