A flash of inspiration kept Jordan Spieth on course to become the youngest Masters champion ever last night, as Europe’s challenge for the green jacket faded.

At just 20 years old, Spieth would replace 21-year-old Tiger Woods as the youngest title winner at Augusta National, as well as becoming the first player since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979 to win on his tournament debut.

And the American star looked completely unfazed by the occasion as he birdied four of his first seven holes to claim a two-shot lead over former champion Bubba Watson.

Spieth, who only turned professional in December 2012, hit poor tee shots on the opening two holes but made par on the first and then holed from 15 feet for birdie on the par-five second.

The par-three fourth hole had already cost England’s Lee Westwood a potentially fatal double bogey and also saw title rival Matt Kuchar four-putt for a double bogey, but Spieth had no such worries as he holed out from a greenside bunker for an unlikely birdie.

Playing partner Watson had bogeyed the third and was briefly three behind, but the 2012 champion then calmly holed from five feet for his own birdie to close the gap.

Spieth was unable to conjure up more magic from a greenside bunker on the fifth, but a brilliant tee shot to the sixth set up another short birdie putt which he converted after Watson had holed from 10 feet for a two.

Another birdie on the seventh took Spieth to eight under par, two clear of Watson with Kuchar another two strokes behind.

Sweden’s Jonas Blixt was another shot back on three under with Denmark’s Thomas Bjorn two under and 50-year-old Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez, aiming to become the oldest winner of any major golf championship, another stroke back.

Westwood, seeking a first major title at the 64th attempt, began the final round just three off the lead but dropped three shots in his first four holes before a birdie on the ninth took him to level par.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.