NEWS

Spieth earns his second U.S. Junior Amateur title in last three years

By Associated Press
Published on

Jordan Spieth of Dallas closed out his junior golf career in dominating fashion Saturday, winning the 64th annual U.S. Junior Amateur Championship in a 6-and-5 runaway at Gold Mountain Golf Club.

After beating Chelso Barrett, 16, of Keene, N.H., Spieth enters the USGA record book as only the second player to win this title multiple times.

Tiger Woods won it three times, from 1991 to 1993.

"That's really cool," said Spieth, who also won this title in 2009. "Anytime you can be compared to any of Tiger's golf accomplishments is very special."

Spieth, who turns 18 Wednesday and graduates out of the junior ranks, was beaten in the second round last year.

"He won three in a row," Spieth said of Woods. "I'm glad I got two of them. Now that I can't play this one anymore, I'm going to go after the Amateurs he won."

Spieth, who will attend Texas in the fall, is set to play in the Western Amateur in two weeks, and then at the U.S. Amateur next month, an event Woods also won three times in a row.

Spieth rallied at the end of the first 18 holes to take a 3-up lead at the break of the 36-hole final on Saturday at the 7,133-yard Olympic Course at Gold Mountain. Spieth won the 15th hole with a birdie and then took the 17th hole when Barrett had a three-putt.

Barrett's birdie on the 19th hole closed the gap to 2 down, but then Spieth, consistently 20 to 30 yards longer off the tee, had birdies on three of the next seven holes to go 6 up and gain control.