THE BOY WONDER

SPIETH, 21, SOARS TO RECORD- TYING MASTERS TRIUMPH /

AUGUSTA, Ga. — As Jordan Spieth stood over an important putt for par at the 14th hole, a thunderous roar could be heard from the 15th green, where Phil Mickelson had made eagle. Moments later another loud cheer rose from the 18th green, where Hideki Matsuyama closed with a birdie to get to 11- under.

Birdies were back on a Masters Sunday filling Augusta National with tidal waves of roars and electric shot- making that makes Spieth’s wire-to-wire victory that much more impressive. The best players in golf took advantage of overcast conditions and favorable pins to fire their best at the 21- year- old Texan, bathing the leaderboard in more red than a TigerWoods shirt on Sunday.

“I thought 3 and 6 were not the easiest pins, but they were still birdieable and pretty much every other pin out there was about as easy of a pin placement you could have,” Mickelson said. “It was suited for fireworks, if you went out and played well.”

Spieth proved up to the challenge, shooting a 2- under- par 70 to claim a four- stroke victory and capture the Green Jacket that eluded him a year ago, when the final round was a snoozefest. Bubba Watson won the 2014 Masters with a birdie at the 13th hole and pars the rest of the way as the difficult layout made it tough for anyone to make a real run. The final round of the 2014 Masters played more like the U. S. Open and was as dull as flat soda. But the birdies, the roars and the excitement were back Sunday, forcing Spieth to answer challenge after challenge to earn his first major championship.

He finished at 18- under par for the tournament after a bogey at the 18th hole. It ties the record set by Woods in ’ 97. Naturally, Spieth’s victory will be compared to Woods’ recordbreaking performance 18 years ago when he dominated the field over the weekend and won by 12 strokes. Spieth’s performance may have been better.

Woods shot a 65 that Saturday in 1997 and never looked back. His Sunday round of 69 was a coronation. An aging Tom Kite finished second and somebody named Tommy Tolles was third. After going 64- 66 in the opening ing two rounds,ro Spieth had a much tougher weekend than Woods’. He had to fend off some of the game’s best players. Justin Rose, the 2013 U. S. Open winner, tried to make his run. Mickelson, a three- time Masters champion, threw his darts. Four- time major winner Rory McIlroy, who shot 66 on Sunday, came on late. But Spieth proved he had the nerves and the game to capture his first major.

“When you’re in the lead by a few shots with two major champions there’s a lot of time to think through scenarios and listen to the roars,” Spieth said. “We kept our head down. We stayed focused.”

Don’t be fooled. This is not the Augusta National Woods dominated in ’ 97 with his power and precision. It has been renovated into a monster that can suck the excitement out of a tournament. Only seven players were under par in 2014. There were 32 this year.

It started on the first hole, where the final pairing of Spieth and Rose both made birdie. Trailing by four strokes when the day began, Rose got to within three with another birdie at the par- 5 second. Spieth answered with a birdie at the third hole and it was game on from there.

A crucial birdie at the 15th put him a 19- under par, giving him a four- shot lead and making him the first player to reach that mark in Masters history. He gave one back with a bogey at the 18th.

“To hear the echoes that come through this place makes it magical,” Spieth said.

Thanks for the fireworks.