Spieth makes his mark early!

Post by Sports Writer, Derek Clements

PGA Tour 

IT MAY well be the start of a new year, but for Jordan Spieth it is simply a case of carrying on where he left off after crushing the field to win the Tournament of Champions at Kapalua. He rounded off a great week with a 67 to finish 30 under par and beat second placed Patrick Reed by EIGHT shots.

Before we go any further, let's clear something up. I had a dig at Spieth because when I checked the field the PGA Tour hadn't listed him as a starter. I am happy to eat humble pie and pay tribute to the young genius for turning up. And not only turning up, but putting on another display of great golf and wondrous putting to leave the best players on the PGA Tour eating his dust. I would have tipped him as the winner, but on this form that is something of a no-brainer. Right now, it is difficult to see him ever losing any event in which he chooses to play.

Highlights of Jordan Spieth's stunning victory in Hawaii 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcDp5VQhI_k

His golf is not perfect - far from it. But whenever he misses the green he always seems to find a way to get the ball up and down. There are some who say that he can't keep holing putts the way he does - I hope those people were watching here, because there is no sign of it happening any time soon. And as long as the short stick continues to weave its magic, he will dominate the game.

He began the final round five clear of Brooks Koepka after rounds of 66, 64 and 65 and was a remarkable 24 under par. This is a course that yields a lot of birdies and at the start of play only JJ Henry and James Hahn were over par. Nonetheless, Spieth's performance over the four rounds was remarkable, especially on the back nine.

Reed, the defending champion, got within three shots before struggling on the back nine and Spieth took full advantage with birdies at the 10th, 15th, 16th and 18th. It was like last year never ended. This was his seventh win on the PGA Tour -the only other player to achieve this feat at the age of 22 is Tiger Woods.

“I felt like it was a short three-week break and I wanted to continue what we were doing last year," Spieth said. "That's the way I'll keep on thinking about it. It worked this week. All parts were firing.”

Reed's only dropped shot of the week came at the 15th hole in the final round as he finished with a 69.. Koepka, playing with Spieth in the final group, tied for third with Brandt Snedeker.

European Tour 

I hate to say that I told you so, but I told you so. Brandon Stone, tipped right here as one the best young golfers in South Africa, stunned a star-studded field by winning the BMW South African Open at Glendower Golf Club by two strokes. There was never any doubt that the 22-year-old would win in his first full season, but even he couldn't quite believe doing it in front of his home fans in his national open.

It meant a great deal to Stone, who was in tears on the 18th green after holing his final putt to finish ahead of  Christiaan Bezuidenhout, a fellow South African, and become the youngest winner of the tournament since 1997, when Trevor Immelman was the champion.

At one point Stone was cruising with a five-shot lead after returning to the course to complete a fabulous third round of 65. He then picked up birdies at the second and fourth holes in the final round and at that point there only looked like being one winner. But then came a calamitous run of six bogeys in seven holes as Stone realised the enormity of what he was about to achieve.

It is at times like this that you learn a great deal about yourself and Stone showed what he is made of by composing himself and picking up birdies at the 12th, 13th, 15th and 16th to record a memorable victory. He finished with a round of 71 that included seven birdies and six dropped shots.

His rise has been remarkable, but should surprise nobody. He won on the Sunshine Tour in November and was 18th at the Alfred Dunhill Championship at St Andrews last year in his first start on the European Tour.

Daniel Brooks, of England (another who was tipped to do well here by yours truly), had actually held a two-shot lead during the third round, but was unable to maintain the pace and eventually finished third on 11 under par, three adrift of Stone.

Bezuidenhout birdied the second, eighth and ninth to get to 10 under and he and Brooks continued to play steadily while Stone was suffering his mid-round meltdown. And when Stone and Bezuidenhout both bogeyed the 11th, Brooks found himself in front, but then came Stone's run of four birdies in five holes. He had only to keep his cool and par the final two holes.

Branden Grace, the pre-tournament favourite, finished in a tie for fourth. He will take some consolation from finishing so close to the lead despite a series of wild iron shots.