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Spieth wins the John Deere Classic

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In an exciting finish at the 2013 John Deere Classic, 19-year-old Jordan Spieth won a five-hole playoff over Zach Johnson and David Hearn. With the victory, Spieth becomes the first teenager to win on the PGA Tour since 1931.

But possibly more important for Speith, he earned himself a spot in next week’s British Open, the 2014 Masters Tournament and is now a full member of the PGA Tour complete with FedExCup points (he is now ranked 11th).

Spieth, who followed an opening round 70 with three 65s, carded three birdies on the final three holes of regulation, topped off with a hole-out from the bunker on the 72nd hole.

Click here to see the clubs in Spieth’s bag.

The three golfers who took part in the playoff all completed regulation at 19-under par, although Johnson had it to 20-under before bogeying the final hole.

The playoff started on No. 18, where Johnson almost holed his chip shot for the early victory. No. 18 was then repeated with all three golfers making par. Then, the short par-3 No. 16 provided Hearn a chance to win, but he couldn’t convert his putt. No. 17, a par 5, was next and a similar story was told when Hearn missed a 5-footer that would have won him the tournament.

On the fifth and final playoff hole the group once again played No. 18. All three golfers had trees to contend with off the tee, where a miraculous shot through a narrow opening left Spieth just off the green and in the best position of the group. Although he didn’t sink his birdie opportunity, a tap-in was all that was left to secure Spieth his first Tour victory.

In referring to his shot on the final playoff hole, Spieth said:

“This is it, let’s go for broke.”

Spieth, born July 27, 1993, becomes the fourth youngest golfer to win on the Tour, adding the notation to his already impressive resume. Coming out of the University of Texas, and with appearances on the Tour as early as 2010, Spieth has had an exciting amateur career.

He won the 2009 and 2011 U.S. Junior Amateur, which places him with Tiger Woods as the only players to win this tournament multiple times (Tiger won in 1991, 1992 and 1993). At Texas, Spieth won three tournaments in his freshman year to lead his team to the NCAA Division 1 Championship.

So far this season, Spieth has played on special temporary member status in 15 events, collecting 5 top 10s and more than $1.2 million in earnings.

The playoff appearance for Hearn marked one of the best finishes from a Canadian on the Tour since 2009, when Stephen Ames won the Children’s Miracle Network Classic. Hearn, the 34-year-old native of Brampton, Ontario, joined Tour in 2005 and has experienced success so far this season. This tournament was Hearn’s 21st start of the 2013 season where he has now made 13 cuts and has two top 10s.

The other member of the three-man playoff, Johnson, was seeking to capture his 10th win on Tour and second in a row at the John Deere. The tied-second finish is his fourth top-three finish at the tournament since 2009. Johnson, who was born in nearby Iowa City, and played college golf at Drake University, has suggested that the John Deere is his “fifth major.” The playoff loss this week provides him a good lead-up to next week’s British Open Championship, where he is coming off his best-ever finish of tied 9th last year.

The exciting week of golf at TPC Deere Run saw players producing many birdies for a field scoring average under 70. This week provided a lead-up to the Open Championship next week at Muirfield, while other players chose to take the week to rest, or to play the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open (Phil Mickelson won in a playoff over Branden Grace).

The 54-hole John Deere leader Daniel Summerhays finished tied for fourth with Jerry Kelly and Martin Flores at 18-under while perennial favorite Steve Stricker finished three shots shy of the playoff at 16-under.

But the day belonged to Speith, and the victory today may provide the beginning of an exciting and successful career on the PGA Tour.

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2 Comments

2 Comments

  1. Sean

    Jul 15, 2013 at 10:14 am

    It was an impressive win, and he’s an impressive player. I did feel bad for Hearn though. The pressure of that putt on 18 cost him the tournament during regulation.

  2. Pingback: CD Golf Thread - Football, baseball, basketball, hockey, soccer... - Page 44 - City-Data Forum

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