In the summer of my 19th year on Earth I was sitting on my butt watching TV and ignoring my future.
And that’s why I’m not a championship golfer.
But Jordan Spieth is a champion after winning this weekend’s John Deere Classic. The 19-year-old holed out from a bunker on 18 just to make a playoff, which he won after a five-hole battle with former Masters champion Zach Johnson and David Hearn.
Again, I was sitting on a sofa watching bad cable movies.
Spieth was winning $828,000 and earning his PGA Tour card.
The win bumped him up to No. 17 on the money list. He has now won $2,034,179 on tour this year. That’s not a bad chunk of change for a kid who can’t even drink yet.
He is the youngest winner on tour since Ralph Guldahl won the Santa Monica Open in 1931. Yeah, that was 82 years ago. Guldahl – who died in 1987, six years before Spieth was born – actually had a pretty nice career. He won 16 tournaments, including three majors, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1981.
Spieth, who turned pro last December after leaving the University of Texas, has a high mark to shoot for. Of course, he has a quick turnaround to get that legacy started.
By winning the John Deere Classic he earned himself a spot in the British Open this weekend at Muirfield. Hop on a plane young man, Scotland awaits.
Follow Metro New York Sports Editor Mark Osborne on Twitter @MetroNYSports. Really not much has changed since that summer I turned 19, he can just tweet about it now.
