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Jordan Spieth: Looking Back at his Amateur Career
18 Jul 2013
by Pete Wlodkowski of AmateurGolf.com

see also: Jordan Spieth Rankings

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- USGA photo

JORDAN SPIETH: Amateur Golf Highlights

On July 14, 2013, Jordan Spieth holed out from the bunker on No. 18, then won a playoff to capture the 2013 John Deere Classic. In doing so, he became the first teenager to win on the PGA Tour since Ralph Guldahl won the Santa Monica Open in 1931. Spieth's accomplishment, it should be noted, is not unprecedented -- in fact it might be part of a broader trend as players mature earlier and earlier. Italian Matteo Manassero (who had already set the record as the youngest-ever European Tour winner) won his second European Tour title at the Malaysian Open in 2011 at the tender age of 17 years and 363 days; he started playing the European Tour before he had a drivers license!

Fans who follow the competitive amateur game recognize greatness early, and Jordan Spieth has been playing at a high level for quite some time. Here we take a look back at highlights of his competitive amateur golf career.

He earned a spot in the U.S. Open in 2012 as an alternate and tied for 21st and was the low amateur, edging Beau Hossler (who captured most of the world's attention that week at the Olympic Club). Midway through 2012 he became the number one amateur in the World Amateur Golf Ranking after his performance in the U.S. Open and Patrick Cantlay's decision to turn professional.

In 2011, Spieth joined Tiger Woods as the only players to have won multiple U.S. Junior Amateur titles in the 64-year history of the championship with his 6-and-5 win over Chelso Barrett on the Olympic Course at Gold Mountain Golf Club. (His first U.S. Junior Amateur title came in 2009 at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J.) He made the cut at the PGA Tour’s HP Byron Nelson Classic in 2010 (he finished T16) and 2011 and was runner-up at the 2011 Jones Cup in Sea Island, Ga. Prior to representing the USA in the 2011 Walker Cup at Royal Aberdeen in Scotland -- where he put together an impressive 2-0-1 record, he led the 2010 U.S. Junior Ryder Cup team to victory with his undefeated record at the Gleneagles Resort in Scotland.

U.S. and Texas State Amateur Performances:
Although he missed the match-play cut at the 2010 U.S. Amateur at Chambers Bay, the following year at Erin Hills he easily qualified and advanced to the quarterfinals, where he fell to Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup selection Jack Senior of England, 1 down. He would avenge that loss at the 2011 Walker Cup, where he defeated Senior by a 3&2 margin. In his home state, Spieth finished T4 in the Texas State Amateur as a 15-year-old in 2009, and followed that with a T8 finish in 2010.

Junior and College Golf:
An accomplished junior, Spieth was the 2009 Rolex American Junior Golf Association Player of the year. His impressive AJGA resume includes five victories and 18 consecutive top-10 finishes. He played golf at the University of Texas prior to turning professional midway through his sophomore year.

Spieth officially turned professional in December 2012 at age 19 and made the cut at the Farmer's Insurance Open in January. He would earn enough in 2013 to earn his PGA Tour card through earnings

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