Like Spieth, Palmer was the defending champion. Like Spieth, Palmer was the third round leader. Like Spieth, Palmer came to the 12th hole the equivalent of three strokes ahead of his competition (because pairings in 1959 were not arranged by score, the contenders were on random parts of the course. But Palmer reached the 12th tee at 4 under par, and no other player got there at better than 1 under par). Like Spieth, Palmer hit his tee shot into Rae’s Creek, the only differences being that Palmer hit a 6-iron to Spieth’s 9-iron, and would make triple-bogey six to Spieth’s seven.