Spieth sets series of records while winning
Hero World Challenge by 10 shots
· Becomes youngest Hero World Challenge champion
· Records tournament best 26-under total for the week
· Wins second title in two weeks and moves into Top-10 of the world
Orlando, Florida, December 7: Jordan Spieth became the youngest winner of the Hero World Challenge with a six-under 66 that took him to a tournament record 26-under 262, which was also a career-best for the 21-year-old Texan, who won by a whopping 10 shots on a slightly chilly evening at Isleworth Golf and Country Club.
The win will take Spieth once again into top-10 – he was seventh after the Masters earlier in the year – and it also earned him a winner’s cheque of one million dollars.
Spieth was presented with the iconic trophy which has a Tiger resting on it from Mr. Pawan Munjal, Vice-Chairman, CEO and Managing Director of Hero MotoCorp. Mr. Munjal said, “It has been a phenomenal performance by Jordan Spieth and we will certainly hear a lot about him over the next few years. We are proud to have him as the Hero World Challenge champion for 2014.”
Henrik Stenson (69) was a distant second at 16-under 272, while Patrick Reed (68) and Keegan Bradley (70) tied for third at 15-under and Jason Day (66) was fifth at 14-under, while Rickie Fowler (68) and Justin Rose (71) were tied sixth.
Tiger Woods who was two-under through the front nine, dropped a triple bogey on the par-5 13 and another bogey on 15th before he closed with birdies on 16th and 17th for a card of 72 and a total of even par 288 and tied 17th and last with Hunter Mahan.
Three years after winning an amateur event while still in College at this very golf course, Spieth won a professional tournament at Isleworth. He also dislodged Tiger Woods from two places in the record books – becoming the youngest winner at 21 – Tiger was 25, when won in 2001 – and by posting the lowest total to par in the Hero World Challenge – the previous best was 22-under by Davis Love III in 2000 and by Woods in 2007.
Spieth also became the biggest winner on any recognized world Tour this year and the only one to have a margin in double digits.
Even Woods had big words of praise for Spieth’s performance as he said, “25-under (Spieth was 25-under at that stage and went on to make it 26-under) is pretty low, isn't it? I think that's probably the lowest I've ever gone. I think I've gone 25 twice: I did it in I think Thailand and maybe Ireland. Ireland or England. One of the two.”
“But what he's doing out here is pretty impressive. I know he won here not too long ago. Hard to believe he was only in college a couple (actually three) years ago, but he ended up winning out here, and he's doing it again this week.”
Spieth smiling shyly, said, “I made a birdie on 1, which was really big. Just got a putt going in. I hit three great shots there to start the round. I told Mike, let's get three more and we can't be caught. That was the thing for the day.
“And then by No. 7 when that eagle went in and I had gotten to 5‑under, and from there I knew that if I just continued to do what I was doing that we would get the job done.
Then (I) kept setting more goals, more goals. After I made it the turn I wanted to get to 30. I thought that would be a cool number that I've never even sniffed. That wasn't going to be the case after the double on 14 .
It was great to come back and get two birdies on the last four holes, to see a couple putts go in and close out this tournament. It was a really fun walk on that back nine.”
He added, “In general, this was the best that I've ever played, which is what I said in a media center in Sydney last week. I played better this week.
“Its been really cool finishing third in Japan and then winning two weeks, so it’s been like three weeks on three different continents.”
Talking of the bank balance, he smiled and said, “I don’t need a whole lot of money, but we will need it now as I am moving into a new house next week.”
Spieth’s six-under 66 that included a double bogey on the 14th – his second double bogey of the week and he had just one other bogey – was the joint best round of the day.
Stenson rounded off the year with a second place to go with the in Dubai in his previous start. His three-under 69 with six birdies and three bogeys gave him a total of 16-under 272. He admitted, “It was a one-horse race here coming into Sunday. All the rest of us had to do was battle it out for the second, really.”
“He (Spieth) was in pretty much control of every part of his game. He drove nicely; hit some good iron shots and his pitching and putting was phenomenal.”
Spieth got off to a great start with three birdies in first four holes and then an eagle on the par-5 seventh took him to 25-under. “As I turned saw the scoreboard for the first, just I had when I played the college tournament (three years ago) and I saw I was 11 ahead and it became 10 by the end.”
Spieth started the back ninth with the birdie on the tenth for fourth day in a row and then dropped a double on the 14th and then added further birdies on 15th and 17th – for the first time this week. He was phenomenal off the par-fives, for which he was 11-under for the week with nine birdies and an eagle.
The Hero World Challenge for 2015 will move to the Albany Golf Course in The Bahamas.
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