One of the most over used clichés in sport is that The Masters doesn’t start until the back nine on Sunday. Well this year Jordan Spieth proved that wrong.
Spieth’s record setting performance at Augusta had the best golfers in the world chasing him from day one. An opening 64 backed up by a 66 had Spieth so far ahead there was little chance of ever being caught.
This year The Masters started on the front nine on Saturday when Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson all started their runs at Spieth. It continued when Justin Rose made his charge on the back nine and when Spieth double bogeyed seventeen many thought that would be his demise. But this is no normal twenty one year old.
Spieth saved his round with a world class up and down for par at eighteen which gave him a four shot lead and The Masters was essentially over there and then.
Whatever happened today for there to be any chance of a close finish Spieth needed to stumble, to shoot something over par and that wasn’t about to happen.
Each time a challenger pulled closer he answered with a birdie or an amazing shot or clutch putt to save a needed par. 
The lead never got to less than three and that was mid-way through the front nine. When he needed to make a putt he did. When he needed to pull off a recovery he did and when he had to control his temper, which did him in last year here, he did.
We can talk about Sunday’s round where Rose started with two birdies and Mickelson tried but couldn’t sustain his charge but when all was said and done Spieth never faded and finished at -18 and Rose and Mickelson finished at -14, four shots back tied for second. Click here for Doug Ferguson’s game story.
Other than watching Spieth make history there was little drama and Spieth saw to that with his solid play.
For the week he hit 75% of his greens, 70% of his fairways and out putted the field with 1.5 putts per greens in regulation.
Bubba Watson and Mickelson and McIlroy can overpower a course, even a 7400 yard one like Augusta National. Spieth never overwhelms a course with his driver. He averaged 282 yards this week giving away thirty yard to the longer hitters.
But he worked his way around the course with a plan. A plan devised by him and his caddie with help from Ben Crenshaw and his caddie Carl Jackson. It’s no wonder that he putted so boldly having the input from two men who know the greens so well.
Spieth won this Masters with a plan to stay out of trouble, make the shot you know you can and putt like hell. He set the record for most birdies at a Masters with 28. Play like that wins you a green jacket or two.
Spieth has been in the final grouping at Augusta both times he has played here. He’s already looking forward to getting back there again and winning another Masters.
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