Sleeper picks: Travelers Championship

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AUGUSTA, Ga. – No one had ever come from nine-shots back. No one had ever shot 63 at Augusta National on a Sunday. But Jordan Spieth made us all believe anything was possible with an incredible surge that lit up the course and energized the patrons at the Masters. With nine birdies through his opening 16 holes the 2015 Masters champion found himself atop the leaderboard – and the unlikely challenger to Patrick Reed’s quest for the Green Jacket. It was sublime stuff. Back-to-back birdies to open the round. Another on the tough fifth hole. And two more to close out a front nine 31. Surely he couldn’t keep it up. Mid-range birdie tries on 10 and 11 went close but didn’t go down and then it was time to head to the 12th tee. The infamous Golden Bell. The par-3 over Rae’s creek where Spieth had drowned away his chance at the 2016 title and revisited last year. This time he took aim and safely found the back fringe. In one of the moments of the tournament he raised his hands in triumph and proceeded to high five the patrons nearby. They repaid him with an almighty roar soon after when he drained a birdie from 27 feet. “What we did on 12 today was really cool,â€� Spieth admitted. “To play a disciplined shot, probably the most pressure‑packed shot I’ve ever hit, again, I had no idea where I stood, but still the Sunday pin at Augusta and I know what I’ve done, and my history there, to stand in that kind of pressure and hit the shot to the safe zone to knock that putt in was massive for me going forward.â€� The drama wasn’t over. His drive on the par-5 13th nestled into the pine straw 234-yards from the pin. It was decision time. Go for it? Yes. Stock 4-iron or fade a hybrid? Caddie Michael Greller says hybrid fits the hole better and gives more margin for error. When Spieth returned the iron and pulled the head cover off his hybrid he had to quieten the nearby cheers. He then hit it to 12 feet. If only the eagle would have dropped. But the birdie did. Another went in on 15. By the time he lined up a 33-foot birdie try on the 16th hole he had the attention of everyone on the course who were looking at leaderboards. Roars came from the 18th hole every time a new number went up. But the man himself says he had no idea where he stood. He refused to look at the famous big boards around Augusta National. “The first time I saw the leaderboard was after I tapped in on 18. Honest to God. Didn’t look once today,â€� he said. “That was my plan going in. I’m nine back. Go out and just have fun. Don’t worry about the golf tournament itself, worry about playing Augusta National.â€� When the ball disappeared into the cup at 16 he was on top. Even Spieth couldn’t believe how well he was playing. “Are you kidding me?â€� he said to Greller. Were we witnessing the greatest final round in major history? It certainly felt possible. Two holes left. Two birdies for a never been done before major 61. One birdie to break the Masters record and join Branden Grace’s major record 62. Two pars to tie the Masters record 63 but be the first to do it on Sunday. An 18-foot effort on 17 heartbreakingly burned the edge. The dream remained alive though. Plenty have birdied 18 on Sunday before. And then… it happened. Trying to produce a cut through the infamous chute off the 18th tee Spieth clipped a branch of a tree and his ball did what is usually only reserved for weekend hackers – it dropped straight down having not even made the start of the fairway. He still had 267 yards to go. Uphill. The Texan was “guttedâ€� but rebounded to give himself an 8-foot look at par. When it slid past he signed for an 8-under 64 to post at 13 under. Ultimately it would finish two shots back of Reed in third place. “I heard roars,â€� Spieth said when prodded about his claim to not know where he stood. “I knew somebody was playing well. With eight people ahead of me starting the day, to get that much help and shoot a fantastic round was nearly impossible. “But I almost pulled off the impossible. I had no idea. When I finished and I looked at the board I could have been in the lead by two and I could have been down four. And neither one would have surprised me.â€� It did surprise Reed. Sunday was supposed to be a showdown between him and Rory McIlroy. But McIlroy didn’t deliver. Instead Spieth charged first, and Fowler charged late. “I knew somebody was going to make a run at me… I knew someone else was going to go post a number early. Did I think they were going to post that type of number? No,â€� Reed said. “Every time I looked at a board, they always threw up a number and it seemed to always get closer and closer to me; it was kind of nerve‑wracking. I was kind of glad he ran out of holes.â€� Spieth has now finished T2-1-T2-T11-3 in his five Masters appearances. He was T3 in his last start prior at the Houston Open despite suffering from some putting woes this season. “I look back, and, man, I did everything right,â€� Spieth added. “From where I was two or three weeks ago to now has been probably the most successful couple of weeks I’ve ever had in my career. “In general, this round was fantastic. I mean nobody’s going to have a great Sunday every year at Augusta National. To be able to have a chance to win this Tournament five years in a row is really, really cool. And that’s how I’m going to take today.â€�

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