Golf phenom Jordan Spieth caught a 300-pound shark in the Bahamas

Jordan Spieth
(Image credit: Scott Halleran/Getty Images)

And just in time for Shark Week!

Jordan Spieth, the 21-year-old Masters champ and recently crowned U.S. Open winner, took his talents to the water earlier this month while on vacation in the Bahamas. While in a boat on the way back from a snorkeling outing, Spieth cast a line in an area of water known for big fish. Something bit. "I was hooked on a tuna for about 45 minutes," Spieth said, while the boat's captain was scaring off smaller sharks that had come to prey on the fish. Suddenly, Spieth's line disappeared into the water with such force that he almost got pulled in.

Turns out, Spieth's original catch — a yellowfin tuna The New York Times described as "Shaquille O'Neal-size" — had been swallowed by a 12-foot-long, 300-pound blacktip shark, which had then hooked itself on Spieth's line. Ever the competitor, Spieth wrestled with the shark for more than two hours, taking a break in the middle to rest his tired arm. There wasn't enough room in the boat for the shark, however, so the captain "landed" the fish before freeing it from the hook.

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"The competitive side of me, I didn't want to give up until I actually couldn't move my arm anymore," Spieth said. "It was sore for a couple days, but I'm good now." After the 300-pound shark, Spieth's next challenge is the John Deere Classic, which tees off Thursday.

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Kimberly Alters is the news editor at TheWeek.com. She is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.