Spieth wins Travelers with playoff hole-out

Jordan Spieth holed a bunker shot on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff to beat Daniel Berger and win the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands.

Jordan Spieth began the final round one clear of the field at TPC River Highlands and three ahead of Daniel Berger. But, after Spieth had dropped a shot on the 14th and Berger made a birdie on the 15th, the pair were tied.

Playing a group apart, both men found the greenside bunker on the final hole and both were able to get up-and-down to save par. The pair finished tied on a four-round total of 268, two ahead of Charley Hoffman and Danny Lee.

On the first playoff hole, Berger’s tee shot flew into the crowd while Spieth’s was deflected by a tree leaving him a long shot to the green. From some 230 yards, Spieth’s approach found a greenside bunker and Berger’s second missed the green on the left side.

Spieth blasted out of the bunker and moved back to watch it roll into the cup. Berger was unable to hole out from just off the green and the title went to Spieth.

“If I was in Berger’s shoes, I would be cursing Jordan Spieth right now for the break off the tee and then holing a 30-yard bunker shot, that’s a lot of luck,” Spieth said.

3 Talking points from the Travelers Championship

1 – After holing out to claim the Travelers title, Jordan Spieth now has 10 PGA Tour wins. He joins Tiger Woods as the only player since the Second World War to have 10 PGA Tour titles before his 24th birthday. Opening with a scintillating 63, he was the third player to win wire-to-wire at the tournament. The others have been Gene Littler in 1959 and Tim Morris in 1982. This was also the first time Spieth had played in this event.

2 – Daniel Berger was looking to win for a second time in the last three starts. Although disappointed to be beaten, he was feeling positive about his form and his chances of making the USA Presidents Cup team.
“If I just keep doing the things I’m doing,” he said after moving to eighth in the FedExCup, “I could see myself winning a couple more times before the end of this year.”

3 – Rory McIlroy enjoyed a better day on Sunday. He fired an excellent 64 to climb the board into a share of 17th place. It was his lowest round on the PGA Tour this season.
“I must say I felt a little more comfortable on the greens than I did the previous three days,” McIlroy said. “So, this might be putter that stays in the bag for a few weeks.”

Rory’s practice tips:

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Travelers Championship
TPC River Highlands, Cromwell, Connecticut
Jun 22-25
Purse: $6,800,000

1    Jordan Spieth (USA)    63    69    66    70    268    $1,224,000
2    Daniel Berger (USA)    68    67    66    67    268    $734,400
T3    Charley Hoffman (USA)    69    67    68    66    270    $394,400
T3    Danny Lee (NZ)        68    67    68    67    270    $394,400
T5    Paul Casey (Eng)        68    68    66    69    271    $248,200
T5    Patrick Reed (USA)    67    66    72    66    271    $248,200
T5    Boo Weekley (USA)    66    68    65    72    271    $248,200
T8    Keegan Bradley (USA)    67    70    66    69    272    $176,800
T8    David Hearn (Can)    67    70    66    69    272    $176,800
T8    Troy Merritt (USA)    65    68    73    66    272    $176,800
T8    C.T. Pan (Tai)        70    68    64    70    272    $176,800
T8    Webb Simpson (USA)    70    68    66    68    272    $176,800
T8    Kevin Streelman (USA)    69    70    69    64    272    $176,800

Note: Player score in bold signifies Titleist ball usage

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