Jordan Spieth won last year's U.S. Open at Chambers Bay by keeping his head while those around him lost it. He wasn't quite so lucky this year, slipping and faltering around Oakmont half a dozen strokes behind the leaders.
Spieth entered the day eight strokes behind leader Shane Lowry. Spieth had said after Saturday's rounds that he would need to "pull a Johnny Miller"—i.e. shoot a 63, the number Miller shot in 1973 to win another Oakmont U.S. Open.
As unlikely as that was, Spieth cemented the impossibility with a triple-bogey at the 194-yard, par-3 sixth. Here's how the carnage went down. After escaping a greenside bunker with his second shot, Spieth found himself 16 feet from the hole. And from there:
Shot 3: 20-foot putt, four feet to hole
Shot 4: Eight-foot putt, five feet to hole
Shot 5: Seven-foot putt, two feet to hole
Shot 6: Two-foot putt for triple bogey
Shot 4: Eight-foot putt, five feet to hole
Shot 5: Seven-foot putt, two feet to hole
Shot 6: Two-foot putt for triple bogey
Yep, that'll do it. That nightmare left Spieth at +8 and looking toward the Open Championship. Hey, at least this time he didn't lose the tournament on the back nine. Small victories.
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