With his family watching on from the gallery, 21-year-old Jordan Spieth casually walked up the 18th fairway at Augusta National to finish off his round of 70, tie the all-time Masters record at 18 under par and add the coveted green jacket to his wardrobe.
Spieth's mature attitude and steady play allowed him to flourish under the heavy pressure of leading a major tournament with some of the sport's greatest players nipping at his heels. As a result, he became the first player to earn a wire-to-wire victory at the Masters since Raymond Floyd accomplished the feat back in 1976.
Both Phil Mickelson and Justin Rose had a solid round, shooting a 69 and 70, respectively, to finish tied for second at 14 under par. But neither could muster up enough momentum to catch Spieth. A brilliant 66 from world No. 1 Rory McIlroy moved him to fourth place, but his career Grand Slam will have to wait for at least one more year.
Here's a look at the final Masters leaderboard:
Spieth didn't play a perfect round by any stretch of the imagination Sunday. He struggled at times with accuracy and tallied a few extra strokes around the green, but his ability to rebound from those mistakes quickly earned him the title of Masters champion.
With a total of four bogeys on the day, Spieth had plenty of opportunities to give the tournament away; however, he remained resilient and forced his competition to put up low numbers in order to catch him—no one was up for the challenge.
A tweet by tour pro JJ Henry summed up Spieth's day perfectly:
The 21-year-old set at least one record in each day of the Masters. He became the youngest 18-hole leader, tallied the lowest 36- and 54-hole scoring marks and tied Tiger Woods' 72-hole scoring record set in 1997 at 18 under par.
ESPN Stats & Info tweeted another impressive feat that puts Spieth in some good company:
It wasn't just Spieth's play that was winning over the tournament's spectators, as his composure and maturity for his age was a sight to behold for adults and gave him instant role-model status for younger viewers. Former NFL safety Ronnie Lott was just one of many athletes to chime in:
Travis Stork of The Doctors tweeted his instant reaction as well:
All of that recognition is likely humbling for Spieth, but BBC Sport tweeted his ultimate prize:
Mickelson provided a great resurgent effort at Augusta. Leading up to the Masters, he was having health issues and his game was affected. At the age of 44, it was easy to begin thinking 2015 would mark the beginning of the end for Lefty. Well, he had another idea.
He concluded his tournament with a 69 after holing out from a bunker at the par-five 15th for an eagle, propelling him to shoot a three-under 33 on the back nine—a score that moved him into a tie for second place. That finish should give him some momentum heading into the thick of the season.
Mickelson remained gracious after his round and shared some kind words for Spieth, via BBC Sport:
The marquee matchup of the day didn't quite provide as many fireworks as golf fans had hoped. Woods took a step backward after a fantastic 68 on Saturday, as he dealt with accuracy issues off the tee throughout the round. McIlroy played well, shooting a 66 and finishing in fourth place; however, anything less than a win seems disappointing for the world No. 1 at this point.
We may have to wait to see McIlroy earn his career Grand Slam, but this tweet from Bleacher Report sure gives us something to look forward to:
All kidding aside, McIlroy was in great form Sunday, and we all know what he's capable of after gaining a head of steam. The Northern Irishman may need that bit of momentum, as he'll likely be looking over his shoulder at Spieth—the new world No. 2 golfer.
//from Bleacher Report http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bleacherreport/~3/C1FWs38xQco/2428638-masters-leaderboard-2015-twitter-reacts-to-results-and-standings-from-sunday
via IFTTT April 12, 2015 at 04:58PM
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