Spieth’s Epic Win Very Nearly Didn’t Happen
Jordan Spieth’s improbable birdie from the bunker on the 1st playoff hole was a finish for the ages. But, given his struggles on Sunday, it’s also hard to believe he was in the position to do so after struggling holding a 54-hole lead. His putter was nearly AWOL (missed several kick-ins) and he failed to separate from the field when no one really applied much pressure. Several wayward shots bounced just right to miss drowning his chances. The playoff hole capsulized the round when his ugly dead-pulled drive hit a tree, he came up a club short on the approach before holing the bunker blast.
Then again, Jordan has a knack for the dramatic and is already halfway to a Hall of Fame career (before turning 24). And, he rarely gives up.
PGATOUR.COM’s Sean Martin has the details.
Since October 2014, he’s never gone more than 12 PGA TOUR starts without a win. Spieth and Dustin Johnson are the only players to post multiple victories in each of the past two seasons. In 16 starts this season, Spieth has seven top-10s, including five finishes in the top three. He has the most wins in the last three years.
1. This probably should come as no surprise, but Spieth was among the week’s best from around the green. He finished second in Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green, averaging +1.51 strokes gained per round. It was the best performance around the greens by a winner this season (at a tournament where all four rounds were measured by ShotLink). Rod Pampling averaged +1.30 Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green in his win at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, while Kim averaged +1.23 in his win at THE PLAYERS Championship.
2. Perhaps Spieth’s iron play should get more credit, though. He leads the PGA TOUR in Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green this season, and ranked seventh in that category at the Travelers Championship (+1.25). Spieth average proximity to the hole on approach shots (27 feet, 0 inches) was nearly 15 feet better than the field average (41’, 8”). Spieth won despite not having his best stuff with his putter, finishing 31st in Strokes Gained: Putting (+0.57).
3. This was just the fourth time this season that a player has won after losing strokes to the field off the tee. Spieth ranked 56th in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee last week, averaging -0.26 strokes per round. Spieth owns two of the four wins this season by a player who lost strokes to the field off the tee. He also did so in his win at the AT&T Pebble Beach.
It all led to a hell of a celebration for Spieth and caddie Michael Greller. A finish that won’t leave our memories anytime soon.
Meanwhile…
4. Rory McIlroy’s putting woes continue. He finished 17th at the Travelers despite ranking 69th (out of the 74 players who completed 54 holes) in Strokes Gained: Putting. He went through four putters for the week but did post a now-expected back-door nice finish (64) with zero pressure.
“Tee-to-green, I’m right where I need to be,” said McIlroy, who ranks 65th in the FedExCup. “(I’m) driving the ball as well as I ever have, and hitting my irons pretty good. If I could sharpen up the short game a little bit and just convert a few more chances I’m giving myself, I feel like I’ll be right there for the next few weeks.”
Hunter Mahan, who beat McIlroy in the championship match of the 2012 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, was one of the players who tied McIlroy last week at TPC River Highlands. Mahan’s game has fallen on hard times. He began the week ranked 215th in the FedExCup and 889th in the Official World Golf Ranking. The T17 was Mahan’s first top-50 finish since he finished 43rd at the Farmers Insurance Open in January 2016. Mahan now ranks 195th in the FedExCup and 723rd in the world ranking.
