Sunday at the 80th Masters was a shocking, surreal day unlike any other.
For the first nine holes, it looked to be Jordan Spieth’s march to a second consecutive Green Jacket, he had just made it to seven-under with birdies at six, seven, eight and nine and built up a five-shot lead over England’s Danny Willett, the player closest to him.
Momentum had her loving arms around Spieth as he headed for the 10th tee.
The saying that the tournament doesn’t really begin until the back nine on Sunday held true once again.
Spieth began leaking oil at the 10th and 11th with back-to-back bogeys that saw his lead drop to a single shot over Willett. Then it was at the 156-yard 12th that everything came unraveled for the world’s No. 2 player.
Once again, the 12th with Rae’s Creek guarding the front of the green, took its toll. It would turn out to be Spieth’s Waterloo.
Spieth made a bad decision to go for the flag, tucked far right in the traditional fourth-round placement. He then hit his worst shot of the tournament and it would cost him dearly. His ball landed halfway up the slick bank and rolled quickly into the water. His third shot was even more shocking, a chunked wedge that barely made it into the water. His fifth went into the back bunker and he walked off the green with a seven and a lost major.
Up ahead, Danny Willett, who birdied 13, added another at 14 and a third at 16 to reach five-under par. It earned him the title and the Green Jacket and he became the first British winner since Sir Nick Faldo’s victory over Greg Norman in 1996. Ironically, Faldo shot 67 to win that year, the same score Willett put up on Sunday.
Willett was the only man in position to beat Spieth. Lee Westwood didn’t have enough to make a charge. He finished two-under and tied for second with Spieth. Dustin Johnson tried, but like he often does in majors, he couldn’t make the putts and he finished one-under with Paul Casey and J.B. Holmes. In all, only six men finished under par.
“A very surreal day,” observed Willett, ranked 12th in the world and runnerup to Rory McIlroy in last year’s Race To Dubai on the European Tour. “Today was my day,” said Willett, who almost didn’t make it into the field. His wife gave birth to their first child a week early, allowing Willett to arrive on site late Monday. “We were digging in trying to make birdie after birdie,” said the new champion who played error-free golf — no bogeys, five birdies.
At the opposite end of the emotional spectrum was Spieth, who looked visibly shaken as he put the Green Jacket on Willett in the Butler Cabin. “It’s tough, really tough,” Spieth said softly. “Put a bad swing on it at the wrong time. A lack of discipline to not hit it over that bunker (on the 12th). I put weak swings on three holes in a row. Next thing you know, the lead is gone,” said Spieth, who desperately tried to fight his way back after the seven at No. 12. He birdied 13 and 15 then hit it to eight feet for birdie at 16 that would have got him back to four-under and within a shot with two holes to play. He missed at 16 then bogeyed 17 to seal his fate.
Spieth looked back and summed up his disaster:
“A very tough 30 minutes for me that I hope will never happen again.”
