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The final 72-hole leaderboard for the 2015 TOUR Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, GA is in, wrapping up the FedExCup playoffs and the 2014-2015 season save for the Presidents Cup. Jordan Spieth held his lead in the final round and shot a 1-under 69 to win by 4 strokes over runners-up Danny Lee, Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson. Here are my thoughts on the champion and some notable golfers near the top of the leaderboard:
Winner: Jordan Spieth (-9) – I admit that I’m a little surprised he was able to pull this off. I thought it would take him some more time to find his form again, but then again, he’s a young, smart and healthy guy with tremendous talent, so it’s not really surprising.
This performance couldn’t have come at a better time for him. He takes both the TOUR Championship trophy and the FedExCup, along with a massive $10,000,000 bonus, and cements himself as one of the greatest golfers of all time. His last three starts were CUT, CUT, T13, so he was on his way up prior to this week. Last year he finished T27 at East Lake.
It will be interesting to watch him in the coming years compete with the likes of Jason Day, McIlroy, Fowler and others. Jordan has had an incredible 2015 season, but will he be able to maintain his dominant play over many years? It’s hard to say, and I think that it will be his greatest challenge.
Danny Lee (-5) – He’s had a lot success this year, winning once (at the Greenbrier Classic) and finishing in the top 10 a couple of times not including this week. His last four finishes prior to this event have been unremarkable (all outside the top 30). He’s been one of the most consistent players on Tour as of late. Shot a 31 on the front nine but faltered down the stretch with a couple of bogeys and just didn’t do well enough to catch Spieth. Great performance this week (T2) especially considering this is his first time playing the TOUR Championship at East Lake. Young guy with great prospects both inside and outside the ropes.
Henrik Stenson (-5) – I’m not sure what it is with Henrik, but he just hasn’t been able to close out a tournament in quite some time. He’s had a staggering 5 second-place finishes this season (1 tied and 4 alone), as well as a few more top 10’s. If you’ll recall, two years ago in 2013 he won the TOUR Championship and the FedExCup, so he has a history of doing well in the playoffs. This week, he had a three shot lead after 36 holes, was 1 back going into the final round and unfortunately just couldn’t do anything but go backwards in the final round. A shame. It would be nice to see him win again. He’s getting a bit old (39), but he still has plenty of time to make his mark.
Rory McIlroy (+1) – Well, he was hovering around contention for the better part of the tournament, but his 74 in the final round ruined any chance he had. He’s been playing decently well this past month, but just not quite well enough to really give himself a chance. His best finish in his prior 4 starts was a tie for fourth at the BMW, and although he’s won several playoff events in the past, he has yet to win the FedExCup. This was pretty much a lost year for Rory (his own words). We know how determined he is, though, and I have no doubt that he’s going to put in the hard work, training and practice in the off-season and be ready to go for the 2015-2016 season.
Have any congratulations for Jordan, or any other thoughts about this year’s TOUR Championship? Discuss in the comments below!
Congratulations to Jordan. I, too, look forward to seeing what he can do against Jason Day and other top players in the years to come.
Lee, Stenson and McIlroy were not very far away from Spieth but did not cut it in this tournament. Lee will be one to watch in the future.
Yep, Spieth definitely has some killers out there to contend with. I do think Danny Lee has a great future and career ahead of him, and I see him winning many more times on Tour.