How does Jordan Spieth’s record compare to Tiger Woods’ at the same stage of his career?

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Jordan Spieth’s latest victory, a dominant showing at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, has drawn further comparisons between the 22-year-old Texan and 14-time major champ Tiger Woods.

Spieth’s eight-shot victory made him only the second player in PGA Tour history to finish a 72-hole event at 30-under or better, following Ernie Els’ 31-under total at the Tournament of Champions in 2003. (It could be said that it might be time they toughened that course a bit, but that’s another story.) 

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It was Spieth’s seventh career victory, still six months short of his 23rd birthday, matching Tiger Woods’ total at that age. Age may be an unfair comparison, however, as Spieth turned pro a year younger than Tiger, who was 20 when he turned pro. 

As yesterday was Spieth’s 85th start as a professional, let’s compare their respective records at that stage in their career…

Wins

Jordan Spieth: 7

Tiger Woods: 21

Majors 

Jordan Spieth: 2

Tiger Woods: 4

Top 10s

Jordan Spieth: 38

Tiger Woods: 57

Cuts missed

Jordan Spieth: 14

Tiger Woods: 1

Time taken to reach world number one

Jordan Spieth: Four years, 76 starts

Tiger Woods: Two years, 20 starts

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After the same number of starts, Tiger Woods had three times as many wins, 1.5 times as many top-10s, and took less than a third as many tournaments to reach the world number one spot. 

The stats clearly don’t lie. At the same stage in their careers, Tiger Woods’s achievements were miles ahead of where Spieth’s are now. That is to take nothing away from the young Texan, who is the hottest property in golf at the moment. His humility and personable attitude are a credit to the game. 

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“I don’t think there’s any reason to compare. What Tiger’s done, I can’t imagine ever being done again, but it’s nice to be in that company,” says Spieth. 

Do you think Spieth will be able to match Tiger’s career?

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