US OPEN: Jordan Spieth Calls Out Caddie Michal Greller on National TV

The U.S. Open has provided a lot of feel-good moments so far this week but Jordan Spieth isn’t one of them. In fact, Spieth has come under fire for some of his actions during the first round.

Jordan Spieth of the United States and his caddie, Michael Greller,…

Jordan Spieth of the United States and his caddie, Michael Greller, fist pump on the eighth green during the second round of the 2019 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links on June 14, 2019 in Pebble… Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

Spieth was off to a good start on Thursday, up on top with several of the leaders throughout his round. But the round began to implode, causing him to finish at a respectable but average +1. For Spieth, that’s not good enough and obviously caused him to have a lot of frustration. And rather than taking out that frustration on the course, like some other pros have done this year, he took it out on his caddie.

Normally, fans don’t get to see contentious interactions with between players and their caddies but the cameras accidentally picked up an exchange between Spieth and his caddie, Michael Greller. The conversation revolved around Spieth being angry about hitting two perfect shots that went into the water and over the green because of Greller’s advice.

Jordan Spieth just completely called out his caddie on national TV. Whether the caddie misjudged it or not, that's a bush league move. At the end of the day, you're the one hitting the golf ball.#USOpen pic.twitter.com/lFSYQSGrvR

— Danny Vietti (@DannyVietti) June 13, 2019

Spieth isn’t too worried about how the exchange makes him look, however. “I may have looked like the bad guy there, but my intentions were that we should be in play if the ball is hit solidly, and I was out of play on both shots,” Spieth said. “We were talking about potentially one less (club on the second shot), and I said, ‘But isn’t it playing about 160 (yards) with a fade?’ And then he said yes.”

And wait, did we mention the lack of rake removal from this bunker shot?

These hot Fox mics are doing Spieth ZERO favors this week. Comes across like the petulant child he can be. Hitting awful shots and blaming his caddy. “Yes there is a rake there” – Greller- as we watch their relationship devolve to no fault of Michael’s pic.twitter.com/LmZioVtRoa

— The Beaver Invitational (@TheBeavMCC) June 14, 2019

This whole exchange seems to epitomize the woes that Spieth has had this entire year. Previously thought to be one of the best young players in golf, ready to take over for Tiger Woods as the game’s elite player, Spieth has struggled to build on the success of his three major wins from 2015-2017. Despite the struggles, it seems a bit of an amateur move to scold his caddie in front of a live TV audience.

Spieth has gathered himself in the second round to finish the first two days at -1 but that is still a good ways back of the lead. Perhaps a strong weekend will get him back in contention but hopefully, he and Greller can work together to get him back into the thick of things.

Cover Image Via Twitter