Jordan Spieth captured his tenth PGA Tour title at the Travelers Championship after holing a 60-foot bunker shot in a play-off.
Spieth survived the play-off showdown with fellow American Daniel Berger to record victory at TPC River Highlands in Connecticut.
The former world No.1 had led the field all weekend and was a stroke ahead going into the final day. However his final-day 70, and a three-under 67 from Berger allowed the Florida-based golfer to match Spieth on 12 under.
Berger found three of his four birdies in the last five holes to pile the pressure on Spieth, who had dropped shots on the 12th and the 14th as his putter went cold.
It looked like Spieth might have blown his bid for a 10th PGA Tour title when he found a bunker on his approach to the replayed 18th hole. Yet somehow he holed from the sand for a decisive birdie, and celebrated with an exuberant hip-bump with his caddy Michael Greller. Berger still had a putt to take the game into further holes, but it missed.
After Tiger Woods, Spieth is only the second player since 1983 to claim 10 tour wins before their 24th birthday, though he thought he had ceded the crown to Berger when his ball found the sand.
“I hit it right into the bunker and then from there I put the same kind of swing on it as my earlier bunker shot,” he said. “I was just at a little different angle and it took a right bounce and cut spin to roll with the hill. I jumped up and saw it coming down right on the pin and I went nuts. That was fun. I don’t know if I’ll ever have experience something like that to win a tournament ever again – but we certainly soaked it up.”
Paul Casey fared best of the European contingent, finishing tied fifth, three shots behind the leaders after a final round 69, while Rory McIlroy raced 43 places up the leaderboard into a share of 17th after shooting a best-of-the-season 64, which included seven birdies and a solitary bogey at the final hole. Padraig Harrington finished alongside McIlroy, after weekend rounds of 71 and 68.