Jordan Spieth gets his seventh PGA Tour victory

KAPALUA, Maui >> The only drama in Sunday’s final round of the Hyundai Tournament of Champions was whether Jordan Spieth would take down the Big Easy, who was a half a world away.

For 13 years, Ernie Els has been in the TOC record books, with many figuring it would take the right weather pattern in west Maui coupled with the right golfer for the 31-under mark to fall.

The weather certainly cooperated for Spieth, who began the day with a five-shot lead in his bag that he wouldn’t relinquish in this winners-only PGA Tour event. The other 31 professional golfers taking their swings on the Plantation Course this week could only stand by and watch the world’s No. 1 golfer prove why he’s just that.

Much like he did at the Masters last year, Spieth sealed the deal with a 6-under 67 to win by eight over defending champion Patrick Reed and fall just one shot shy of Els’ mark with a 30-under 262. Els was hosting a European event in South Africa the same time Spieth was trying to make some history of his own at the ripe, old age of 22.

He is only the second golfer to finish 30 under or better in a 72-hole event — Steve Stricker went 33 under and Pat Perez 30 under at the Bob Hope, but that was a 90-hole tournament at the time. Spieth also matched Tiger Woods for winning seven PGA Tour events before his 23rd birthday.

Had Spieth avoided weekend bogeys at the par-3 eighth he would have caught and passed Els, but that is only a minor annoyance for the talented Texan. He is coming off a 2014-15 season in which he won five times, including two majors — the Masters and U.S. Open — and pocketed a record $22 million in the process.

“We came out and did what we needed to do,” Spieth said. “It’s one thing to be in that position after yesterday, it’s another to actually kick out the demons, saying, ‘If you don’t win this one tomorrow, it’s going to look really bad after blowing a five-shot lead.’ But it’s a possibility here.”

Early on, Reed made a run by going 4 under on the front nine to try to apply some pressure to his friend and colleague, and Spieth took notice. He three-putted for the first time here on the par-5 fifth for a routine par on an easy hole, but came right back with a birdie at No. 6.

The bogey at the eighth was cause for concern, but then he birdied Nos. 9 and 10 to keep Reed at bay. From that point on, it was pretty much game, set and match for the Dallas resident.

“I wasn’t pleased after No. 5,” Spieth said. “That car ride from 5 to 6 tee box I was slapping myself with my glove. I knew Patrick was at least 3 under at that point, Brooks (Koepka) had now gone and made three straight birdies, and I just felt like I had thrown two and a half shots away on 3, 4 and 5.

“If you just throw one away and you make the short one on 3 or you just two-putt 5, whatever, I mean it’s big there. You don’t want to give Patrick ahead of us hope and that’s what I felt like I did at that time. But then the birdie on 6 was huge.”

Midway through the back nine, Spieth had a 9-footer for eagle at 15 that would have dropped him to 29 under, but he pushed it a little right and settled for birdie. He had a tap-in for birdie at 16 and then ran one in from 9 feet at 18 to reach his goal of 30 under for the event. He was greeted by his family just off the green and later came into the press conference carrying his silver trophy as if it were a bag of groceries from Safeway. He earned $1.18 million for the win.

“I don’t think it’s right for me to sit here and say that I felt like parts of my game weren’t quite ready because 30 under is, you know, spectacular,” Spieth said. “I’m very pleased with that. I don’t know how I really could have scored better this week. I kept the ball in play every hole. Had chances almost every hole for birdie. I got a lot of them to go.

“My putting feels like it is 100 percent ready for major championships, and I’ve just got to dial in everything else just a little bit more. But I can sit here and say that my putting certainly is ready for the Masters to be next week. It’s a really good feeling to have that confidence with the flat stick.”

Spieth wasn’t ready to say exactly what his schedule will be in the coming weeks, but said for sure that he would be back here to defend his title. Hawaii golf fans, take note.

At Plantation Course

Purse: $5.9 million

Yardage: 7,452; Par 73

Final