Brutal bunker break stifles Jordan Spieth’s Sunday surge at The Sentry

The Jordan Spieth Experience. It’s a term that probably should be trademarked, and it took hold again in Sunday’s final round at The Sentry.

Spieth had just taken a share of the lead with his eighth birdie in 15 holes on Sunday, but he over-cut his tee shot slightly on the short par-4 16th. He looked on anxiously – dropping his head and softly tapping the ground with his right foot – but figured the ball would catch the middle of the fairway bunker at worst, still allowing a wedge to reach the green with ease.

But the ball plugged in the sand, just inches from a steep grass face, forcing Spieth to punch out; he was unable to get up and down from 72 yards, missing a 13-foot par putt. On a historically scoreable final day at the par-73 Plantation Course at Kapalua (the field averaged 66.66), it was a bogey he couldn’t recover from. Spieth finished par-birdie for an 8-under 65; his 27-under total was two back of Chris Kirk’s winning total. Spieth took solo third.

“I missed my line, otherwise … I should have had a pretty good look at birdie,” Spieth said. “I would have had less in than what I had for my third if I hit my drive where I wanted to … the plug is what cost me a full shot.

“It was a full shot, to have to punch out sideways in a pretty pivotal time, which stunk, but I’ve got to be a little tighter off the tee.”

Entering the day, Spieth thought an 8-under final round at The Sentry would mean a playoff at worst. With nine birdies against that lone bogey, he matched his target Sunday score. But the docile conditions on Maui kept the Plantation Course from showing any teeth, meaning that bogey avoidance was of utmost importance for The Sentry contenders. Kirk played the final round without a bogey, as did runner-up Sahith Theegala.

Spieth’s bogey at the 16th was the only bogey Sunday by any of the top three finishers. As he approached the fairway bunker and saw the no-chance lie, he knew what that trouble spot meant to his chances of winning. The frustration on his face said it all.

After an up-and-down par at the par-4 17th, Spieth stood in the par-5 18th fairway with 248 yards to the hole, two back of Kirk at the time. He needed an eagle to tie the lead and uncorked a long iron that started right of the hole, caught a slope and funneled to 14 feet. Concurrently, Kirk made a birdie at No. 17 to move three clear of Spieth, whose eagle putt at No. 18 then slid by. Spieth’s chances at the title were no longer.

Despite falling short of The Sentry title, it’s a positive sign for Spieth as he looks to build on a 2023 season where he finished No. 27 on the FedExCup. The Texan hasn’t won on TOUR since the 2022 RBC Heritage, but he feels healthy after dealing with wrist injuries for parts of the last five years – he re-injured his left wrist while making his son toast last fall, but he felt close to 100% into last month’s Hero World Challenge.

Spieth finished top-three in each of his first three appearances at The Sentry – including a win in 2016 – but he fared no better than ninth in his three most recent starts at Kapalua before this week.

With 30 birdies in a third-place showing this week, the possibilities are sky-high for the year ahead – even if the invariable curveballs are sure to come. It’s part of the Experience.

“There’s nothing but optimism about what the season can bring at this point,” Spieth said.