Jordan Spieth invites spelling bee co-champion to New York area tournament

Jordan Spieth had a surprise in store for one of the nation’s two sharpest spellers.

During last week’s Scripp’s National Spelling Bee, it came out that co-champion Jairam Hathwar considers the two-time major winner as one of his heroes. On a visit to “Live With Kelly” on Tuesday, he reiterated the same sentiment.

“He’s only (22) years old and he’s taking on these veterans and showing that it doesn’t matter how old you are, you can still win … put in the effort and do well,” Hathwar said to host Kelly Ripa.

Little did Hathwar know that Spieth had heard he was the master speller’s idol and that Spieth had a surprise for the young man — namely, an invitation for the New York native to be his guest at Bethpage Black for The Barclays.

“If you can putt as well as you can spell, I’m sure we’ll see you out on tour here pretty soon,” Spieth said.

The Barclays, the first of four FedEx Cup playoff events on the PGA Tour, will be played Aug. 25-28.

Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.

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