DJ hit two stellar shots into 18. He could've laid up and gone for it in 3 if he chose. To get that close with the 2nd shot, have a short eagle putt, blast the ball, and miss the comeback, he choked.
There are plenty of us on this board that could've putted better than DJ in that scenario if it's a regular round and there's not as much pressure. Heck, DJ would've made that at least a birdie in a non-tourney round. The thing is, it was the 72nd hole at a major, and his putting and shot routine got so messed up because of this. He rushed it and didn't do his normal progression. That's a choke.
Jordan Spieth bogeyed the hardest hole on the course. He didn't 3-putt, 2-putted it. Then the drive on 18? It was fine. Key was to be long and get to wedge range. He had a fine angle from that far left spot. Some jackass turd in the crowd ****ed his preshot routine up, and I'm confident that if that hadn't happened, Spieth would've ended up in a better spot then he left himself for birdie.
Jordan was not in the last group either... DJ was in the final group at the US.
Getting a birdie on a par 4 =/= getting a birdie on a par 5. DJ choked, Spieth didn't.
Regarding 17, there were literally twice as many bogeys or worse than there were pars or better during the fourth round. Hard to say that a bogey on that hole was a choke when only a third of the field can make par.
quote:To get that close with the 2nd shot, have a short eagle putt, blast the ball, and miss the comeback, he choked.
Come on, man... there's no excuse for a pro (or anyone, really) three-putting from 12 feet, but you're seriously saying that he BLASTED the ball?
Watch this clip. If you call this putt "blasting it by the hole" then I don't know what to tell you.
His drive was incredible.
His second shot was outstanding but got a little unlucky. I really expected that shot to come down off that hill a little.
I thought his first putt was a good putt. Slight mis-read but not bad at all. He was putting for the win. He had to give it a chance to go in. I don't think there's any way that he could have hit it softer than that while still having any hope that it would get on his intended line.
The four-footer coming back... not a good putt. He should have made it. But in my opinion that was the only bad shot he hit on that hole.
There was no epic meltdown on the green. Just one bad shot. He didn't leave an uphill 12-footer four feet short. Any putt that didn't go in was going to run a few feet by from there.
If you want to call missing that four-footer a choke then that's okay, but I didn't think there was anything wrong with his first putt aside from reading a little too much break.
17 has nothing to do with if he choked on 18. I'm talking about did he choke on the last hole of a major? We know everyone can go back and find strokes somewhere that were left out on the course.
I'm talking about being on the tee at 18, down by 1, and having to birdie a 350 yard Par 4 with really no trouble.
Just like DJ had to step on the tee and birdie a gettable Par 5 down by 1.
My point is that whether it's a 80 yard wedge or a 14' putt, it's a simple shot (by their standards not mine) that wasn't executed under the same circumstances.
That's what I'm saying, man. He DIDN'T blast the first putt down the hill. He hit it about as softly as he could have, but it was super fast right above the hole so it ran four feet by.
Yeah, not exactly a standard muni green. From the first putt's initial location (which was shocking it didn't roll back down the hill already due to the slope), any attempt is likely going to end up several feet past.
And no, I don't think Spieth choked. He bogeyed a hole that most bogeyed (2/3 of the field). He par'd a hole that most par'd (3/4 of the field). Just by definition, for something to be a choke, you had to do it worse than the field you're trying to beat would have typically done, no?
quote:That's what I'm saying, man. He DIDN'T blast the first putt down the hill. He hit it about as softly as he could have, but it was super fast right above the hole so it ran four feet by.
It just looked so ugly, I thought for sure he tensed up and it got an extra foot or so of roll.
Seriously -- watch that clip. It starts pretty much right at the downhill putt. Not carrying much speed at all and then once it gets about a foot or two above the hole it gets really, really fast. Line was a little off but I thought his speed was about as good as it could have been.
quote:Seriously -- watch that clip. It starts pretty much right at the downhill putt. Not carrying much speed at all and then once it gets about a foot or two above the hole it gets really, really fast. Line was a little off but I thought his speed was about as good as it could have been.
It did speed up but he hung it up way out there. Guess he missed on the pro side!
I see a little recoil with the putter, wonder if he subconsciously knew that he hit it too hard?
Dj choked on the green. There's no other way to describe a 3 putt from 12'. He did an amazing job to put himself in contention to win the tournament and then choked that opportunity away.
If you're going to argue that DJ choked, you would at least have to admit that Spieth's collar got tight over his last 6 or 7 shots. Sure 17 was hard but he shouldn't have had any trouble getting up and down from where he was on 17. And then on 18, I've read on the last page of this thread that his caddy told him he had 94 when he really had 88, is that right? That doesn't give any reason for his spinning it off the green into the valley of sin.
I don't think either of them were choke jobs but I think to be fair, you'd at least have to argue that his tee shot off of 18 was a tad wobbly. The booth said that was the farthest left anyone had been all day
DJ's putt was only offline bc he smoked it. You can't tell me that he couldn't hit that softer. On a flat surface, that stroke still rolls a ball multiple feet.
quote:If you're going to argue that DJ choked, you would at least have to admit that Spieth's collar got tight over his last 6 or 7 shots. Sure 17 was hard but he shouldn't have had any trouble getting up and down from where he was on 17. And then on 18, I've read on the last page of this thread that his caddy told him he had 94 when he really had 88, is that right? That doesn't give any reason for his spinning it off the green into the valley of sin.
I don't think either of them were choke jobs but I think to be fair, you'd at least have to argue that his tee shot off of 18 was a tad wobbly. The booth said that was the farthest left anyone had been all day
Perfectly said.
And even after the drive I was fully expecting him to make birdie from 80 yards out.
quote:DJ's putt was only offline bc he smoked it. You can't tell me that he couldn't hit that softer. On a flat surface, that stroke still rolls a ball multiple feet.
It took his ball four seconds to travel 12 feet.
I'm amazed that anyone can watch that putt and describe it as it being "smoked." It was a downhill putt on a US Open green. It tricked four feet by. Maybe a hair harder than he intended, but smoked?
I really don't think he could have hit it much softer than that while still having a prayer of it going in.
These numbers don't have anything to do with whether or not DJ choked at Chambers Bay (he did) or Spieth choked at St Andrews (he didn't), but I found them interesting nonetheless.
quote:I just meant based on the shot he executed he would've had a pretty short putt for birdie if he had actually been 80 yards out and not 88.
Still at 88 I would've taken him to birdie all day.
Did anyone watching think he wouldn't birdie when he was walking to 18? I know I did. He had been clutch and the putt on 16 gave him some real momentum. I was expecting him to be in that playoff up until I saw where his second shot landed.
quote:I just meant based on the shot he executed he would've had a pretty short putt for birdie if he had actually been 80 yards out and not 88.
Still at 88 I would've taken him to birdie all day.
Did anyone watching think he wouldn't birdie when he was walking to 18? I know I did. He had been clutch and the putt on 16 gave him some real momentum. I was expecting him to be in that playoff up until I saw where his second shot landed.
I wouldn't have been surprised if he birdied 18, but I wouldn't say I expected him to. Scoring average on the hole was 3.875. 19 of 80 players made better than par. Certainly a gettable hole, but far from a lock.
Put me in the camp that expected him to birdie it. Not because I thought he SHOULD or because it was easy or something.... Just figured he would get it done.
Great pic... Saw someone on twitter compare ZJ's look to that of a dad watching his son take his first drinking, wanting to make sure he doesn't get too drunk.