Spieth, who ovecame a poor start to the day, could have won the tournament in regulation but missed a 30-foot putt.
He had another putt narrowly miss on the first extra hole, which both players parred after ending regulation at 20-under-par.
“It’s extremely satisfying to have stretches where I played poorly and still came away with a win,” said Spieth.
“Not the best start, but certainly OK with the outcome,” the overnight leader told CBS.
American Zach Johnson (65) and New Zealand’s Danny Lee (67) tied for third at 19-under 265.
Spieth had gotten the round off to an inauspicious start when he bogeyed the first and third holes before recovering to make the turn at even par.
After a bogey on the 11th he birdied four of the next five holes from 13th on to force a playoff a day after a sizzling 61 put him atop the leaderboard.
Gillis surged into the lead with five birdies in his first six holes and added another at the eighth before giving a stroke back with a bogey at the ninth.
He added more birdies at the 10th, 12th and 15th before a bogey at 16 gave Spieth a chance.
(Reporting by Gene Cherry in Raleigh, North Carolina- Editing by Greg Stutchbury)
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