Spieth 40/1 to win three majors in ’16

World No. 1 Spieth was in imperious form at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions in Kapalua, Hawaii, finishing on 30 under par, eight shots clear of his nearest challenger, defending champion Patrick Reed.

Spieth’s start was his 77th as a pro while Woods won his seventh PGA Tour event in his 38th start, and he had 18 wins in his first 77 tournaments.

Jordan Spieth celebrates after putting for birdie to go 30 under at the Tournament of Champions in Lahaina, Hawaii. In 2003, Ernie Els won by eight with a record 31 under par that Spieth threatened but couldn’t equal.

Spieth has now tied Tiger Woods in securing seven PGA Tour victories by the age of 23. The four-time PGA TOUR winner’s consolation is his second career runner-up finish on TOUR in 98 starts (Valspar/2015) and his seventh straight worldwide top-10 finish, including three runners-up in his last four starts. He had four birdies and three bogeys to start his round to get to -20, but he slowed down after that and lost pace with the lead.

Brooks Koepka shot 63 on Saturday, one shy of the course record, to move within five strokes of Spieth, and will be in the final pairing today. What Tiger has done I can’t imagine ever being done again.

“What he’s done for the game of golf is phenomenal and personally I don’t think I deserve the comparison”. “That’s the way I’ll keep on thinking about it. It worked this week, all parts were firing”.

Whenever I look back at an event I’ve traded fairly heavily, I always feel there are things I could have done differently and I’ve mild regrets about the HTOC too.

Butch Harmon happened to coach Woods in those years when he established his hegemony and after watching Spieth put yet more daylight between him and Ryder Cup partner Patrick Reed with a final-round 67, was prepared to make the connection. “I am looking to improve and get the year under way”.

During the last 18 holes Spieth went on to extend his lead as he produced a six-under-par 67 at the Kapalua Resort. I will always carry an image of Johnny Miller in plaid pants hitting iron shots with absurd precision to win the 1975 Phoenix Open by 14 shots, then coming back the next week at Tucson to win by nine with a closing 61. “It would be hard to believe I could compete with him through the entire course of a career, but I’m going to try”.

Now, Jordan Spieth is starting to have the same effect on his peers.

“When (Spieth’s) playing good he’s going to make a lot of putts like he always does”, Kisner said after that round, via GolfChannel.com. I hope they continue to be there, that means I’m still being in the same ballpark as he is. He was 16-under with two eagles, 12 birdies, and two pars.

He now has closed out his last five wins with at least a share of the lead, and this was the third time in the last 13 months that he led by four shots or more.