Jordan Spieth’s caddie Michael Greller revisits Chambers Bay, the site of the 2015 U.S. Open and a very personal place for Greller. Relive one of the most iconic major finishes firsthand and go inside the mind of a caddie trying to win a major championship during a rollercoaster finishing stretch.
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it was looking like a birdie here was going to get it done And he hits the shot Hit it wind Hit it Wind Any wind up there Hit it a little bit Just a little bit Easy Easy Cuz after Jordan hit that shot Gracie had to lay up I actually had to rake the bunker you know his caddy collab with him It’s like a caddy etiquette thing like the other Caddyy raas the bunker So I didn’t even get to walk up to 18 with Jordan No way You had to do the raking So I was back here raking [Applause] And here comes speed at 18 with an eagle putt coming [Music] And I wouldn’t think there’s anybody sitting down 86,000 people are sitting down [Applause] Jordan Sp has won the US Open [Music] What’s going on man good to see you Yeah good to see you Welcome back Do you guys know what happened here what your dad did out here What did he do he got married That’s right Right here That’s right We don’t know where mommy went but that’s the correct order of accomplishments out here right in 2007 the year Chambers Bay opened Michael Greller was a local sixth grade math teacher who decided he’d caddy there in the summers for free golf and extra cash Chambers is where he first worked for Justin Thomas who later introduced him to Jordan Bee who was so impressed that he hired him full-time Chambers is also where Michael got married to his wife Ellie overlooking one of golf’s most epic views So it was especially meaningful when Growler and Spe returned to Chambers for the 2015 US Open and especially insane when Spath emerged the winner from one of the wildest finishes in golf’s history 10 years later we brought Michael back to walk us through those final few holes You have a favorite hole out here 16 Next hole 16 Yep So yeah that’s the Tacoma Arrows Bridge Oh yeah All right So you come over that to get here Yeah So I Yeah I live on the other side of that bridge And I mean one of the things I love about Chambers it’s a it’s a public course Yeah Like at the US Open I mean literally every day I’d look in the crowds and I’d see just so many faces I knew And it was also Father’s Day right my my dad was here Ellie’s dad was here They’ve both since passed U but that was my dad’s I think the last golf tournament he ever made it to You know to have my wife all my siblings all my friends and then you know to look over my mom and dad or and my mom’s pass too since you know look and my sister somehow got them next to the 18th green Um my dad was in a wheelchair but you know he got to be up there and um kind of watch the I mean it was as we’re going to talk about chaos at the end but people forget what Jordan did on this hole I can’t remember who hit first He was playing with Brandon Grace I think Grace hit first because he did something special Yeah Balls way right Might be out of bounds That’s gone Z [Music] [Applause] They were both uh let’s see Jordan would have been both five under five under at that point Five under And like I said it been kind of a boring round and my guy is not boring No you don’t play many of those Yeah And then the fireworks uh started happening here on the on the 16th Good swing there hoping for a good kick now Yeah his three-wood you know it came up here tried to hang stay up in here but I think it ended up uh kind of up by this head Yep And I remember he had a pretty good lie cuz I feel like he could have maybe gotten almost a drop but he chose not to Yeah So anyway Jordan hits it here Hits for him a very pedestrian chip right and then uh you know it’s the it’s the greatest putt I’ve ever seen him make It’s the biggest fist pump I’ve pretty much ever seen him get So he was about I don’t know 18 20 feet and you know when he makes it he turns right I’ll never forget the I must have been standing right there but he turns kind of looks out there and just the the fist pump and the the reaction he had was as good as you’ll ever see on a on a made putt I mean for a guy that’s made a lot of big putts that’s that’s the biggest one You know that opened up at the time a two-shot lead And in my mind I was I wouldn’t say it felt like it was over but it was just like a exhale Yeah You know cuz Brandon made a double So he went three ahead of Gracie right that got Jordan to six under and was at four And you got a good memory for not having watched this back DJ was still at three Yeah So Jordan had a two shot lead on the guy in the clubhouse and three over anybody still playing So it was like “All right par bogey or par par,” you know and Yeah You know this thing’s done Too boring for Jordan though No he he wanted to have it have some excitement Yeah How you doing i’m Michael What’s your name i’m Lexi Lexi Great shot What grade are you in michael Second Second grade Wow So you’re doing something for the tenure yeah Yep Yep Kind of reliving uh some of the shots Yeah that was one of the best openings I’ve ever seen man Come I don’t know any better ones Well Dylan’s going to hit the putt that Jordan made That’s right Give him a read I He knows what it does He’s just got to hit it You think this is about right yeah that’s more or less All right So yeah What would you tell Jordan like do how much do you I mean a putt like this you know this is this is truly all feels Yeah Uh I think Jordan’s as good as anybody in the world from 20 to 25 feet in particular one that’s got some break to it Uh so he’s very comfortable with this putt Uh but yeah I mean it’s a 18 it’s you know foot and a half two feet of break All right just match your line of speed I want to see that fist pump after you make it I know one of the biggest ones you’d ever given All right Oh come on Dylan First take I want everybody to know I think I’m meant to be your caddy Oh my god I I was too excited to actually fist pump though Come on Wow We’re three up with two to play Can you sign that for me the worst that could happen That was sick I’m going to tell Jordan about that See I mean he knocks that putt in He’s got a two shot lead on Louis three on anybody that’s still playing And Yeah And he hit it I mean it was just a it was just a bad swing Yeah [Music] This is how well obviously you just hit some bad shots cuz golf is hard Yeah But then how do like how do you make sense of it when it’s that high pressure a moment and he’s just made a big pod and Yeah I mean I I I wouldn’t reflect on that in that moment I’m as a caddy I’m thinking okay he’s very much out of position He’s going to want to try to hit it at this pin M he’s going to have probably a really bad lie which he did you know what am I going to tell him to get him to hit the smart shot So I’m trying to think about like when I’m catting if I’m doing my job how I should I’m thinking ahead on that next chip on the next putt what’s going to be going through his head on 18 Um and then you know Sunday night when we’re celebrating I can give him crap about the six iron Like what are you doing man how much do you talk to Jordan when uh like when he’s say he’s just hit a shot that’s out of position i mean I kind of I’m trying to figure out is he is he angry is he nervous uh does he cuz sometimes conversation is just going to upset him even more Sure Yeah You know if he’s really nervous Um sometimes it’s just talking about something you see in the crowd or talking about one of his sports teams or something to distract him Yeah from whatever those nerves are Uh a lot of times it’s just stay out of his way Yeah Um and he’s particularly if he’s playing really well the last thing I want to do is get him you know get me talking too much You know he’s generally obviously the one that talks Yeah a decent amount Uh it is true People talk a lot about oh the player caddy conversations you have with Jordan I’m like well do you actually know what Michael sounds like because you don’t hear him as much as you hear Jordan during us I’m talking You know it’s it’s between shots when the you know the mics aren’t on and I you know the last thing I want to do is be part of the story right because it’s about Jordan Yeah Um and I don’t ever I mean I’m not comfortable doing this frankly because get to beg you when it comes to I don’t like to talk about my story cuz I’m fortunate just to be riding along with Jordan And uh but yeah anyway this shot here you know the pin was over there I was very glad he wasn’t even looking at the pin but you’ve got this uh slope here on the left So really you just got to get it over the bunker and you’ve got this the slope that’s going to uh you know keep it from going too far and you’re just trying to hit on the hill and you’re gonna two putt for bogey extra shot and then I really am gonna have a good chance of winning this thing Perfect Look at this Wow Win the US Open I think we just started a partnership That was not too different than uh his shot That was good I feel like more speedlike than I think I ever thought I would in my entire life You talk a little more though Yeah Yeah Yeah Jordan’s was more kind of in here I think Um and he left it I think about three or four feet short So I believe the so the second putt would have been just short right of it and he actually missed it on this side of the hole You know was three and a half four feet maybe and you know just like that that three shot lead over the guys that were still in the course is gone And it was like my head as a caddy you know I’m thinking “Oh we’re going to have a nice little peaceful walk up 18 since before they opened I dreamed of walking up 18 thinking it’ be you know on a Friday afternoon about to miss the cut with sure some qualifier college kid.” Never thinking that it’ be for the guy that just won the Masters So that very peaceful walk goes to okay you know I got to really encourage my guy and double bogey by grace double bogey by speed and what eagle by Smith a birdie by us and now he’s got a birdie the last so I mean it was a very long walk you know from that green to to up here cuz it’s just like you got to regroup Jordan comes back to this tea All of a sudden he’s at 4 under par Now it’s a bergable hole It’s a par five Yeah But it’s a 72nd hole of the US Open [Music] [Applause] Softly Real soft A That’s not soft That was might stay short It stays short of the bucker And then Jordan hit you know two unbelievable shots under the greatest pressure You know he clutched up and does what Jordan does oftent times on the biggest stage We didn’t know actually what was going on until you know the leaderboard There’s a huge you know massive So the way I had always seen the course was like this today And so for me by the way you know I’m walking down here like I have wedding pictures behind that rock right there Yeah They’ll never be top for me professionally right this week But also personally like I just have memories of my dad on a golf cart with Ellie’s grandma my wife’s grandma my parents Ellie’s dad grandma they’ve all passed since then And we had you know when I come back here she’s like man it was uh you know as cool as the US Open was that day my weighing day was that much better um and to do it with um just those people And yeah I come back here it’s like oh man it’s it’s still special It’s crazy to think that Jordan was 21 when you guys were here Yeah You know all the success he’s had as a golfer I mean really hasn’t changed him at all He still treats people the right way He’s you know doesn’t live this like he just lives a pretty simple life quite frankly Yeah And um he’s got the same people around him same friends you know he married his high school sweetheart It’s been fun to see him as a as a dad now I mean that’d be the one part of Jordan that has changed is you know off the course you know he’s not just watching Sports Center at night More responsibility Yeah You know he’s all in on the dad duties So up here there’s a plaque I think from where Jordan hit this 3-wood It couldn’t have ended up in a better spot It was a perfect 3-wood number Like he just was just a stock 3-wood All right Come on Let’s picture that one buddy You know he stepped up here It was looking like a birdie here was going to get it done And he hit hits the shot Hit it wind Hit it Wind Any wind up there Hit it a little bit You know he’s talking to it quite a bit for the wind to hit it just a little bit You can’t from here see the actual ball but you can hear the whole crowd [Applause] Easy Easy [Applause] What a shot Awesome shot You’re right Some shots I mean initially I thought he was going to make it and then you could tell that it was pretty close based on their reaction Brandon was actually in the bunker here I actually had to rake the bunker You know his caddy went up with him It’s like the caddy etiquette thing like the other caddy rakes the ber So I didn’t get to walk up to 18 with Jordan No way You had to do the raking So I was back here raking Oh here they are What’s up guys you want to help me Caddy i need some help Did you guys get milkshakes no No Oh sorry I shouldn’t have brought it up You got snacks though Do you know Dylan made the same pot Uncle Jordan made i want to go You want to go in there Uh yeah You can go in there There’s a few footprints So we’re walking up You know he’s already up here I had raced up after raking that bunker and dropped the bag over there See my parents These were all corporate hospitality over there Our big grand stands here His putt was kind of right in here you know kind of landed in there and rolled Yeah Came all the way up around here and you had I don’t know 22 feet That’s when he said to me “Does does do I need to make this?” And looked back and about where those people are that’s where uh you know that’s where DJ’s drive was And I was like “Yeah I mean DJ’s going to hit a six or seven in here and have a great chance to make a three which he ended up having a great chance at three [Applause] Jordan hit a good putt Yeah You know just didn’t break Missed a high side But he comes over to the side of the green right here and he puts his arm on my shoulder and he thinks he’s actually lost the US Open Oh because he sees DJ you know best case he’s hoping for a playoff and he’s just like you know what what happened on 17 had such a great chance to you know you don’t really want to go to a Monday playoff with Dustin Johnson right and you know he walked off this green very disappointed Even though he just made birdie it ended up being enough But you know when he walked off the green it was he thought it wasn’t enough Jordan speed showed a lot after the double at 17 to put himself in position for that Eagle try at 18 He leads by one And we go into the scoring trailer and there’s a little computer monitor showing the the fox coverage Yeah And uh he’s already signed his card and he goes “What should we do?” I was like “Just stay right here.” Like there’s no point in right going out And we were actually on about a 5-second delay Oh And as DJ’s walking into the shot on the coverage that we’re watching you can hear from where we’re sitting the whole crowd erupt So you know he’s about to hit a really good shot right and so it was very uh I’ve actually seen video of the the three or four minutes where we were sitting in there I mean it was just very solemn very quiet Well DJ walks into his putt that we’re watching but we didn’t hear it roar [Applause] How fast was that putt that DJ had i mean it was it was unbelievably fast Jordan speed has won the US Open you know when he missed that the next putt Jordan and I both just sat there and like we didn’t know what to say you don’t really want to celebrate because I mean Dustin was a is a very good friend of ours and AJ and we spent a lot of time with them and we sat there for probably I don’t know 15 20 seconds and finally I go dude you just won the US Open and we gave each other a hug he gave me this ball and uh walked out Ellie was you know right outside scoring just freaking out and um and then it was just time to celebrate Yeah So it didn’t hit me until after it was all said and done My family had left Everybody left a couple hours later and Ellie and I went and sat back on the 18th tea where we were sitting Did you really talking and I said “Hey I just want to take a moment and just just let this sink in.” Cuz I mean it it was my professional caddy dream just to work this week Yeah Um not to mention you know the the masters and everything else in between And so it was fun to sit there with Ellie and you know look up at the up by the tent there and reflect on our marriage and our wedding which was just two and a half years earlier And it’s just like what just happened like how did Jordan just win this maybe we’ll give Mike a little since he didn’t get to didn’t get to do it [Music] But yeah things have changed a lot in 10 years We got our seven-year-old redhead and our little sweet daughter all wound up end of the school year How’d you guys do any math homework get done i got all the math Seriously good job you guys sit at chambers and eat Skittles and do math homework All right I know All right Michael thanks for showing me your spot Yeah thanks for coming out Reliving it They’re good memories to relive I think Yeah these are my best professional memories some of my best personal memories You just added to it with your putt you made up 16 So anytime you want me to caddy for you just let me know on an off week You guys say thank you Do you guys want a little quick family photo here oh yeah Let’s do it What do you guys say one two three Milkshakes Milkshakes All right Nailed it Yay Thank you
4 Comments
I love Jordan and Mikey! Great vid
Time for the US Open to return to Chambers
Wished they were still together ❤️
They are still together!