Orlando (USA): Records tumbled by the bagful as Jordan Spieth completed a wire-to-finish win in the Hero World Challenge at the Isleworth Golf and Country Club in Windermere near here on a cold and windy Sunday.
The 21-year-old spread-eagled a high-class field to romp home by 10 clear strokes, and such was Spieth’s scorching pace and consistency that he faced no blips through the final 18 holes, walking away richer by a cool million dollars in this $3.5 million tournament.
Spieth became the first start-to-finish winner of this Tiger Wood Foundation-promoted tournament in its 16 years, besides being its youngest champion.
He won by the biggest gap (10 strokes) and by the largest final round lead over second placed Henrik Stenson of Sweden. His final score of 26-under 262 was also among the year’s best cards on the PGA Tour.
The Texan’s 63 and 66 over the weekend just blew away the field including world no. 2 Stenson, who was never really in the hunt.
Spieth went out in five under 31 that included an eagle on the par-5 seventh hole.
He had a relatively-sedate two under on his back nine for a day’s score of six under 66, the card shaded somewhat by his only blemish of the day, a double bogey on the par-four 14th hole of the course.
Speaking of his win, the second in as many weeks after the Australian Open in Sydney, Spieth said, “It was interesting. It’s something that hasn’t happened for me before. I got off to a decent start with three birdies and the eagle in the first five holes and I looked at the leaderboard, which I don’t do much. It said I was 11 ahead.
“One of my goals this year was to win back-to-back rather than take pressure from expectations, I look at them as goals and I was not sure that would happen. Overall, it’s been a team effort,” the self-effacing Spieth said. “I am playing my best golf and it’s been getting better and better since I turned pro.”
