Complete domination would be an understatement for the way 21-year-old, Jordan Spieth, played at the Masters. He led the tournament every day, every hole and every shot: no one came close. Spieth was the second youngest player to win the Masters, only behind Tiger Woods.
After the first day of the tournament, he led the field by three strokes and he never looked back. He backed up his 64 on Thursday with a 66 on Friday. He then finished with back-to-back 70’s on the weekend, tying Tiger Woods’ 270 shot record back in 1997.
“The ultimate goal was to win the Masters since I’ve been very, very young,” Spieth said at the Masters ceremony. “Now my goal is far more.”
The victory on Sunday catapults Spieth to No. 2 in the world behind Rory McIlroy and No. 1 in the FedEx Cup points.
Spieth, who was a mature 19-year-old, turned pro in 2013, after winning the John Deere Classic in Quad Cities.
His amateur career was perhaps a footnote for what was to come in Spieth’s young career. He won two U.S. Junior Amateur’s; joining Tiger Woods as it’s only multiple winners. He jumped up No. 1 in the Polo Golf Rankings, which promotes the best junior golfers in the United States in 2011.
In college, he attended the University of Texas and led his team to win the national championship in 2012. Spieth was named to the All-Big 12 Team, Big 12 Freshman of the Year and Player of the Year, and was a first-team All-American.
Midway through his sophomore year at Texas, Spieth turned professional in December 2012 at age 19. He partnered with Under Armour for sponsorship in January 2013.
In his first year pro, he won his first event, the John Deere Classic, two weeks before his 20th birthday. This granted him full rights as a PGA Tour player. In his first full year of PGA eligibility, he did not win any events after the John Deere Classic, but he was among the top of the leaderboards including a second place finish at the 2014 Masters.
He won his second event at the Australian Open and a week later dominated at the Hero World Challenge in Florida, to take his third victory.
A week before the 2015 Masters, Spieth placed third at the Texas Open, when he was defeated in a three way playoff.
A week later, Spieth accomplished a golfer’s biggest dream, winning the Masters.
“With the length of the golf course, I didn’t think that people would be getting that low, but they kept it soft all week. And that’s something that the older guys in the clubhouse and in the Champions Locker Room were all talking about, that we haven’t seen it that soft. It wasn’t springy until today,” Woods told Golf Channel about the magnificent play of Spieth to tie Woods’ record in 97.
“I think it’s fantastic. He’s doing all those things he needs to do… He’s one of those guys that like Rory, can go off and make bunches of birdies in a row.”
“It’s the most incredible week of my life,” Spieth said, who effectively turned the year’s opening major into a one-man show. “This is as great as it gets in our sport. This is a dream come true for me.”
