Jordan Spieth already made headlines at the PGA Championship last month with a wedge shot that Justin Thomas said “maybe five people on earth” could pull off. So naturally, he went to Muirfield Village the following week and drained a 62-foot putt with his back turned to the hole. Just Spieth things.
What Happened
Round 1 of the 2026 Memorial Tournament, par-4 sixth hole at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio. Spieth faced a 62-footer with a dramatic right-to-left slope, pin tucked on the left side of the green. He stood over the putt, struck it — and turned his back to the hole.
Then he waited. For 15 seconds the ball rolled across the green while Spieth faced the other direction. When he finally looked, it was dropping in. Birdie. The crowd lost its mind.
Why He Turned Away
This isn’t performance art. Spieth has explained before that he sometimes turns away on longer putts because watching a slow-rolling ball creates anxiety that throws off his composure for the rest of the round. When you’ve already done the job, watching doesn’t help it go in. But walking away mid-roll on a 62-footer takes genuine commitment to that philosophy.
The Bigger Picture
The putt was part of a one-under 71 in Round 1 — not a leaderboard-burning score at Muirfield Village, but it kept him in the mix during a tournament that J.T. Poston eventually won in a playoff.
The moment has everything that makes a great Ballsy Play: unusual execution, nerve that most golfers can’t fathom, and an outcome that looks almost preordained in hindsight. Spieth didn’t need to watch it fall. It was always going in.
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