US Open: Jordan Spieth joins Woods, Palmer, and Nicklaus
Jordan Spieth won the US Open Sunday, just two months after winning the Masters at Augusta, Georgia.
That puts the 21-year old Texan on hallowed ground, shared by only six other golfers who have won both tournaments in the same year: Tiger Woods, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Craig Wood, and Ben Hogan. The last player to win the Masters and the US Open in the same year was Woods in 2002.
Spieth won in dramatic fashion at the links-style Chambers Bay golf course in University Place, Wash.
With a 25-foot birdie putt on the 16th hole, Spieth finally had a three-shot lead on his nearest competitors. But one hole later, he hit what he later described as one of his worst shots in recent memory. And his lead was gone. Stepping into the tee box on the 18th hole, Spieth was tied at four under with South African Louis Oosthuizen and American Dustin Johnson.
But Spieth put the fiasco of the 17th hole behind him, and birdied the last hole. Then, it was up to Johnson to catch him. On the par 5 18th hole, Johnson was on the green in two and was looking at a 12-foot putt for an eagle, and victory. He missed. Then, he missed again, leaving him in a tie for second, and Spieth with the outright victory.
"I'm still in shock," he said with the gleaming US Open trophy at his side. "I've never experienced a feeling like this. It was a very intense back nine," the Associated Press reported. "I'm still amazed that I won, let alone that we weren't playing tomorrow," Spieth said. "So for that turnaround right there, to watch that happen, I feel for Dustin, but I haven't been able to put anything in perspective yet."
What about winning the grand slam – the four major tournaments in pro golf? Next month, Spieth will compete in the British Open at St. Andrews in Scotland.
“To go to the home of golf, that’s the sole focus. But you can’t win them all unless you win the first two I guess. I believe we’ll be able to get it done if we get the right prep in," said Spieth, according to the Guardian.
Spieth finished at 5-under 275 in winning for the third time this year. He is still No. 2 and closing fast on Rory McIlroy, who has top-10s in both majors this year without being a serious contender.
Spieth becomes the first player since Jones to make birdie on the 72nd hole to win the U.S. Open by one shot -- all because of Johnson's three-putt. He also became the youngest player with two majors since Gene Sarazen in 1922.
For all the criticism of the unique course at Chambers Bay, this was the theater at its finest.
But there will be lingering questions about the condition of the greens, so bumpy that they were referred to as broccoli, and Billy Horschel said he lost respect for the USGA. This championship ended with a short miss, the target of complaints all week.
"As you can tell, it's very difficult to get them in the hole out there," Johnson said. "The greens were really fast and they were rolling fairly smooth, but it was still bouncing a little bit."
