Spieth fantastic again with fifth win
ATLANTA — Jordan Spieth treated the Tour Championship as if it were a major. He played like it was, too.
Looking for a fitting finish to a sensational season, Spieth poured in putts from all over East Lake and never gave Henrik Stenson or anyone else much of a chance Sunday. His final stroke was an 8-foot par putt that was right in the heart for a 1-under-par 69, and he leaned back with a smile of pure satisfaction.
The 22-year-old Texan became golf’s first $22 million man — a PGA Tour record with just more than $12 million in prize money, and the $10 million bonus for the FedEx Cup.
“This is incredible,” said Spieth, who finished at 9-under 271 for a four-shot win. “This is an event where we approach it like a major championship because we know this is possible at the end of it.”
Even when he missed back-to-back cuts to start the FedEx Cup playoffs, Spieth spent the month trying to peak for the most important event in the lucrative series. He was the first to show up at East Lake on Monday to start grinding on his game. With a one-shot lead going into the final round Sunday, he was on the putting green three hours before his tee time for what caddie Michael Greller called the “early grind.”
It all paid off so handsomely, especially that putter.
Spieth made three birdies in a four-hole stretch around the turn, and they were demoralizing for Stenson. Spieth made a 20-foot birdie on No. 8 for a two-shot swing that he never gave back. He made an 18-foot birdie on the par-5 No. 9 with Stenson already at tap-in range for birdie, then Spieth curled in a 45-foot birdie putt at No. 11.
Baylor graduate Harris English finished in a tie for 22nd at 5-over 285.