Jordan Spieth wins Hero World Challenge

Jordan Spieth of the USA closed out with an excellent 66 to power to a 10-shot victory over Sweden’s Henrik Stenson in the Hero World Challenge at Isleworth G&CC in Florida.

Jordan Spieth of the USA closed out with an excellent 66 to power to a 10-shot victory over Sweden’s Henrik Stenson in the Hero World Challenge at Isleworth G&CC in Florida.

Spieth took a seven shot advantage into the final round and stamped his authority on the event with three birdies in his first four holes. He extended his lead to 11 shots after nine holes and, even a double-bogey on the back nine couldn’t derail the youngster.

He finished on a tournament record score of 26-under-par and also set a record with his margin of victory in the tournament. The previous best had been seven shots by Tiger Woods in 2007.

"Whether my emotions showed it or not I'm not sure, but inside we were really very pleased with the year and how it came to a close," Spieth said. "This caps off the best golfing year that I've ever had."

Henrik Stenson posted a final round of 69 to finish a distant second. Keegan Bradley of the USA was one further back in a tie for third with his countryman Patrick Reed. Bradley was full of praise for young Spieth.

“The kid is playing great,” he said. “Look at his past three events, he nearly won them all. He’s a great player and he dominated this week.”

Tiger Woods, playing in his first tournament since returning from injury, finished with a 72 and ended the week in a tie for last place with Hunter Mahan. He continued to struggle around the greens, but he was happy to be back playing without any pain.

“First thing’s first: Playing tournament golf without being in pain, without having to call my physio every day,” he said. “It was nice to be able to hit the ball the way I did this week.”

Justin Rose was the best placed Brit in the 18-man field. The Englishman finished in a tie for sixth. Graeme McDowell was tied for 11th.

Hero World Challenge Isleworth G&CC, Windermere, Florida Dec 4-7, purse $3,500,000, par 72

1    Jordan Spieth (USA)    66    67    63    66    262    $1,000,000 2    Henrik Stenson (Swe)    67    68    68    69    272    $400,000 T3    Keegan Bradley (USA)    72    66    65    70    273    $212,500 T3    Patrick Reed (USA)    73    63    69    68    273    $212,500 5    Jason Day (Aus)        71    67    70    66    274    $150,000 T6    Rickie Fowler (USA)    67    70    72    68    277    $142,500 T6    Justin Rose (Eng)        72    64    70    71    277    $142,500 T8    Zach Johnson (USA)    67    71    72    69    279    $126,667 T8    Matt Kuchar (USA)    69    70    70    70    279    $126,667 T8    Billy Horschel (USA)    73    72    67    67    279    $126,667

Note: Player score in bold signifies Titleist ball usage