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Colonial: Spieth wins eighth PGA Tour event

May 29, 2016

Jordan Spieth dispelled any lingering doubts he might have had about the state of his game by winning the Dean & DeLuca Invitational at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, by three strokes on Sunday. It was his first professional victory in his home state.

Spieth closed with a second consecutive round of five-under par 65 that included a brilliant display of his short game prowess down the stretch. Spieth holed a 13-footer to save par at 14, a 20-foot birdie putt at 16, a 20-foot pitch-and-run from behind the hole at 17 and a 34-foot birdie putt at 18.

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“That’s a tough hump to get over, coming back from Augusta,” he said, recalling his final-round collapse in the Masters. “[And] to do it in our third tournament back. Michael [Greller, his caddie] was fantastic this whole week. Kept me so positive. I feel very blessed to win in front of our home fans, too. What a great week.”

The victory was the eighth of his PGA Tour career before his 23rd birthday, or one more than Tiger Woods had won at a similar stage.

Spieth made nine pars on the front, which included his holing a 32-foot putt to save par at eight. He made the turn trailing by two.

Then he began the back nine the way he closed it, with three consecutive birdies. He holed a 21-foot birdie putt at 10, got up and down for birdie at the par-5 11th and holed a four-footer for birdie at 12.

Spieth, the 54-hole leader, has now won six of seven times entering the final round with the lead. The only blemish came at Augusta, where he tied for second.