Jordan Spieth celebrated his 100th PGA Tour start with his ninth victory as he cruised to a four-shot win with a composed final-round 70 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
Spieth’s overnight six-shot advantage was trimmed to three early on the back nine by the impressive Kelly Kraft, but the leader was largely untroubled as he carded two birdies and 16 cast-iron pars to post a winning score of 19 under par.
Brandt Snedeker, who was Spieth’s closest rival after the third round, got within four of his playing partner when he birdied three of the first six holes, but he slipped back with a bogey at the ninth and could not better par on every hole after the turn.
Snedeker’s frustrating 70, which was summed up when he lipped out from inside three feet for birdie at 17, allowed him to be overtaken by Kraft, whose 67 included five birdies in six holes on the outward nine, and Dustin Johnson snatched outright third after coming home in 32 with four birdies.
But Spieth ensured the chasing pack would be playing for second after he gave himself some insurance with a routine birdie at the second, and he was content to grind out the pars and avoid any big mistakes.
His consistent driving was backed up by a rock-solid iron game as he missed only two greens in regulation, getting up and down after tugging his approach to the 13th while his third to the long 14th found the fringe, albeit only 12 feet from the hole.
Spieth did break his long run of pars in some style when he rolled in a superb 30-foot putt for birdie at the tough 17th, and he took no chances at the last as he wrapped up a comfortable victory – his first since landing the Dean & DeLuca Invitational title in May last year.
Kraft emerged as Spieth’s biggest threat when he reeled off four straight birdies from the third, and he responded to a bogey at the seventh with a birdie at the next after knocking a pure 207-yard second to four feet.
The 28-year-old picked up one further shot at the 11th, but the putts dried up for him down the stretch as he settled for the best finish of his career on 15 under.
Johnson laboured to an outward 36 on the easier front-nine, but he atoned with birdies at 10 and 13 before rolling in putts from 20 and 15 feet to pick up further shots at 16 and 17 in a closing 68.
Snedeker was alone in fourth on 13 under ahead of Gary Woodland, who fired a best-of-the-day 65 featuring no fewer than 10 birdies as he vaulted into a share of fifth with Jason Day and Jon Rahm.
World No 1 Day had shared the halfway lead with Spieth before plummeting down the leaderboard with a third-round 75, but the Australian got back on track as he birdied the opening two holes of his final round and also pitched in for an eagle at the 14th – a hole he double-bogeyed on Saturday.
Day also birdied the final two holes to cap a 67, while in-form Farmers Insurance Open champion Rahm returned a four-under 68 despite a double-bogey six at the third.
