The 21-year-old became the second-youngest player to win at Augusta, behind only Woods’ 1997 effort, and just the fifth man to lead the prestigious tournament from start to finish.
The American went into Sunday’s final round with a four-shot lead, extended that by one after his opening nine holes, and at the next beat Phil Mickelson’s Masters record of 26 birdies for the week.
Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Justin Rose and top-ranked Rory McIlroy, who have a combined 24 major championships, all tried, but no one could catch the 21-year-old Spieth at the Masters on Sunday. Spieth closed with a two-under-par 70 to win his first major in clarion-call fashion, with a 72-hole score of 18-under 270 that matched the mark Woods set in 1997 on his way to his first major title, also at age 21.
With a birdie on the par-5 15th, Spieth, who had already broken the 36-hole and 54-hole tournament records, became the first player to get to 19 under in the history of the Masters — first played in 1934. Earlier, at the 10th hole, Spieth recorded his 26th birdie to break a tournament record set in 2001 by Mickelson; he finished with 28.
