UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash. -- Even now, nearly two years later, Jordan Spieth is reticent to admit his rationale for being the only non-injured, qualified player to skip a late-summer tournament with guaranteed money and world ranking points. Following a historic season that saw him ascend from no status on any major circuit to PGA Tour winner and budding superstar, he curiously decided not to compete in the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, citing a need for rest and relaxation.
"That year had been so crazy and unexpected," Spieth recalled. "We played so much more than we thought we were going to play just to get that status. It was a good move to take the week off, but for a 19-year-old to pass up free money, it wasn't the best financial move I could have made."
None of that is untrue, but the story becomes a lot less curious when it is revealed that Michael Greller, Spieth's only caddie since turning professional, was getting married at Chambers Bay that weekend -- and Spieth had already committed to the festivities.
Rather than trying to chase down Tiger Woods on the course, who dominated that week at Firestone, Spieth played in a pre-wedding day foursome with Greller and two family members. Instead of working on his short game, he initiated a fun putting contest with Greller's young niece and two nephews; in place of grinding away among the world's best golfers, he donned a suit and, flanked by girlfriend Annie Verret, attended the nuptials just a short walk from the first tee on the site of this week's U.S. Open Championship.
Their player-caddie relationship had begun not far from there. During the 2010 U.S. Amateur at Chambers Bay, Greller looped for now-PGA Tour pro Justin Thomas and reached the second round of match play, while Spieth failed to qualify after posting an 83 during the medal-play portion of the event.
One year later, with Thomas too old to compete in the U.S. Junior Amateur at nearby Gold Mountain, he connected Spieth and Greller. The prohibitive favorite that week, Spieth won the title for a second time in three years.
"I could have never caddied again after that week and been the happiest caddie in the world," said Greller, who is from the Seattle area. "It was such a mountaintop type of experience."
The partnership, though, hardly peaked with that moment.
Spieth turned pro in late 2012 and has already claimed five professional titles -- including, of course, this year's Masters, all with Greller riding shotgun.
It would be myopic to suggest Spieth's recent success is some type of karmic reimbursement for being the type of player who honors a promise to attend his caddie's wedding rather than chase the golden roads of another big-money tournament. But it is also unnecessarily suspicious to believe the trip was simply disguised as an opportunity to get another look at an upcoming major championship venue.
"We were just having fun," Spieth said, shrugging off the even-par 72 he shot that day. "It wasn't much of a scouting mission."
Spieth, 21, then displayed his best poker face and, in his most sarcastic tone, said: "I was still under the impression that if I made this U.S. Open, I wasn't going to play because I hated it so much during the U.S. Amateur. But I think we're going to go this year, just because Michael lives there."
Even joking, the insinuation flies in the face of what has become a common yet flawed assumption.
Greller, now 37, started caddying at Chambers Bay during the summer months while on vacation from his job as a local sixth-grade teacher. He estimates he has logged some 40 rounds with a bag strapped to his shoulder and a yardage book in his hands. So goes the assumption: He has more course knowledge than any other caddie, and he works with one of the world's most talented players; therefore, they should own an advantage heading into this week's event.
"That's a misconceived notion -- my knowledge of that golf course," Greller said. "I mean, I haven't caddied out there in four years; 2011 was the last time I caddied out there. There's been a ton of changes. And the U.S. Open will be even more different."
It's also not as if he caddied for world-class golfers during those respites from teaching school.
"The only shots I've seen hit out there are from guys who are as bad at golf as me. It's not like I'm seeing pros hitting shots out there," he said. "Will I know more than other caddies? Yes. Am I Carl Jackson there? Not by a mile. I would consider myself a rookie at Chambers Bay. I'm certainly not a veteran."
It was the cool, rainy Saturday morning of the wedding weekend when Spieth joined Greller, his brother Tom and uncle Jake as one of five foursomes of friends and family at Chambers Bay the day before the wedding.
They used local caddies, and at one point, Greller recognized Spieth's unmistakable intensity, even under casual conditions.
"I'll never forget the caddie told Jordan where to hit it on one hole," Greller said. "Jordan hit it right there on that line, and it ended up catching a ridge and going nowhere close to where Jordan thought it would go. He just shot the caddie this look, and I just started laughing. I said, 'Don't look at me, I'm off the clock today.' "
Greller will be thinking about that story this week, about that fun round of golf, about marrying Ellie the next day, about Spieth eschewing a tournament start to share those moments with them.
He'll try not to get too emotional but knows it won't be easy. For him, this U.S. Open is a culmination of a journey that started with a dream and has turned into a dream come true.
"When it was announced in 2008 that the U.S. Open was coming to Chambers Bay, it was my dream to find a way to caddie in it," Greller said. "I was going to do anything to find a way to make that happen. Here we are. It'll be my fourth U.S. Open, and I'm bringing the Masters champion to my hometown."