Spieth’s 10th Tour Win: Courtesy of the TPC River Highlands Agronomy Department

Last Sunday, Jordan Spieth seized his tenth title career victory on the PGA Tour. With his victory came many positives. Spieth saw a big jump in his OWGR, moving from sixth to third in the standings. He also jumped from sixth to fourth in the FedEx Cup standings, and also became only the second player to win 10 PGA Tour titles before the age of 24 (the only player with more than Spieth before that age is Tiger Woods). Aside from his 10 PGA Tour wins, he also has two victories on the Australian Tour and a victory at the Hero World Classic in 2015.

However, the path to his 10th victory was certainly not easy. A very rocky Sunday and a charging Daniel Berger made things tough on Jordan coming down the stretch. He saw a lead of three strokes evaporate, and eventually found himself in a playoff before holing out from the bunker to beat Berger and claim the title. His back nine wasn’t pretty, but there were two pivotal shots that helped secure the victory.

The 13th hole at TPC River Highlands is a short, yet tricky little par 5. Off the tee, the player is faced with OB on the left, and a lake just right of the fairway. Throughout the week, Spieth had struggled with this hole, putting it OB on Friday and in the water on Saturday. Now the lake banks have to be cut by hand by the TPC Grounds Crew, and they were scheduled to be cut on Friday evening. However, due to rain in the forecast, it was decided that they would not be cut for the rest of the tournament. So when Spieth pushed his tee shot right Sunday afternoon, the extra long rough along the banks of the lake held the ball up, and a potentially large number was avoided.

Likewise, the par 4 15th hole is a short, risk/reward hole. Going for the green off the tee brings water into play, and a back left Sunday hole location makes the hole that much more difficult. Spieth went for the green on Sunday, and tugged his tee shot left. The ball was on a treacherous line for the water, and would have kept rolling had it not been for the thicker, longer rough short of the lake. The ball would stop just short of the hazard and Jordan would go on to make birdie on 15, getting to 12 under and in a playoff with Berger. Of course from there, he holed out on the first playoff hole to win the tournament, but those two lucky breaks ultimately decided the winner on Sunday.

Just on a side note, Spieth’s game has been under the microscope lately, ever since his epic 2015 season. His win at the Travelers shows that while the critics keep talking, Spieth is still playing phenomenal golf. I read somewhere that since he joined the PGA Tour, he has never gone more than 12 starts without a win. Likewise, Spieth’s win at the Travelers makes him the only multiple winner in the past seasons. His ballstriking this season has statistically been better than it has ever been, which sets him up perfectly for a ballstriker’s course at Royal Birkdale. He is certainly an early favorite to win the Open Championship, especially with DJ in a bit of a slump currently. Should Spieth break his current funk with the putter (seriously, back to back missed putts of under 4 feet on Sunday?!), I think he is honestly unbeatable. If everything gets in sync, look for Spieth to repeat his performance from 2015…

…or better.

Written by Paul Choma