Jordan Spieth had stated that the Tour Championship was as important as a major. His statements were sincere, judging by the way he played.
Spieth completed a sensational season by holing all kinds of putts on the East Lake course, and never gave Henrik Stenson or anyone else much of a chance to win on Sunday. His final putt was an eight-foot putt for par that put the ball right in the middle of the hole for a 69.
Spieth then flashed a smile that expressed total satisfaction.
The 22-year-old Texan became the first golfer to earn 22 million dollars. It is a PGA Tour earnings record, which is derived from the $12 million he earned in prize money for the various tournaments and the $10 million he pocketed for winning the FedEx Cup.
“It’s unbelievable,” he said. “This is a tournament that we took like it was a major, because we knew this was possible in the end.”
Despite missing the cut in two straight tournaments that marked the start of the FedEx Cup playoffs, Spieth spent the month finding his best golf for the biggest event in the lucrative series. He was the first to show up Monday at East Lake to work on his game.
And with a one-stroke lead heading into Sunday’s round, he reached the green three hours before the start of the day’s play.
“It’s early work. We only do these things in the majors,” revealed his caddie Michael Greller.
All the effort paid off, particularly with putting.
Spieth made three birdies in a four-hole stretch at the halfway point, demoralizing Sweden’s Stenson. The American hit a 20-footer for birdie on the eighth hole to extend his lead to two strokes and it never diminished.
Stenson and Danny Lee shared second place with 65 strokes, followed by Justin Rose, with 66. The world number one until Sunday, Jason Day, was tenth in the Tour Championship.
Spieth’s fifth victory came in a year in which he also won the Masters and the U.S. Open.
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