Spieth sets records, crushes elite field at Isleworth

WINDERMERE, Fla. — Jordan Spieth had been down this road before.

Three years ago at Isleworth, he was making the turn in the final round when he looked over at the scoreboard on the 18th fairway that showed he had a big lead. So it was eerie when he caught himself doing the same thing Sunday during the final round of the Hero World Challenge.

But there was one big difference.

Back then, Spieth was a freshman at Texas and won by eight shots in the Isleworth Collegiate Invitational for his first college title.

This time, he beat an elite field that included tournament host Tiger Woods, six major champions and 16 of the top 30 players in the world.

Spieth capped off a big finish to his second season as a pro when he closed with a 6- under 66 and set two tournament records to win by 10 shots over Henrik Stenson. Staked to a seven- shot lead in the final round, he opened with three birdies in four holes and turned the final three hours into a peaceful walk.

Spieth had an 11- shot lead after nine holes, ripped a drive over the corner of the bunker and then glanced at the lone leaderboard. And then he made another birdie. He coasted from there and, even with a careless double bogey on the back nine, he finished at 26- under 262 to break the tournament record of 266 set by Woods in 2007 and Davis Love III in 2000, both at Sherwood Country Club in California.

The 10- shot victory was the largest margin of the year in golf, and broke the tournament record of seven shots that Woods had in 2007.

Spieth had set a goal of two wins, and that looked out of reach when he began the last leg of a long journey. He finished one shot out of a playoff in Japan, won the Australian Open by six shots and then turned in another dominant performance.

Woods, in his first tournament in four months while recovering from back injuries, stubbed two more chips on the 13th hole for a triple bogey and closed with a 72. He tied for last place with Hunter Mahan, 26 shots out of the lead.