That was fun, admits Spieth of celebration after title win from bunker
● Texan becomes second youngest after Woods to record 10 PGA Tour victories
Jordan Spieth won his first PGA Tour title by holing a bunker shot in a play-off and now he has done it again to become the second youngest player after Tiger Woods to record ten victories on the US circuit in the modern era.
Russell Knox was entitled to think he had given the Travelers Championship a memory that would be hauled out of the archives in years to come after his hat toss when winning the event at TPC River Highlands in Connecticut last year.
But it will now be destined for the cutting room floor after the way Spieth celebrated becoming the champion at the Cromwell venue and also sparked wild scenes of jubilation by fans around the 18th green.
It followed the two-time major winner holing a 60-foot bunker shot for a birdie to beat fellow American Daniel Berger in a shoot-out after the pair had finished locked together on 12 under par. Spieth tossed his club away in delight and caddie Michael Greller hurled a bunker rake up in the air before the pair did a chest bump in mid-air.
“That was fun,” Spieth said afterwards. “That was one for the ages. I don’t know if I’ll ever have a moment equivalent to that again – something like that to win a tournament – but we certainly soaked it in.”
As Spieth rightly did when he pulled off the same feat to land his breakthrough success on the circuit in the John Deere Classic just under four years ago. So, how did the two compare?
“The hole out at the John Deere and the meaning that that had is probably first, and this is close behind,” he said. “The shot going in at the John Deere, giving me full status when I was a rookie, is one I will certainly always remember, and now I’ve got a new one that’s pretty similar here.”
Woods won 14 times before he turned 24, but Spieth’s feat in getting into double figures is equally impressive, especially as the Texan has achieved it in less than four years.
This was his second success of the season, having also landed the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-am in February, and now he has his sights set on getting in the mix in the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale in three weeks’ time.
“I think this was my third wire-to-wire win worldwide and it’s cool to look at the different places we’ve won and the differences in the golf courses and similarities as well,” he said, having triumphed on his first visit to TPC River Highlands and feeling quietly confident he can do likewise in Southport.
“I think we’ve won on very different golf courses. It says that, other than that we add a little bit of belief that no matter where we go, we don’t just say this course isn’t for us. I don’t believe we’ve said that anywhere, except for Doral.
“It gives us confidence when we arrive at a place, especially a new place, to say no matter what we can get accumulated quickly.
“It’s been a solid year, and we’ve got a couple majors and the Fedexcup left to really grind for. After a little vacation time, I’ll come back and work my butt off to try to grab a major championship.”
Also aiming to achieve that goal in either the Open Championship or the US PGA Championship at Quail Hollow over the coming few weeks is Rory Mcilroy, who boosted his confidence with a closing 64 in the Travelers Championship.
“I’m excited to just play golf and get on a run of events,” said the world No 3, referring to his two separate spells on the sidelines earlier in the season due to a rib injury. “It’s nice to be injury-free and I don’t feel like I have niggles or aches and pains. I can play a very full schedule going forward from here until the rest of the year.
“It was nice to finish with a round like this, but I’ve got a little bit of work to do coming up, if I want to contend over the next few weeks.”
“I don’t know if I will ever have a moment equivalent of that again – something like that to win a tournament – but we certainly soaked it up”
JORDAN SPIETH