2017 Pebble Beach Pro-Am results: Jordan Spieth dominates in 4-shot win

Just a few weeks into the new year, professional golf has had storylines aplenty to start the season. Tiger Woods’ return and non-return, Rory McIlroy’s injury, the emergence of Justin Thomas and Hideki Matsuyama, equipment and sponsor change — all have held their share of the game’s headlines to start the year. But, quietly, America’s brightest young star cranked out an impressive start to his 2017 season.

Jordan Spieth hasn’t finished outside the top 10 in any event worldwide since the Tour Championship in September, including a win at the Australian Open. Still, he didn’t get the headlines. And after a season under the microscope in 2016, such a respite from scrutiny might have been welcome.

But after a wire-to-wire rout this weekend at Pebble Beach and with Augusta National now in sight, he won’t fly under-the-radar any longer.

Spieth sucked out most of the drama at Pebble on Sunday with a stoic two-birdie, 16-par performance en route to a 2-under-par 70 to close out his ninth PGA Tour title. It was hardly a highlight round for Spieth off the tee, as the hard-left hook seemed to be his miss all afternoon. He said on Saturday after taking a commanding six-shot lead and looking perfect that he was actually fighting the hooks a little bit.

The ball-striking and putting were vintage Spieth, riding the flat stick all week to victory. The moment of an otherwise flatlining round came at the 17th, where he dropped this bomb to ward off any last miracle hopes for charging-but-still-distant Kelly Kraft and Dustin Johnson.

The margin never got closer than three at any point during the round, with only a hot front nine from Kraft and a late surge from DJ causing Spieth to do anything close to blinking.

Weather was much of the story through the opening two rounds of the professional and celebrity event. Spieth’s week began with a what could be a somewhat-pedestrian first-round 68 at Monterey Peninsula Country Club, the least-renowned of the three area tracks that made up the 156-player, 156-celebrity event. The conditions, however, were brutal and that 68 led to Spieth saying after the round that he felt it was the best he’d ever hit it in that kind of stuff. He also said on Saturday that he’s currently hitting the ball better than at any point last year, when he won three times.

The Pebble Beach tournament, with multiple locales and so many players, can turn into a logistical nightmare when things get off schedule. But Spieth didn’t bat an eye in the early schedule mess, battling fog and an odd schedule on Friday en route to a 65 at Spyglass Hill. That looked to set up a can’t-miss weekend duel with Jason Day on the Pebble Beach center stage for the weekend.

Thanks to the 23-year-old’s dominance, it never materialized. As the Texan turned in yet another 65 amid perfect conditions on Saturday, the Aussie and current world No. 1 stumbled, firing a 75 to eject himself from contention heading into the final day. That turned Sunday into something of a formality for Spieth, who had him a six-shot cushion over Brandt Snedeker in solo second place heading into the final round.

Spieth didn’t disappoint, essentially putting the rest of the field in the four-corners offense and cruising to his ninth title by age 23. That puts him in some ridiculous company at this age.

There will be a handful of starts between now and the Masters, but Spieth’s strong start is no longer sneaky or under the radar. A dominant win at Pebble will do that, and we can’t wait for what’s next.

Here are your final results from Pebble: