Rickie Fowler looked spent after he finished his final round Sunday at the 82nd Masters.
There was little doubt he gave it all he had in an attempt to catch Patrick Reed.
Fowler went into Sunday five shots behind Reed. He knew he’d need a low round and he knew he’d also need some help from Reed.
Rickie managed to make the turn one-under but that only cut a shot off Reed’s lead. Rickie needed to get going and he knew it.
Fowler responded with a near-perfect back nine — no bogeys and birdies at 12, 13, 15 and 18. He posted 67 and got to 14-under par and set the mark for Reed to beat.
Unfortunately for Fowler, Reed kept his poise and birdied the 14th to go 15-under par. Reed never made another birdie, put together a string of nervous pars and nipped Fowler by a shot.
“I battled on the front nine very well,” Fowler said. “I’m very pleased. We gave it our all out there. At least I made him earn it.”
Fowler still managed to smile. “It was nice to beat out Jordan (Spieth) for solo second. That’s golf. You have to beat everyone.”
