The chatter
Jordan Spieth, a 21-year-old Texan, won the 79th Masters and tied a tournament record set by Tiger Woods in 1997 that foreshadowed Woods’ PGA Tour dominance. But Spieth just missed tying Woods’ record for low 72-hole score in any major by making a bogey at the last hole in his four-shot victory on Sunday at Augusta National Golf Club.
Golfers in majors who have the lowest 72-hole scores in relation to par:
19-under: Tiger Woods, 2000 British.
18-under: Jordan Spieth, 2015 Masters; Tiger Woods, 2006 PGA; Tiger Woods, 2006 British; Bob May, 2000 PGA; Tiger Woods, 2000 PGA; Tiger Woods, 1997 Masters; Nick Faldo, 1990 British.
17-under: Colin Montgomerie, 1995 PGA; Steve Elkington, 1995 PGA; Raymond Floyd, 1976 Masters; Jack Nicklaus, 1965 Masters.
By the numbers
28
Birdies for the week for Spieth, the most in any Masters, breaking the mark set by Phil Mickelson (25) in 2001. Spieth made a 20-footer on No. 10 to set the mark. And he added to it with birdies at 13 and 15.
Money talk
Progression of champions’ winnings through the years. An aside: 50th place this year is $25,200 or $5,200 more than Nicklaus won for the title in 1963.
Year; Winnings; Champ;
1934; $1,500; Horton Smith;
1946; $2,500; Herman Keiser;
1958; $11,250; Arnold Palmer;
1963; $20,000; Jack Nicklaus;
1974; $35,000; Gary Player;
1986; $144,000; Jack Nicklaus;
1997; $486,000; Tiger Woods;
2004; $1,170,000; Phil Mickelson;
2013; $1,440,000; Adam Scott;
2015; $1,800,000; Jordan Spieth
Money talk II
Winnings for the top five places this year:
1st; $1,800,000
2nd; $1,080,000
3rd; $680,000
4th; $480,000
5th; $400,000
2015 majors dates
115th U.S. Open: June 18–21, Chambers Bay, University Place, Wash..
144th British Open: July 16-19, Old Course at St Andrews, Fife, Scotland.
97th PGA Championship: Aug. 13-16, Whistling Straits, Kohler, Wis.
The final word
“It’s a great thing for the game. Young interest. My one concern that I’ve heard a little bit about is that the college kids wanting to follow suit, everybody thinking they can follow suit thinking they can be the next Jordan Spieth. There’s no guarantees. … A guy like Jordan will inspire a lot of people. I’m nervous for kids thinking they can come out and dominate the way Jordan’s dominated.” — Matt Kuchar, who stayed all four years at Georgia Tech.
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