Spieth wins Travelers with playoff hole-out
The 23-year-old beat Daniel Berger at the first extra hole at TPC River Highlands
Jordan Spieth holed a bunker shot on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff to beat Daniel Berger and win the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands.
Jordan Spieth began the final round one clear of the field at TPC River Highlands and three ahead of Daniel Berger. But, after Spieth had dropped a shot on the 14th and Berger made a birdie on the 15th, the pair were tied.
Playing a group apart, both men found the greenside bunker on the final hole and both were able to get up-and-down to save par. The pair finished tied on a four-round total of 268, two ahead of Charley Hoffman and Danny Lee.
On the first playoff hole, Berger’s tee shot flew into the crowd while Spieth’s was deflected by a tree leaving him a long shot to the green. From some 230 yards, Spieth’s approach found a greenside bunker and Berger’s second missed the green on the left side.
Spieth blasted out of the bunker and moved back to watch it roll into the cup. Berger was unable to hole out from just off the green and the title went to Spieth.
"If I was in Berger's shoes, I would be cursing Jordan Spieth right now for the break off the tee and then holing a 30-yard bunker shot, that's a lot of luck," Spieth said.
3 Talking points from the Travelers Championship
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1 – After holing out to claim the Travelers title, Jordan Spieth now has 10 PGA Tour wins. He joins Tiger Woods as the only player since the Second World War to have 10 PGA Tour titles before his 24th birthday. Opening with a scintillating 63, he was the third player to win wire-to-wire at the tournament. The others have been Gene Littler in 1959 and Tim Morris in 1982. This was also the first time Spieth had played in this event.
2 – Daniel Berger was looking to win for a second time in the last three starts. Although disappointed to be beaten, he was feeling positive about his form and his chances of making the USA Presidents Cup team. “If I just keep doing the things I’m doing,” he said after moving to eighth in the FedExCup, “I could see myself winning a couple more times before the end of this year.”
3 – Rory McIlroy enjoyed a better day on Sunday. He fired an excellent 64 to climb the board into a share of 17th place. It was his lowest round on the PGA Tour this season. "I must say I felt a little more comfortable on the greens than I did the previous three days," McIlroy said. "So, this might be putter that stays in the bag for a few weeks."
Rory's practice tips:
Travelers Championship TPC River Highlands, Cromwell, Connecticut Jun 22-25 Purse: $6,800,000
1 Jordan Spieth (USA) 63 69 66 70 268 $1,224,000 2 Daniel Berger (USA) 68 67 66 67 268 $734,400 T3 Charley Hoffman (USA) 69 67 68 66 270 $394,400 T3 Danny Lee (NZ) 68 67 68 67 270 $394,400 T5 Paul Casey (Eng) 68 68 66 69 271 $248,200 T5 Patrick Reed (USA) 67 66 72 66 271 $248,200 T5 Boo Weekley (USA) 66 68 65 72 271 $248,200 T8 Keegan Bradley (USA) 67 70 66 69 272 $176,800 T8 David Hearn (Can) 67 70 66 69 272 $176,800 T8 Troy Merritt (USA) 65 68 73 66 272 $176,800 T8 C.T. Pan (Tai) 70 68 64 70 272 $176,800 T8 Webb Simpson (USA) 70 68 66 68 272 $176,800 T8 Kevin Streelman (USA) 69 70 69 64 272 $176,800
Note: Player score in bold signifies Titleist ball usage
Fergus is Golf Monthly's resident expert on the history of the game and has written extensively on that subject. He is a golf obsessive and 1-handicapper. Growing up in the North East of Scotland, golf runs through his veins and his passion for the sport was bolstered during his time at St Andrews university studying history. He went on to earn a post graduate diploma from the London School of Journalism. Fergus has worked for Golf Monthly since 2004 and has written two books on the game; "Great Golf Debates" together with Jezz Ellwood of Golf Monthly and the history section of "The Ultimate Golf Book" together with Neil Tappin , also of Golf Monthly.
Fergus once shanked a ball from just over Granny Clark's Wynd on the 18th of the Old Course that struck the St Andrews Golf Club and rebounded into the Valley of Sin, from where he saved par. Who says there's no golfing god?
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