Jordan Spieth

With rounds of 65-69-65-69 at the 2017 British Open, Spieth finished with a 12-under 268 to win his third major title by three shots over Matt Kuchar. Spieth did it the hard way, losing his third-round lead, and after making a bogey at 13, he found himself one behind Kuchar. But he played the last five holes in five-under-par (birdie-eagle-birdie-birdie-par) for the win. It came in his 121st PGA Tour start at 23 years, 11 months, and 26 days. He joined Jack Nicklaus as the only player to win three legs of the grand slam before the age of 24. Nicklaus won the 1963 PGA Championship at the age of 23 years and 6 months. Spieth was just four days from turning 24. He had 11 victories before age 24, second only to Tiger Woods' 15 titles (since 1983). The win at Royal Birkdale marked his seventh top-4 finish in 19 major championship starts, needing only a victory at the PGA Championship to complete the career grand slam.
Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, Spieth attended St. Monica Catholic School and Jesuit College Preparatory School, graduating in 2011. He played college golf for the Longhorns at the University of Texas. Spieth was an integral member of the 2011 U.S. Walker Cup team and played in three of the four rounds, halving his foursomes match and winning both singles matches.
His first major championship came in April 2015 when he won the Masters by two strokes over Phil Mickelson and Justin Rose. He led after all four rounds, becoming only the fifth champion in Masters history to do so. Spieth joined Tiger Woods, Gene Sarazen, and Tom Creavy as players to win three PGA Tour events, with at least one major, before turning age 22 since 1900. Became the third different player (Woods and Sergio Garcia) since 1940 to win three times on the PGA Tour before reaching their 22nd birthday. He also became the second-youngest winner of the Masters behind Woods (1997). Spieth was the first player to reach 19 under par at any point during any Masters round. He also became the first player to begin his Masters' career with eight consecutive par or better rounds. Tied Woods (1997) for the best 72-hole score at the tournament (270, 18 under). Broke Raymond Floyd's and Woods' 54-hole scoring record with a 16-under 200. Shot a 130 to break Floyd's (1976) Masters record for low first 36 holes by one shot. Tied the lowest opening 36-hole score in a major championship, joining Martin Kaymer (2014 U.S. Open and 2014 British Open), Brandt Snedeker (2012 British Open), and Nick Faldo (1992 British Open). Matched the largest 36-hole lead at the Masters (five shots) by Herman Keiser (1946), Jack Nicklaus (1975), and Floyd (1976). All four players went on to win. Became the youngest 18-hole leader (2015) and 54-hole leader (2014) in Masters history. Recorded the most birdies (28) of any player at the Masters. He also became the fifth wire-to-wire winner, joining Craig Wood (1941), Arnold Palmer (1960), Nicklaus (1972), and Floyd (1976). He held at least a share of the lead after five (including the final round) of his eight rounds at the Masters. Prior to his win, Ben Crenshaw (1995) was the last Texas native to win the Masters. He was the 13th-youngest major championship winner since 1900.
Two months later, Spieth achieved more magic at a major, winning the U.S. Open. Shot a final-round 69, bouncing back from a double bogey at the 71st hole with a two-putt birdie at the last to finish five-under 275, one stroke clear of Louis Oosthuizen and Dustin Johnson. Had to wait and watch as Johnson three-putted from just over 12 feet. Entered the final round in a four-way tie for the lead but emerged to become just the sixth player to win the Masters and U.S. Open in the same season, joining Woods (2002), Nicklaus (1972), Palmer (1960), Ben Hogan (1951, '53) and Craig Wood (1941). Overall, he was the 16th to win the Masters and U.S. Open in a career. In addition, he became the youngest player to win two majors since Sarazen in 1922, and the youngest to win the U.S. Open since Bobby Jones in 1923 (ninth youngest overall). Joined Woods as the only two players since 1940 with four wins before age 22 (21 years, 10 months, 25 days, compared to Woods winning his fourth Masters title at age 21 years, 3 months, 14 days). With the victory, he became the first U.S. Open champion from Texas since Tom Kite in 1992 and the first Texan to lead after 54 holes and win the U.S. Open since Hogan in 1953. Recorded the sixth-consecutive win in a major by the 54-hole leader. He also held a share of the second-round lead. His victory marked the fifth consecutive major championship title by a player under age 30, the longest streak since 1924. Spieth had either owned or shared the lead in six of the eight rounds in the first two majors of the year.
Spieth's first big break came in July 2013, when he earned the last invitation to the British Open after he defeated Zach Johnson and David Hearn on the fifth extra hole of a playoff at the John Deere Classic. The win had historical significance, as Spieth won the tournament two weeks short of his 20th birthday, thus becoming the first teenage winner on the PGA Tour since Ralph Guldahl won the 1931 Santa Monica Open at age 19 years and 2 months. He earned a PGA Tour membership with the win and the exemption to play at Muirfield. All of the points he won in 2013 shot him to 11th place in the FedExCup standings and guaranteed a spot in the playoffs.
Spieth had already been in the golf spotlight as a junior. He joined Woods as the only player to win multiple U.S. Junior Amateur titles when he defeated Chelso Barrett 6 & 5 at Gold Mountain G.C. in 2011, having previously won in 2009. Before turning 18, he was the No. 1 player in the Polo Golf Rankings, identifying the best junior players in the United States. He was named Rolex Junior Player of the Year in 2009 when he also finished 3rd at the Junior PGA Championship. Accepted an exemption to the HP Byron Nelson Championship on the PGA Tour in 2010 at age 16 and finished T-16th. Finished 32nd at the same event the next year. Was a member of the winning Walker Cup team in 2011. Reached the quarterfinals of the 2011 U.S. Amateur and Western Amateur. Was named AJGA First-Team All-American in 2008, '09, and '10. Played collegiate golf at the University of Texas, which won the NCAA team championship in 2012. Spieth turned professional in December 2012.
Played on 2014, '16, '18 & 2021 U.S. Ryder Cup teams and was on 2013, '15, and '17 Presidents Cup teams.
2013 Notes: Used his first of seven sponsor exemptions at the Farmers Insurance Open, where he missed the cut, then finished T-22nd at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. He turned his attention to the Korn Ferry Tour and earned a T-7th at the Panama Claro Championship. The next week in Bogota, Columbia, he finished T-4th at the Colombia Championship. A few weeks later, he played at the Puerto Rico Open, where he finished T-2nd, then placed T-7th at the Tampa Bay Championship. Along with the $65,000 he earned for his T-22nd finish at the AT&T Pebble Beach, he had combined earnings of $521,893 to get Special Temporary Status on the PGA Tour. With the win at the 2013 John Deere Classic, he didn't have to worry about member status for two years and became eligible for the FedExCup playoffs. Lost to Patrick Reed in a playoff at the Wyndham Championship when Reed made a birdie-3 at the second extra hole. In the playoff events, he finished T-19th at The Barclays, T-4th at Deutsche Bank, T-16th at the BMW Championship, and with a final-round 64 at East Lake, was runner-up at the Tour Championship. He was 7th in the FedExCup standings and 10th on the money list for the year. Selected to be on the U.S. Presidents Cup team by captain Fred Couples. He won two matches and lost two in his initial appearance. He was named Rookie of the Year.
2014 Notes: Was runner-up at Hyundai Tournament of Champions, also T-4th at the AT&T Pebble Beach. Reached the quarterfinals (T-5th) at the WGC-Accenture Match Play. Had the lead on the first nine of the final day at the Masters, but made bogeys at holes 5, 8, and 9, allowing Bubba Watson to pass him. Spieth finished T-2nd. Also was in contention on the second nine at The Players Championship, finishing T-4th after shooting 10 under par. In attempting to defend his John Deere title, he finished T-7th. Played all four FedExCup playoff events. His best finish was T-8th at the BMW Championship. Ranked 15th in the final FedExCup standings and 11th on the money list. He ended his year with some high points. His T-3rd at the Dunlop Phoenix in Japan was a shot shy of reaching the playoff. Won his next two weeks, first at the Emirates Australian Open by an impressive six-shot margin. He Flew from Australia to Florida and again won at the Hero World Challenge, defeating Henrik Stenson by 10 strokes. He went 2-1-1 in his four matches to win 2 1/2 points at the Ryder Cup.
2015 Notes: Finished T-7th at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Bogeyed the 72nd hole at the Northern Trust Open to finish one stroke out of the James Hahn/Dustin Johnson/Paul Casey playoff, recording a T-4th finish with three others at Riviera C.C. Returned to the Valspar Championship, the tournament where he earned his temporary membership to the PGA Tour in 2013, and again found the event special. Shot a final-round 69, making some difficult up-and-downs on the final two holes to make par and enter a playoff with Patrick Reed and Sean O'Hair. Spieth made a 28-foot birdie putt at the third extra hole to clinch the victory. With the win, he joined Woods, Sergio Garcia, and Robert Gamez as the only players to claim two PGA Tour titles before the age of 22 in the modern era. In his next start at the Valero Texas Open, he birdied four of his last five holes Sunday at TPC San Antonio, but the late charge wasn't enough to catch Jimmy Walker, who won by four. Spieth's 2nd-place finish moved the Texas native to No. 4 in the world ranking. The next week at the Shell Houston Open, he again was in contention, this time getting into a playoff with J.B. Holmes and Johnson Wagner, but he was eliminated when he bogeyed the first extra hole. The following week, he won the Masters in impressive style. He played at the Colonial at the Crowne Plaza Invitational a month later and finished as runner-up, one stroke behind winner Chris Kirk. Two weeks later, at The Memorial, he shot a final-round 65 to finish 3rd, just two strokes out of the playoff. With his U.S. Open win, he had a chance to become only the second player, besides Hogan, to win the Masters, U.S. Open, and British Open in the same year. A week before the British Open, he won the John Deere Classic, defeating Tom Gillis in a playoff. He made a gallant run at the British Open at St. Andrews but finished T-4th, one stroke shy of the playoff in his bid to win the first three legs of the Grand Slam. Finished T-10th at the WGC-Bridgestone and went to the PGA Championship with the thought of winning a third major of the year (had only been done two other times, by Hogan in 1953 and Woods in 2000). Spieth came close again, finishing 2nd, but was three strokes behind Jason Day, whose 20-under-par total was the lowest under-par total in a major. Spieth joined Nicklaus (1971 and '73), Woods (2000 and '05), and Rickie Fowler (2014) as the fourth player in major championship history to finish all four majors in the top-5. In the four majors, Spieth posted under-par scores in 14 of his 16 rounds (third-round, one-over 71 at Chambers Bay, and third-round 72 at St. Andrews, the only exceptions). Overall in his four majors, he was 54 under par, a stroke better than the previous best mark of 53 under par set by Woods in 2000. The next-best mark was 35 under par by Jason Day in 2015.
After the PGA Championship, Spieth missed the cut at the first two FedExCup playoffs, The Barclays and Deutsche Bank, but finished T-13th at the BMW Championship and won the Tour Championship. The win gave him the FedExCup and money titles, and he took over the No. 1 spot in the world ranking. He became the youngest player since Horton Smith (who turned 21 in the middle of the season) in 1929 to win five times in a season. Broke the PGA Tour record for most money won in a season, with $12,030,465. Vijay Singh (2004) held the previous record ($10,905,166). He ended the year playing in his second Presidents Cup (going 3-2-0 in South Korea), was runner-up in defending his Australian Open crown, and was named PGA Tour Player of the Year.
2016 Notes: Spieth ran away from the field at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, winning by eight shots (one shy of the tournament record for the largest margin of victory) over defending champion Patrick Reed. His 30-under-par 262 made him the second player in Tour history to win a 72-hole event with a 30-under-par score or better (Ernie Els won the 2003 Hyundai Tournament of Champions at 31-under 261). The victory was the seventh of his career, tying him with Woods for wins at the age of 22 or younger. Only Horton Smith, with 14, had more before reaching 23 years of age. Following a week off after winning in Maui, Spieth played back-to-back weeks overseas, finishing T-5th at the Abu Dhabi Championship and runner-up at the Singapore Open. Lost in the round of 16 at the WGC-Dell Match Play Championship. He also lost his No. 1 world ranking. Had a five-stroke lead going into the final nine at the Masters, shot 41 (including a quadruple-bogey 7 at the 12th hole), and was overtaken by Danny Willett. He ended the week sharing 2nd place with Lee Westwood, three strokes behind Willett. At his hometown, AT&T Byron Nelson found himself one stroke behind the leader after each of the first two rounds. With a third-round 67, he entered the final round in 2nd place again, this time two strokes behind Brooks Koepka. Struggled to a final-round four-over-par 74 to finish T-18th, five strokes out of the playoff, ultimately won by Sergio Garcia. But he didn't let the disappointment at TPC Four Seasons Resort hold him down. He came back the following week with a three-stroke victory over Harris English at the Dean & DeLuca Invitational. His eighth win moved him above Tiger Woods (7) for wins on the PGA Tour before age 23, trailing only Horton Smith, who had 14. Finished T-3rd at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, three strokes behind winner Dustin Johnson. He entered the FedExCup playoffs ranked 5th and had two top-10s, a T-10th at The Barclays and a 9th at the BMW Championship, but in his title defense at the Tour Championship finished T-17th, dropping him to 9th in the final FedExCup standings. He ended his year on a good note by winning the Australian Open for the second time. He made a birdie at the first hole to defeat Cameron Smith and Ash Hall. Two weeks later, was T-6th at the Hero World Challenge.
2017 Notes: Spieth led the field in birdies in defending his SBS Tournament of Champions title. That wasn't good enough, though, as he finished T-3rd, six strokes behind winner Justin Thomas. He was 3rd again the next week at the Sony Open in Hawaii, shooting a final-round 63, but was eight strokes behind winner Thomas. He finished T-9th at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, and the next week in his 100th professional PGA Tour start at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, he finished 19 under par for a four-stroke win over Kelly Kraft. After that, his game fluctuated from week to week. Finished T-11th at the Masters and T-2nd at Dean & DeLuca Invitational, but missed cuts at Houston, The Players, and the AT&T Byron Nelson. His last result before the U.S. Open was a T-13th at The Memorial with a final-round 73. Finished T-35th at the U.S. Open. Shot 69 on the last day gave him confidence that showed the week of the Travelers, where he opened with a 63 in the first round. He was tied after 72 holes with Daniel Berger and won on the first hole of a playoff when he holed his third shot from a greenside bunker for a birdie. He also won his third major at the British Open, defeating Matt Kuchar by three strokes. Looking to complete the career grand slam at the PGA Championship, he finished T-28th. Played great in the FedExCup playoffs: 2nd at the Northern Trust, losing a playoff to Dustin Johnson; runner-up again at the Dell Technologies, three strokes behind winner Justin Thomas; and T-7th at both the BMW Championship and Tour Championship. Finished the year 2nd in the FedExCup standings. Making his third consecutive appearance at the Presidents Cup, he posted a 3-1-1 record. Ended the year 8th at the Emirates Australian Open and T-3rd at the Hero World Challenge.
2018 Notes: Played 23 PGA Tour events, making 18 cuts with five top-10 results. Ranked 31st in the FedExCup standings. Finished 9th at the Sentry Tournament of Champions and T-9th at the Genesis Open. With a final-round 64, he finished 3rd at the Masters, two strokes behind winner Patrick Reed. He missed the cut at the U.S. Open, his first cut at a major since the 2014 PGA Championship. In his title defense at the British Open, he carded a first-round 72 to sit T-50th. With middle rounds of 67-65, he held the share of the 54-hole lead. Failed to make a birdie in the final round, closing with a 76 to finish T-9th. At the BMW Championship, he shot a final-round 73 and finished T-55th in the tournament. He entered the event 27th in the FedExCup standings but dropped to a T-55 finish which caused him to fall to 31st in the FedExCup standings. He didn't qualify for the Tour Championship for the first time since joining the PGA Tour in 2013. He played in his third consecutive Ryder Cup and finished with a 3-2-0 record for the week in France. Paired with Justin Thomas to win three of the four matches. Lost 5 & 4 to Thorbjorn Olesen in singles. On November 25th, he got married to his high-school sweetheart, Annie Verret.
2019 Notes: Played in 23 PGA Tour events, making 19 cuts with four top-10 finishes. He was 44th in the FedExCup standings. Had a first-round 65 at the Farmers Insurance Open but shot 72-72-72 to finish T-35th. Went into the weekend T-4th at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am but shot 74-75 to drop into a T-45th. Shot an opening-round 64 but followed it up with a 70-70-81 to finish T-51st at the Genesis Open. Best finish of the year was T-3rd at the PGA Championship. It was Spieth's first top-10 since his T-9th at the 2018 British Open and his first top-five since his 3rd-place finish at the 2018 Masters. Spieth continued the good play with a T-8th at the Charles Schwab Challenge and a T-7th at The Memorial the next week. In the FedExCup playoffs, he was T-6th at the Northern Trust, four strokes behind winner Patrick Reed. T-37th at the BMW Championship.
2020 Notes: Played in 17 PGA Tour events, making 14 cuts with three top-10 finishes. Ranked 107th in the FedExCup standings. He was T-8th at the CJ Cup @ Nine Bridges. He finished T-9th at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. After the break due to COVID-19, had a T-10th result at the Charles Schwab Challenge. In the FedExCup playoffs, he missed the cut at the Northern Trust.
2021 Notes: Played in 25 PGA Tour events making 21 cuts with nine top-ten finishes. He was T-20th in the FedExCup standings. Held a share of the 54-hole lead at the Waste Management Phoenix Open before finishing T-4th, his best result on the PGA Tour since the 2019 PGA Championship (T-3rd). Made 10 birdies in the third round on his way to a 10-under 61, his first time with double-digit birdies in a round on Tour, and his second score of 61 or better (shot 61 in 3rd round, 2015 John Deere). Held the solo lead after the second and third rounds of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am before finishing T-3rd, three shots back of winner Daniel Berger. Finished T-4th at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, five shots back of winner Bryson DeChambeau. At the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, finished T-9th, losing to Matt Kuchar 1 up in the round of 16. Spieth got back into the winner's circle earning his 12th PGA Tour win at the Valero Texas Open. It was his 83rd start over a span of 1,351 days since his last PGA Tour win at the 2017 British Open. Spieth won by two shots over Charley Hoffman. Five players in the last 40 years have reached 12 wins before turning 28: Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, and Spieth. At the Masters finished T-3rd, three shots back of winner Hideki Matsuyama. On the Wednesday of the Zurich Classic, he started getting symptoms and tested positive for COVID-19. After a week got better and regained his full strength. He was unable to play Valspar, and his first event back was AT&T Byron Nelson, he finished T-9th. He did get off to a great start, shooting a first-round 63, but after the 9 under first round, he shot 9 under in his next 54 holes. After playing in the event for ten years, the finish marked his first top ten in his hometown event. Earned his 14th career runner-up in his 208th PGA Tour start with a 2nd place finish at the Charles Schwab Challenge. Held a one-shot lead entering the final round before shooting 73. Marked his eighth top-10 finish of the season. At the U.S. Open started with a 77 and played his last 54 holes in 4 under to finish T-19th. Finished 2nd at The British Open, two shots back of winner Collin Morikawa. It was his 11th top-four result in his 35th career major championship appearance. Became the second runner-up in tournament history with a 72-hole score of 267 or better and the first since Phil Mickelson in 2016. In the FedExCup Playoffs was 73rd at the Northern Trust, T-34th at the BMW Championship, and T-20th at the Tour Championship. Playing in his fourth Ryder Cup, Spieth had a 1-2-1 record. Lost his singles match to Sergio Garcia 2 & 1.
2022 Notes: Played in 22 PGA Tour events, making 17 cuts with six top-ten finishes. He was T-13th in the FedExCup standings. Shot a third-round 63 at the AT&T Pebble Beach, finished 2nd two shots back of winner Tom Hoge. It was his 16th career runner-up finish on Tour, marking his sixth top-10 and ninth top-25 in 10 starts at Pebble Beach. For the first time in his career, he missed the cut at his ninth Masters with rounds of 74-76. The next week was totally different as he won the RBC Heritage in a playoff over Patrick Cantlay. His 13th PGA Tour title came in his 226th start at the age of 28 years, 8 months, 21 days. Became the 82nd player to reach 13 career wins on the PGA Tour. He made two eagles in the final round (holes 2 and 5), becoming the 16th different player (19th instance) on record (since 1983) to make multiple eagles in the final round and go on to win. Marked his fourth career round on the PGA Tour with multiple eagles and second of the season. With rounds of 69-68-68-66, he posted four scores in the 60s for the first time since the 2021 Open Championship. Moved to 5-3 in playoffs on the PGA Tour. In his next event in his hometown of Dallas, Spieth shot 64-67 but finished 2nd a shot back of winner K.H. Lee at the AT&T Byron Nelson. He was T-7th at the Charles Schwab Challenge, five shots back of the Burns/Scheffler playoff. He was T-10th at the Genesis Scottish Open and T-8th at the British Open. In the FedExCup playoffs missed the cut at the FedEx St. Jude. He was T-19th at the BMW Championship and T-13th at the Tour Championship. Participated in the Presidents Cup for a fourth time and won all five of his matches, including a 4 & 3 singles win over Cam Davis. He was the sixth player in Presidents Cup history to go 5-0.
2023 Notes: He played in 22 PGA Tour events, making 16 cuts and seven top-ten finishes. He was 27th in the FedExCup standings. Held a share of the lead after a first-round 64 at the Sony Open in Hawaii but missed the cut following a second-round 75. Opened up the WM Phoenix Open with rounds of 71-63 and went on to finish T-6th. Finished T-4th at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, two shots back of winner Kurt Kitayama. He was T-3rd at the Valspar Championship, two shots back of winner Taylor Moore. Shoot 66 in the final round of the Masters to finish T-4th, five shots back of winner Jon Rahm. It was Spieth's sixth top-five finish in ten Masters starts. Lost to Matt Fitzpatrick in a playoff at the RBC Heritage, becoming the first defending champion to lose in a playoff since Xander Schauffele at the 2020 Sentry Tournament of Champions. Spieth withdrew from the 2023 AT&T Byron Nelson with a wrist injury. On social media posts, Spieth said he felt pain in his left wrist last weekend and that doctors advised him to rest. at the time, it was unclear if this would keep him out or hamper his ability to play in the PGA Championship, the lone major title he has yet to win. He was able to play and finished T-29th. He was T-5th at the Memorial, but when he missed the cut at the U.S. Open, many wondered if the wrist was ok. He returned at the Genesis Scottish Open and missed the cut. In the Playoffs was T-6th at the FedEx St. Jude, T-34th at the BMW Championship and 27th at the Tour Championship. Played in his fifth Ryder Cup and had a 0-2-2 record. Halved his singles match with Shane Lowry.
2024 Notes: He finished 3rd at The Sentry, two shots back of the winner Chris Kirk. It was his fifth career top-10 at the event and first since 2018 (9th). He was T-6th at the WM Phoenix Open.