Interestingly, last weekend’s victor on the European Tour was another 22-year-old, Brandon Stone, who won the BMW South African Open in his home country as he secured his maiden triumph at the top table. I felt comfortable all week, I felt it was just a short three-week break over the holidays and then just trying to continue what I was doing past year. “And if I am eligible to play in this tournament and I’m not here, I hope every single one of you calls me and bashes me for it”.
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Jordan Spieth finished the event on 30-under-par, just one shy of the record set at Kapalua by Ernie Els in 2003.
Five players have shot 28 under par in a 72-hole PGA Tour event – most recently Patrick Reed at the 2014 Humana Challenge and Phil Mickelson at the 2013 Waste Management Phoenix Open.
Jordan Spieth claimed his seventh USPGA Tour title, routing the field to win the Tournament of Champions and match Tiger Woods for the most career wins before the age of 23.
Jordan Spieth’s latest triumph has only heightened the sense of comparison with Tiger Woods.
Spieth won his seventh title in his 77th start as a pro.
For Woods, that was the first of nine PGA Tour victories.
That could be one of the perks Sunday. “I can sit here and say that my putting certainly is ready for the Masters to be next week”.
It was a sick feeling for everyone else. So for Brooks to get that score is insane.
Now, Jordan Spieth is starting to have the same effect on his peers. His pitch rode the grain to 4 feet for par. The Texan made it back-to-back birdie when he sunk a 14-foot birdie putt on the par-four 10th hole to move to 27-under.
The tears began to flow for Stone on the green at No. 18 when he put his third shot close, pretty much guaranteeing him victory.
Reed, the defending champion at Kapalua, got within three shots with a birdie on the par-five ninth. Reed closed with a 69 and was runner-up.
The way this week has been going, who could blame them? He won by 10 and finished at 26 under. That was good for fifth place. I think it’s awfully early [in his career].
The victories keep piling up, and so does the confidence.
It’s incredible to think that we can even contemplate someone being better than Woods but Spieth has everything. Many expected Spieth to have a disappointing season, including someone who was in Spieth’s shoes just past year – Rory McIlroy. “Michael [Greller, Spieth’s caddie] said on the 18th fairway, ‘Man, what a way to make a statement.’ I thought that was cool. It worked this week and all parts of the game were firing”. I thought coming into the day the first was going to be my toughest hole. It’s not why I do what I do.
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I layed Stone at [1.91] before the final round and I layed him again at just [1.21] but I really thought he’d blown it and I didn’t back him back at a big price.
