Spieth hit an approach shot into the par-4 from 116 yards out and landed it near the middle of the green, spinning it back by the hole and seemingly earning a shot at birdie.
Advertisement
“Are you kidding me!” the two-time major victor fumed after watching his golf ball hit above the cup and spin all the way off the green. “How is that in the bunker!” he yelled.
McIlroy, Danny Willett and Rickie Fowler were on the ninth fairway at the time and McIlroy took advantage by sprinting to the clubhouse to catch the remainder of Northern Ireland’s game against Ukraine. “There’s definitely some scores out there to be shot”. His shot stopped short of the green.
But while the greens were soft, they still were quick as ever. And it didn’t stop. Turn by turn, the ball kept moving until it settled 2 feet away.
There was still enough excitement, with Lee Westwood holing out with a wedge on the 14th hole, Danny Lee holing out from the fairway on No. 6 and McCarthy getting it on the act with a hole-out from the 11th fairway. Watson has never played the U.S. Open very well, except at Oakmont.
Westwood, Kevin Streelman and Harris English were at 1 under on various parts of the course.
Australian Aron Price, competing in his second U.S. Open, carded the first birdie of the week after setting off in the first group of the day under clear skies. DeChambeau was spared by finding his ball.
But at 1-over with seven holes to play when the siren sounded for the final time at 3.51pm Thursday, Spieth is just four behind current leader Andrew Landry and well in contention.
Masters champion Willett was among those unhappy with the decision, writing on Twitter: “Find it odd that we stay in position for an hour, then might have to go straight back out”. DeChambeau made consecutive double bogeys and slipped to 1 under.
Advertisement
World No. 1 Jason Day did not start on Thursday, along with his playing partners Adam Scott and Louis Oosthuizen, Phil Mickelson and Justin Rose. None of the 78 players in the afternoon were able to begin their rounds at all – including amateur Chris Crawford of Drexel – and that raised the possibility that many would have to play 36 holes on Friday.
