SAN ANTONIO – Jordan Spieth had a shot at par to win the British Open for his third major and 11th win in just five years on the PGA Tour. He never thought he would go 1,351 days before he felt that way again.
He went on tour 82 events without winning. Once the No. 1 player, he was headlined from the top 100 in the world.
And now he’s back.
Spieth ended a mysterious slump on Sunday by giving himself birdie opportunities and making the most of them, finishing with a 6-under-66 to hold off Charley Hoffman for a two-shot win in the Valero Texas Open.
“There are peaks and troughs in this sport, but I never expected to go that long,” said Spieth. “At the time, in between wins, I took things for maybe more for granted than I should have. It’s very difficult to win here and I will certainly enjoy this one as much as others.”
The only surprise was that he thought he would be more emotional. He was too busy holding back a spicy run from Hoffman, who went from behind with three shots with six holes to play. Spieth almost sealed it with a wedge on a back pin up to 5 feet for birdie.
“This is a monumental victory for me,” said Spieth. ‘It has been a long way. There were often times when I didn’t know I would be here. ‘
Now he goes to Augusta National as one of the favorites at the Masters. Even for so long without winning, the 12th win of his career allowed him to join an elite company. In the past 40 years, only Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas have won at least 12 times before turning 28.
The 27-year-old from Dallas showed signs of turning it around after starting the year by missing the cut at Torrey Pines. He was tied for the 54-hole lead in Phoenix. He led through two going into the final lap at Pebble Beach. He was two behind when he went into Bay Hill on the last day. He reached the weekend of the Dell Match Play.
“I’ve had a chance three or four different times over the past two months on Sunday, and today was by far the best I’ve played,” said Spieth. “Just to see those putts go in, I felt like I was doing everything right those other Sundays and I hit good putts and they wouldn’t go in. Today I hit a pair that I didn’t hit that well, but they went in. “
Right before the lead with Matt Wallace going into the TPC San Antonio on Sunday, Spieth went forward and let no one get him. He built a three-shot lead with a birdie on the 12th hole, when Hoffman made him sweat.
Hoffman fell in for a birdie on the par-3 13th and ran a 20-foot birdie putt from the edge on the par-3 16th to get within one shot. But he found a bunker off the tee on the short par-4 17th and had to settle for par as Spieth pushed forward two shots and they both made par on the final hole.
“I lost golf tournaments, I won golf tournaments, but today Jordan won the golf tournament,” said Hoffman. “Of course I put some pressure on. I would of course have liked to get some better shots coming down the track, but gave myself the chance to finish the 18th fairway and that’s all you can ask for. “
Spieth, who finished 18 under 270, moved to number 38 in the world. He is back in the top 50 for the first time in more than a year.
Wallace couldn’t keep up and finished with a 70 and only finished third. Lucas Glover (66) finished fourth, while Anirban Lahiri birdied the last hole for a 69 to only finish fifth.
Spieth is typically a Masters favorite, where he came second on his debut in 2014, won wire-to-wire the following year and came second again after losing a back-nine lead in 2016.
He once said he never really thought about why he played well and won, he just did it. Now, after so much inspection of a game that eluded him, and the work it took to get back, he seems to be heading in the right direction.
“There are a few key moments here and there, different time periods when I felt like things were going to turn around,” he said. “There are also times when I look back on where I hit balls until my hands were bleeding and I wasn’t doing well and I just thought about it. Lost sleep.
On this day he went to a trophy ceremony wearing a pair of cowboy boots.