Longhorns Jordan Spieth Claims Fifth Top-5 Finish At The Masters
Texas Longhorns-ex Jordan Spieth finished Sunday with his fifth career Top-5 finish at The Masters, shooting a final-round 70 to continue his quality play the past two months.
With his four-round total of 7-under 281, Spieth can now claim Top 5 finishes in 2014 (tied for second), 2015 (won the title), 2016 (tied for second), and 2018 (third), along with the 2021 event.
Spieth wrapped up a two-month run to the year’s first major championship that saw him resurrect his game, with four Top 10 finishes, a Top 15 finish, and a victory at the Texas Open last week.
READ MORE: Recruiting Tracker: Longhorns Target Arch Manning Throws Up The Horns With Rueben Owens
After a fitful start, Spieth did end up with a solid final round. At one point, Spieth was 2-over on the front side. But, after birdies at Nos. 9, 10, 13, and 14, Spieth found himself back in contention for a Top-5 finish.
Spieth became the first player to birdie No. 10 on all four days of the tournament when he made a 4-foot birdie putt to move him back to 5-under for the tournament. Spieth hit a perfect draw into the pin, letting the ball trail toward the cup from the high side.
After pars and Nos. 11 and 12, Spieth had back-to-back birdies. At No. 13, a par-5, Spieth pulled his tee shot into the right trees but pulled the drive far enough right that he had a view of the green. His 211-yard approach landed on the back of the green, and Spieth easily two-putted for the birdie.
At No. 14, Spieth wasn’t happy with his tee shot, even though it positioned him to hit an approach shot to within five feet of the cup, which he made for the birdie.
READ MORE: Longhorns at the Masters Tracker
From there, Spieth pulled his drive on No. 15, which all but eliminated a shot at eagle. At No. 16, his tee shot on the par-3 landed on the top shelf of the two-tiered green, and Spieth did well to navigate the treacherous downhill lag putt in two putts for par.
Spieth dropped a birdie on No. 17, moving him to 8-under in the event. But Spieth gave it back with a bogey on the final hole, as he couldn’t get up-and-down from the front greenside bunker at No. 18.
Spieth started the front nine with a bogey on No. 1, the result of an approach shot that went through the green and led to a three-putt from 21 yards away from the cup. He bounced back on the par-5 second hole, as he bailed himself out after his second shot ended up in the third fairway. From there, Spieth pitched to 10 feet and drained the birdie to get back to 5-under.
But things started going downhill for him. He had back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 5 and 6. At No. 5, his approach shot fell just short of the green and putting up the fringe and up a steep hill, Spieth’s putt hit a left-hand break and ended up 8 feet from the pin. That par putt slid just off the right edge to leave him with a bogey.
Then, at No. 6, a par-3, Spieth’s tee shot flew over the green and onto a back collection area. Spieth elected to putt and left the lag about eight feet short. But that par putt burned the left end, and Spieth fell another shot to 3-under.
Spieth got back some momentum on the ninth hole, where his drive found the pine straw on the right side of the fairway, and he punched his approach to within 21 feet. From there, Spieth drained a tricky right-to-left putt that saw him set up at nearly a 90-degree angle from the hole.
CONTINUE READING: Jack Nicklaus Reveals Joy For Longhorns Ex Spieth After Win
What did you think of Spieth's weekend at Augusta? Comment and join in on the discussion below!
Follow Longhorns Country on Twitter and Facebook.
Matthew Postins is an award-winning sports journalist who covers Longhorns in the Pros for Longhorn Country on FanNation.com and SINow. He also writes for CowboyMaven and DallasBasketball.com, covers the Big 12 for HeartlandCollegeSports.com and is the Editor of the College Football America Yearbook. Have a story idea about a former Longhorn now in the professional ranks? Contact Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.