Jordan Spieth's explosive shot from the front right bunker hit the 18th green and kept on tracking to the center of the cup. When the ball hit the pin and dropped in for a birdie, he threw his sand wedge with his left hand and jumped in a joyous side-chest bump celebration with caddie Michael Greller.

Playoff competitor Daniel Berger walked across the green and exchanged low-fives with his good friend Spieth, as cheers reverberated in the natural amphitheater.

"I mean the ground was shaking," Spieth said.

When Berger missed his birdie putt from the left front portion of the green, Spieth took off his hat, shook Greller's hand and then the hand of Berger, whose nickname is Boge.

Spieth was the winner of the Travelers Championship.

"I jumped up and saw it (ball) coming right down on the pin," he said of his final shot. "And I went nuts. That was fun."

Spieth complimented Berger for the low-five as a "class act."

Spieth's sand save brought to mind him holing out on the last hole of regulation to force a playoff in the 2013 John Deere Classic. He won that playoff for his first tour victory.

No. 10 came Sunday. Spieth earned the $1.22 million first-place prize and was the third player to lead wire-to-wire and win the championship. The others were Gene Litter in 1959 and Tim Norris in 1982. The victory for Spieth, 23, was the 10th of his career. The only other player to have done that by age 24 was Tiger Woods.

"I mean it's just Jordan doing Jordan things," Berger, who absorbed another frustrating loss, said of Spieth's sand shot. This followed him holding a three-shot lead after three rounds last year, shooting a 74 in the last round and finishing fifth.

The victory happened after Spieth (even-par 70) and Berger (67) tied at the end of regulation at 12-under 268. Charley Hoffman (66) and Danny Lee (67) tied for third at 270.

The playoff ensued after Berger saved his par 4 on the 72nd hole by getting up and down from the back right bunker. Spieth had a similar sand save from the same bunker, where he'd make tournament history minutes later.

In the playoff, Spieth's drive caught the top of an oak and bounced right into the middle of the fairway. But his 5-iron from 230 yards found the bunker.

Berger's 155-yard approach from the left rough stopped just on the front of the green.

Minutes after saying this win was "One for the ages," receiving the trophy Sunday and donning the Travelers Championship blazer, Spieth praised the tournament and the many vocal fans. The attendance for the week was estimated to be around 290,000, which was a 30 percent increase from last year, according to Tournament Director Nathan Grube.

"What a tremendous last four holes, finishing holes, where you can get the crowd super involved with an amphitheater setting," Spieth said. "I mean, if I were a fan, I would pick this tournament. This one and Phoenix (Waste Management Open) is kind of two that stick out to come to on the PGA Tour season, just given the excitement of the closing holes."

The fans all were congregated for the sensational finish. Earlier they had filled many corners of the course to watch the field compete in the $6.8 million tournament.

The last round for Spieth started with birdies at Nos. 1 and 2.

But then he sputtered with bogeys at 4 and 12. His three-shot lead after 11 holes over Boo Weekley, his playing partner, and Danny Lee was shrinking.

Spieth was the first to say he was lucky this day, especially when his tee balls on 13 and 15 did not go in the water. A fade at 13 stayed just above the water on a steep grassy slope. He scrambled to make a par 5. On the par-4 15 he pulled a hybrid left toward a pond and just stayed dry.

Spieth said he "definitely got the right breaks. ... I feel very fortunate for that."

He wedged from lush rough at 15 to within 16 feet 2 inches of the cup. When he first hit the putt, he thought he had missed it, as he walked ahead with the ball about halfway to its destination. He took three steps and stopped in amazement. The ball had gone into the hole.

"I thought it was going to miss to the right," he said. "I didn't think it was breaking back at the end. I could have stayed in it, but I've been kind of walking out of putts the whole day. I started walking, and it caught the lip. It was one of those happy surprises."

Berger rebounded from a bogey at the first to birdie No. 2, 13, 15 and 17. The latter putt was from feet, 7 inches. From the tee, Spieth saw Berger pump his right fist again and knew his friend was a fortified challenger.

The duel among friends, though, soon ended in the playoff.

"I don't know if I'll ever have a moment like this again," Spieth said.

McClatchy