Xander Schauffele reveals what might have led to Jordan Spieth scorecard error

Aug 16, 2019; Medinah, IL, USA; Jordan Spieth tees off on the 1st tee during the second round of the BMW Championship golf tournament at Medinah Country Club – No. 3. Mandatory Credit: Thomas J. Russo-USA TODAY Sports

An emergency bathroom situation may have played a serious part in Jordan Spieth’s scorecard error Friday at the Genesis Invitational.

Spieth was disqualified from this week’s PGA Tour event held at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles, Calif. after a careless scorecard oversight during his second round. Spieth has since addressed his mistake.

It was reported that Spieth was feeling unwell during the event. Xander Schauffele, who rose to two strokes behind leader Patrick Cantlay after one of the best Saturday showings, shed light on just how sick Spieth was leading up to the scoring mishap.

Schauffele said that Spieth was “really sick” and had to rush to the restroom the moment his second round had finished.

“I heard he had to go to the restroom and came back like a minute later and the card was wrong,” Schauffele said, via Golf Digest’s Christopher Powers. “Maybe there needs to be some sort of softening on the rules, but for the most part we all kind of know what goes on in there. It’s really unfortunate it happened.”

Schauffele theorized that Spieth’s poor showing on Friday’s back nine was likely compounded by the stomach issue.

Spieth bogeyed thrice before recovering with a birdie on the 17th hole. He ended his run by making double bogey on the 18th. Frustration and feeling ill at the same time may have created the perfect storm for Spieth to commit the error.