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Jordan Spieth wins Travelers Championship with amazing hole-out, becomes second fastest to 10 tour wins
Jessica Hill
The first time Jordan Spieth won on the PGA Tour, he holed out from a greenside bunker at the 2013 John Deere Classic to force a sudden-death playoff. On Sunday at the Travelers Championship, Spieth did it again, this time on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff at TPC River Highlands to defeat Daniel Berger for the 10th victory of his still nascent career.
Spieth, one of the best putters on tour, struggled on the greens the entire final round in Cromwell, Conn. But he fought his way around the golf course for an even-par 70 to finish at 12-under 268 and in a tie with Berger.
On the first and only playoff hole, the par-4 18th, both players pulled their drives left, leaving difficult approach shots. Spieth’s second shot from more than 220 yards out found the front right bunker while Berger’s landed just off the left side of the green. Spieth, the two-time major champ, went first, landing his third shot well short of the hole and watching it release all the way to the cup.
In celebration, Spieth emphatically tossed his club, chest-bumped caddie Michael Greller and then calmed the crowd down to let Berger have his chance to match the birdie. Berger gave it a valiant effort but rolled it a few feet past, giving Spieth the victory.
The win means Spieth now joins Tiger Woods as the only other player to amass 10 tour victories before his 24th birthday. It also gives Spieth a second win of the season, to go with the title at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
For Berger, he continues his strong 2017 campaign with his second second-place finish to go with his victory at last month’s FedEx St. Jude Classic, four top-10 finishes and six top-25s.
Finishing two shots back in a tie for third were Charley Hoffman and Danny Lee at 10-under 270. It’s Hoffman’s third career finish inside the top-seven at the Travelers Championship. For Lee, the T-3 result is his best finish of the season, and third in the top-10.
Boo Weekley, playing with Spieth in the final pairing after starting the day one stroke back of the eventual winner, hung around for 15 holes, but a bogey on the par-3 16th knocked him out of contention. He finished with a two-over par 72 and tied for fifth with Paul Casey and Patrick Reed at nine-under 271.