Heading into the Masters, Jordan Spieth celebrates win
Party like it’s 2017: Texan is a winner again on PGA Tour, takes Valero Texas Open.
SAN ANTONIO – There was a time when Jordan Spieth going to bed with a third-round lead meant Jordan Spieth was just a few hours from hoisting a trophy over his head.
From the 2015 Vivint Houston Open to the 2017 Northern Trust, the noted Longhorn held the 54-hole lead on a dozen occasions, winning nine times. He left the other three as runner-up.
Then the 11-time PGA Tour champ fell into a slump nobody could foresee. A 2017 season that saw him win thrice, including the British Open, seemed long gone from his rearview mirror as the calendar flipped to 2021.
And even when Spieth returned to form in recent weeks, holding the 54hole lead three times since February, he still lacked a piece that was once his calling card – closing the deal.
On Sunday at TPC San Antonio’s Oaks Course, things sure felt a lot like 2017 again. Spieth withstood a charge from veteran Charley Hoffman but kept his cool and made big shots down the stretch, capturing his first title in 1,351 days, this one in his home state.
With the win, Spieth became the fifth player in 40 years to get his 12th Tour victory before the age of 28, putting him in pretty good company. The others? Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas.
Spieth was surprisingly in control of his emotions. “I honestly thought that I would be more emotional at the end, but I’m kind of glad I’m not. It was a fun battle today,” he said. “I never expected to go this long . ... It’s very difficult to win out here and I’ll certainly enjoy this one as much as I have any other.”
For the 44-year-old Hoffman, the chase was an impressive one as he matched Spieth’s 33 on the front and then posted birdies on Nos. 13 and 14 to keep the pressure on. He took his biggest punch at No. 16, burying a 20-foot putt from the fringe to pull within one.
But the final stretch at the Greg Norman-designed course was Spieth’s strength throughout the week. He entered Sunday at 10 under on holes 12 through 18 and that form held true again – he made birdies on three of the final six holes to clinch the win.
Hoffman had an 18-foot putt on No. 17 that would have temporarily pushed him into a tie, but he missed. Spieth followed by burying his own birdie putt to take a two-stroke lead to the final hole.
Matt Wallace, who held the lead with Spieth heading into Sunday, never threatened and finished in third place at 14 under.
Spieth will now try to become the third player since 1960 to win at Augusta after winning the week before the Masters. Sandy Lyle did so in 1988 after winning the Greensboro and Phil Mickelson turned the trick after capturing the BellSouth Classic.