It was a bizarre round for Jordan Spieth at the Players Championship on Friday.
With two birdies to start followed by seven lost strokes over the next 15 holes, the 29-year-old golfer saved his strangest shot for last.
When Spieth’s tee shot on No. 9 appeared to head toward the water, it struck a fan instead, remaining on the fairway and allowing him to eventually eagle for the hole.
The play gave Spieth an even score through two rounds, one stroke above the projected cut line, enabling him to compete this weekend.
When analyzing a replay of the shot, commentators on the broadcast said the ball appeared to hit the fan in the knee, and it completed “a 90-degree redirect” that ended with Spieth perfectly positioned on the fairway.
A video tweeted by the PGA Tour later showed Spieth handing one of his gloves to the fan, who then turned and attempted to give his new possession to a child standing next to him.
“I got an extremely lucky break on No. 9, or I wouldn’t be playing the weekend,” Spieth told reporters following his round. “So trying to get that guy’s information and see literally whatever he wants this weekend because everything from here on out is because it hit him.”
Spieth, who began Friday on the 10th hole, started with a pair of birdies on his first two holes.
Three bogeys and two double-bogeys followed, and Spieth didn’t finish another hole under par until that pivotal No. 9.
Instead of finishing the round at 5-under or worse, Spieth saved two strokes with an eagle putt and ended at 3-under.
He currently sits in a tie for 44th, nine strokes behind leader Chad Ramey — a 30-year-old in his first Players Championship — as of Friday afternoon.
Spieth hit a 3-under Thursday to open the tournament.
The world’s No. 15 golfer, according to the World Golf Rankings, recently finished in a tie for fourth and sixth place at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and Waste Management Phoenix Open, respectively, with a missed cut sandwiched in between those tournaments.
“Very fortunate,” Spieth said Friday. “Can’t say I deserved it, but I tried to hold my attitude together and just keep on focusing on trying one foot in front of the other. I don’t know if that means I got rewarded for that or what, but overall, I got very, very fortunate on 9.”