Spieth’s strong finish at Colonial gives him first pro win in Texas
Closing run of three birdies caps final round of 65 for a three-stroke margin and first victory in Texas.
Jordan Spieth found the perfect cure for his Masters misery.
With an impressive back nine at Colonial, Spieth won at home in Texas for the first time on the PGA Tour. He had three consecutive birdies after making the turn, and three more in a row to finish his 5-under 65 Sunday in Fort Worth, including a chip-in birdie from behind the 17th green after a fortunate bounce off a marshal.
“In our third tournament back, to come back and close this one out the way we did is really, really special,” Spieth said. “This day is a moment that’ll go down, no matter what happens in the next 30 years of my career, this will be one of the most important days that I’ve ever had.”
The second-ranked Spieth punctuated his eighth career victory with a 34-foot birdie putt when he needed only a bogey to win the Dean & Deluca Invitational.
At 17-under 263, the former Longhorn finished three strokes ahead of Harris English (66). Colonial member Ryan Palmer and Webb Simpson tied for third at 13 under, both shooting 68 in the final group with Spieth.
Last month at Augusta, Spieth blew a five-stroke lead on the back nine when trying to win the
Masters for the second year in a row. There was then an extended break before he missed the cut at The Players Championship and then finished tied for 18th a week ago at the Byron Nelson before finally winning in the Lone Star State after three runner-up finishes there, including Colonial last year.
“The significance of it happening now … because I wasn’t sure how long it would take to get over the hurdle of having to come in to every single interview room, having to listen to crowds only talk about what happened a month ago,” he said. “And it’s very difficult, and I’m 22. It’s not like I hadn’t won, and we’ve won two majors.”
He is the reigning U.S. Open champion, and will be trying to defend that title at Oakmont in three weeks.
Spieth started Sunday at Hogan’s Alley with nine consecutive pars, including a 32-footer at the par-3 eighth after hitting his first shot into heavy rough.
“The nerves hit me more than I think they should have or normally would just from the start of the round today, and that’s probably it,” he said, referring to Masters.
There was also the guy in the gallery at No. 10 that yelled out “Remember the Masters, Jordan” and other similar comments. While Spieth wasn’t sure if they were positive or negative reminders, they certainly provided some motivation.
Spieth made a curling 20-foot birdie at the 10th before a pair of short birdies, then hit a wayward tee shot at the 192-yard 13th, almost immediately pointing his 7-iron to the left and shouting “Fore!” He yanked his ball out of the bunker over the green before a chip to inside 3 feet for a bogey.
Then at 14, after hitting his drive into a fairway bunker and shouting after his approach short of the green, he saved par with a 14-footer that rolled just to the right edge before falling in.
After a 20-foot birdie at the par-3 16th, Spieth hit a wayward tee shot at the 17th. The ball ricocheted off the lower leg of a marshal and avoided going into heavier rough. Spieth signed a glove “Thanks” to the marshal, but his approach from 173 yards sailed over the green before he chipped in after relief because it landed against a temporary grandstand.
Nearly two months before his 23rd birthday, Spieth broke a tie with Tiger Woods for wins at age 22 or younger. The only player with more that young was Horton Smith with 14 from 1928-30.
LPGA Tour: Ariya Jutanugarn became the first player to win three straight tour events in three years, closing with a 5-under 67 for a five-stroke victory in the Volvik Championship in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Jutanugarn, 20, is the first player since Inbee Park in 2013 to win three consecutive tournaments and the first ever with her first three career victories in a row.
Jutanugarn finished at 15-under 273 at Travis Pointe after starting the day with a one-shot edge thanks to a closing eagle in the third round. Christina Kim was second after a 71.
Champions Tour: Rocco Mediate holed out from a greenside bunker for birdie on the par-3 17th to wrap up a record-setting, wire-to-wire victory at the Senior PGA Championship in Benton Harbor, Mich.
Smoking cigars during the round, the 53-year-old Mediate closed with a 5-under 66 — holing a 15-footer for par on the last at Jack Nicklaus-designed Harbor Shores, for a three-stroke victory over two-time defending champion Colin Montgomerie.
European Tour: Chris Wood shot a front-nine 29 before overcoming a late run of bogeys to win the BMW PGA Championship by one stroke as overnight leader Scott Hend imploded with a 78 in the final round in Virginia Water, England.
Wood played the par-5 No. 18 safe to make par for a 3-under 69 and 9-under 279 overall, finishing a shot clear of Rikard Karlberg (65) at Wentworth.