Jordan Spieth Owns Masters Leaderboard, Wins First Major With 18-Under

Jordan Spieth was at the top of the Masters leaderboard through all four rounds to get his first major victory.

According to the Bleacher Report, Spieth dominated the Masters leaderboard for the first half of the tournament, then controlled the last two rounds to gain the Green Jacket. Spieth finished with an 18-under 270. Spieth can thank his putting game for his dominance, as he collected 28 birdies, a new tournament record. He had also had topped with a score of 19-under-par but gave that stroke back a bit later. He was also the first wire-t0-wire on the Master’s leaderboard since Raymond Floyd in 1976 and the fifth wire-to-wire winner.

Last year’s second-place finisher, Justin Rose, and Phil Mickelson couldn’t close the gap that Spieth had hammered out, and both finished tied for second with a 12-under 274 for the tournament. Both Rose and Spieth tied for second in last year’s tournament.

Spieth also tied the record low of the championship, tying Tiger Woods’ Masters leaderboard best of 270 back in 1997. Woods, who had come into the last tournament third round to finish at 6-under-par, struggled today for a fourth-round 73, and finished one-over-par, good for 17th place. The man who Woods tied in the third round, Rory McIlroy, was today’s biggest mover on the Masters leaderboard. McIlroy had another strong performance and completed round 6 at six-under-par 66 and finished the Masters at 12-under 276, securing fourth place this year.

While everyone was waiting for Lefty, Rory, and Tiger make their run for this year’s title, Spieth calmly played along, keeping others in check while playing his strong game and was never bothered at all.

The Daily Mail is reporting that Rory McIlroy’s hold on the number one-ranked player post will now have a challenger in Spieth. These two golfers, both in their early 20s, have developed strong driving with steady putting, which should make for many competitive, entertaining tournaments.

Once Spieth had claimed the Masters championship, Spieth began hugging his parents, siblings, his sweetheart, almost anybody in hugging range. His father then suggested he run around the crowd, congratulating the other golfers and fans.

After receiving his green jacket, he was asked what is next.

“I wanna be like Bubba and win two Masters.”

After the tournament, when the media and his competition were contemplating what they had just seen, a reporter asked runner-up Phil Mickelson to assess any possible weaknesses in Spieth’s game. Mickelson gave a rather dire reply.

“He has no weaknesses.”

And, he’s only 21. The future for men’s golf is looking more interesting all the time.