Boy wonder
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Jordan Spieth never really suffered. Certainly not like Phil Mickelson, who came close so many times before finally winning his first major title.
Yet, not long after Spieth slipped on the green jacket at age 21, the second-youngest champion in the history of the Masters, he pondered what pushed him to one of the game's greatest performances.
There was that runner-up finish in the 2014 Masters, when he had a two-shot lead with 11 holes to play but faded to a runner-up finish behind Bubba Watson. A fine showing, indeed, for someone so young playing Augusta National for the first time.
But it gnawed at Spieth.
“I was already hungry from last year,” he said. “I had an opportunity and watched it slip away.”
When he drove down Magnolia Lane this year, Spieth was even more ticked off. In his two previous tournaments, he finished second and lost in a playoff. Never mind that he had won right before those two close calls, stamping him as the hottest player on the PGA Tour.
That's the thing about this generation of golfers.
They're not very patient.
It sure bodes well for golf in this inevitable changing of the guard, from players such as Mickelson and Tiger Woods — who aren't done yet, by the way — to the youngsters like Spieth and 25-year-old Rory McIlroy, now 1-2 in the world ranking with five major titles between them.
Spieth, who was bothered by “having a chance to win the last couple of weeks and not quite pulling it off,” made everyone pay at the Masters.
Leading from start to finish, he began with an 8-under 64 for the lowest opening round at the Masters in 19 years, set scoring records for 36 and 54 holes, made a staggering 28 birdies (another tournament mark), and became the first player in Augusta history to reach 19 under when he rolled in a birdie putt at the 15th hole Sunday.
He sucked all the drama out of the final round, making sure no one got closer than three shots to the lead.
Spieth closed with a 2-under 70 to finish four shots clear of Mickelson and Justin Rose.
About the only thing Spieth missed was having the 72-hole record all to himself. He bogeyed the last hole to finish with at 18-under 270, tying Woods' performance from 1997.
“It all happened so quickly,” Spieth surmised. But he quickly added, “I feel ready to carry that baton.”
