2016 Hyundai Tournament of Champions Tournament Roundup

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The final leaderboard for the 2016 Hyundai Tournament of Champions at the Plantation Course at Kapalua in Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii is in.  22-year-old Jordan Spieth dominated the tournament and cruised to a staggering 8-stroke victory over runner-up Patrick Reed.  Below is the truncated top-10 leaderboard:

(1) Jordan Spieth (-30)
(2) Patrick Reed (-22)
(T3) Brandt Snedeker (-21)
(T3) Brooks Koepka (-21)
(5) Rickie Fowler (-20)
(T6) Padraig Harrington (-17)
(T6) Peter Malnati (-17)
(T6) Fabian Gomez (-17)
(9) Kevin Kisner (-16)
(T10) Jason Day (-15)
(T10) Bubba Watson (-15)
(T10) Dustin Johnson (-15)
(T10) Steven Bowditch (-15)
(T10) Jimmy Walker (-15)

Here are my thoughts and a few statistics on the champion and some notable golfers on the leaderboard:

Winner: Jordan Spieth (-30) – This is Spieth’s first win of 2016 and seventh PGA Tour win.  Spieth is just the second golfer since World War II, along with Tiger Woods, to secure seven Tour wins before age 23. His last stroke play win came at the Tour Championship last year, where he also won the FedEx Cup.  His two starts previous to the Hyundai saw him finish T7 (HSBC Champions) a16564683772_91b5c7f946_znd 4th (Hero World Challenge).  The last time he played the Hyundai, in 2014, he finished second alone, so there is reason to believe that he tends to play well on the Plantation Course.

Today: 7 birdies and 1 bogey for a 6-under 67.  Scores over four rounds: 66, 64, 65, 67 (262).  He put on an impressive performance this week, never relinquishing his lead after taking it in the second round.  It will definitely be interesting to see how he plays over the next few months leading up to the Masters — right now, he is unquestionably the No. 1 player in the world.

Patrick Reed (-22) – A distant 8 shots behind lies Reed, who played solidly all week.  He has been playing very well as of late, as a matter of fact, with top-10 finishes in all three of his previous starts including this week:  a T10 at the CIMB Classic, a T7 at the WGC-HSBC Champions and second place finishes this week and at the Hero World Challenge.  His history at the Hyundai is, like Spieth, very positive, so his finish this week shouldn’t come as much of a surprise; it includes a playoff win last year and a T16 in 2014.  I expect Reed to carry his current good form into more tournaments over the next couple of months and perhaps add a fifth Tour win to his résumé.  Today: 5 birdies and 1 bogey for a 4-under 69.  Scores over four rounds: 65, 69, 67, 69 (270).

Brandt Snedeker (-21) – A winner at the recent Franklin Templeton Shootout (along with Jason Dufner), it appears that Snedeker carried his great form into this week.  Prior to the Shootout, he had missed the cut at the Shriners and RSM Classic and finished T17 at the Frys.com Open.  His game appears to be coming together thanks to a new driver and recent swing change with coach Butch Harmon.  We shall see what happens with Snedeker in the coming weeks.  Today: 7 birdies (5 on the back nine) and 1 bogey for a 6-under 67.  Scores over four rounds: 67, 72, 65, 67 (271).

Brooks Koepka (-21) – A name that has popped up a lot over the past year or so, he was second behind Spieth going into the final round but just couldn’t get anything going.  He finished T7 last month at the Hero.  A very good finish, especially considering this is his first time playing the Hyundai.  Today: 5 birdies and 3 bogeys for a 2-under 71.  He shot a career-low 63 in the third round.  Scores over four rounds: 69, 68, 63, 71 (271).

Have any congratulations for Spieth, or any other thoughts about the 2016 Hyundai Tournament of Champions? Discuss in the comments below!


Image attributed to: Erik Charlton
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