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Jordan Spieth loses in a spelling bee to the national co-champion
After Jairam Hathwar wound up as a co-champion in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, he said one of his goals was to meet Jordan Spieth. Spieth then surprised the 13-year-old by inviting him to The Barclays to meet him in person and take in the tournament.
The pair met ahead of the event at Bethpage State Park, and they took part in a hybrid spelling-putting competition. Both Spieth and Hathwar were given three words to spell. With each word correctly spelled, the putt they had to make to win the contest got shorter. Of course, Hathwar got all three words right, leaving himself a tap-in. Spieth on the other hand? He went 0-fer, misspelling Zoysia — a common grass on golf courses — but nearly getting a very difficult word that means “the fear of the number 13.” Spieth didn’t make his long putt.
However, Spieth has been playing very well so far in the playoff opener. Heading into the third round, Spieth is in the third-to-last group, four behind leader Patrick Reed.
Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.
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