Jordan Spieth has golf fans still talking about Masters

AUGUSTA — Jordan Spieth sat in the Augusta National Golf Club press building just before sunset on the Sunday of the 2014 Masters.

Spieth made 11 straight pars in the final round, but it was not enough to match the score of eventual champion Bubba Watson.

“It stings right now, and the only thing I’m thinking about is when am I getting back next year?” Spieth said to the gathered media.

Spieth returned with a vengeance.

The 21-year-old Texan ripped apart the golf course and its record book on his way to winning the 2015 Masters on Sunday. Spieth finished at 18 under, tying the record Tiger Woods so memorably set in 1997 for lowest score in tournament history. Justin Rose and Phil Mickelson finished tied for second at 14 under, a total good enough to win the Masters in 74 of the 79 tournaments.

“It’s the most incredible week of my life,” said Spieth, who has been in the top five following all eight of his rounds at the Masters. “This is as great as it gets in our sport. This is a dream come true for me.”

A bogey on the final hole cost Spieth the chance to hold the tournament record by himself, but he was the first player in Masters history to get to 19 under. He made 28 birdies to break Mickelson’s record of 25 for most birdies in a Masters and was the first player since Raymond Floyd in 1976 to hold the solo lead after all four rounds. He also broke the 36- and 54-hole Masters scoring records.

“I was fortunate enough to feel something pretty similar with my win at Congressional, and it’s a special time for him to be able to walk up the last hole to enjoy, to see it, to really let it all sink in,” said Rory McIlroy, who finished fourth at 12 under. “It’s not a feeling many people get, especially with their first major championship like Tiger had it here in 1997. He’s been playing great for a 21-year-old; he’s way more mature than I was at 21 and a hell of a golfer and a great person, as well.”

Rose, a former U.S. Open winner and one of the best players in the world, played with Spieth on Sunday. The two best players from the previous generation — Woods and Mickelson — were in the two groups before Spieth’s to tee off. McIlroy, the top-ranked player in the world and the winner of the previous two golfing majors, was also in the chase group and played with Woods.

“It was very nervewracking (Sunday),” said Spieth, who credited the 2014 Masters and a win in the Australian Open in November with helping him play with the lead. “I thought (Sunday) might be a little easier than (Saturday), having played around with the lead, but it wasn’t. I didn’t sleep well (Saturday) night. Just got out here and got a little rhythm, saw a putt go in the first hole. And we were off with two major champions right behind; I couldn’t let up.”

Spieth ran away from them all.

No one ever drew closer than three shots throughout Sunday.

Rose had a chance to pull as close as anyone on the 16th hole, but he missed a birdie putt and couldn’t pressure Spieth, who had a tough par putt of his own. A potential two-shot swing didn’t materialize, and Spieth walked to No. 17 with a four-shot lead.

“Really the one time on the back nine where it got interesting for me was the 16th hole,” Rose said. “I felt that if I make it and Jordan misses, a potential two-shot swing, and I’m two back with two to play. And obviously from that point, it’s game on. But my putt just slid by, and he made a great 8-footer to there to keep his momentum as he did all day, really.”

Earlier in the round, the lead trickled to three after bogeys on Nos. 5 and 7, but Spieth continued to answer with solid drives and pressure putts. His three-shot lead on No. 7 became a six-shot lead through No. 10 following his birdies on Nos. 8 and 10.

Fellow Texan and two-time Masters winner Ben Crenshaw called Spieth “Wyatt Earp” earlier in the week because of Spieth’s intense focus.

Spieth, who would be a senior at Texas if he had not turned pro after his freshman season, didn’t need to go for the green in two shots on No. 13. He did anyways, hitting the ball to 14 feet. He missed the eagle putt but tapped in the birdie and stretched his lead to five shots.

Mickelson made a run on the back nine, holing a bunker shot on No. 15 for eagle. But he had already given a bogey back on No. 14 and couldn’t apply any more pressure on the final three holes.

Spieth held a comfortable lead for much of the tournament. He didn’t make a bogey in the second round — he had just one through 39 holes — which gave him the cushion to shoot 4 under on the weekend and never receive a serious challenge.

American golf — with the exception of a pair of Masters wins by Bubba Watson — arguably has struggled as Mickelson has aged and Woods has struggled to maintain form. In the past 40 majors, the only Americans not named Woods or Mickelson who have won are Zach Johnson, Lucas Glover, Stewart Cink, Keegan Bradley, Watson, Webb Simpson and Jason Dufner. Of that group, only Johnson and Watson are ranked among the top 30 players in the world.

Spieth has won twice and finished second twice in his past four events. He already has made a Ryder Cup team. He entered the week ranked fourth in the world, and he’s now ranked second behind only McIlroy.

“Playing with Jordan, he’s going to sort of fly the flag, I think, for golf for quite awhile, as well,” Rose said. “People were getting excited about that out there, you could tell.”