Spieth carded 28 birdies, two eagles and just two bogeys in reaching 30 under par during his eight-shot success at the Tournament of Champions in Hawaii.
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PGA golfer Brooks Koepka tees off on the third hole during the final round of the Hyundai Tournament of Champions golf tournament at The Plantation Course on Sunday.
It may be his first PGA Tour tournament of 2016, but Spieth has picked up right where he left off previous year when he won two majors and five titles.
Jordan Spieth appears to have the game of golf pretty much figured out but even the world No. 1 concedes that picking Tiger Woods’ brain about how to stay at the top might be a good idea.
Five shots clear of the chasing pack overnight, the Texan briefly had his lead trimmed to three as a red-hot Reed reeled off four birdies on the front nine.
But unlike Woods, Spieth doesn’t feed off the discomfort he conjures up around the rest of the PGA Tour.
Ernie Els is the only player to finish better again par in a four-round PGA Tour event, shooting 31 under on this same course in this same event in 2003. Spieth answered with a 50-foot birdie on No. 12, but it was his short game that saved him.
Asked how he felt about equalling Woods’ record, he said: “I don’t think there’s any reason to compare. It’s fantastic being out here with what we’re trying to do and doing it well”.
Had Spieth matched his second-round score of 64 he would have broken Els’ record, but he saved his highest score of the tournament for the final round.
World No 1 Spieth, 22, will make his Abu Dhabi debut on January 21, and if there were any doubts he would be the player to beat, they were dispelled by a stunning performance in Hawaii. His pitch rode the grain to 4 feet for par. Then, Spieth rolled in a 35-foot birdie putt. It could nearly be felt in the air as Tiger Woods’ playing partner psyched himself out before Woods even hit his first shot. In his short, festive break, Spieth heard many critics doubt whether he could replicate 2015, an extraordinary season which brought two majors and three other titles.
The tournament was never in doubt, and for one tournament at least, Spieth backed up his comment that 2016 isn’t an encore because that would mean the show was over.
What Have We Learned For Next Year? I’ve still got feelings in my swing throughout the week that I had. Reed made birdie on the ninth ahead of him, which ut the lead to 3 shots.
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That followed rounds of 67, 68 and 71 with Lee finishing the US$5.9 million event on 14-under, 16 shots behind runaway victor Jordan Spieth, in a tie for 15th place.
