Madness at the US Masters

To be honest, I thought the final round of the US Masters was going to be a ho-hum affair. Rory McIlroy, the most prodigious 21-year old talent to hit Augusta since Tiger Woods in 1997, held a four-stroke lead with one round to play. Of the previous 20 winners of the Green Jacket, only one (Zach Johnson) had not been involved in the final pairing on Sunday. Everything seemed a bit pre-ordained. Then things got a little crazy. Actually, scratch that – things got extremely crazy (there were five-way ties for the lead at two separate points of the back nine), to the point where I am still trying to place everything into a logical sequence and work out how there were nine key protagonists on the day. These protagonists can be broken up into five groups, starting with the young man who was the catalyst for the ensuing madness.

The Shark – Rory McIlroy

The day started awkwardly for Rory with a bogey on the opening hole and another bogey on the 5^th as both Woods and Schwartzel started fast to erode his overnight lead. A steadying birdie on the seventh seemed to help his confidence and he reached the turn at 11-under, leading by a stroke. The next hour was the stuff of nightmares. His tee shot on the 10^th hole sailed far to the left, next to some hitherto out-of-harms-way cabins, and he found timber twice with recovery shots – triple bogey. Things appeared to be back on track when he rifled an approach shot at the 11^th to within 7-feet of the hole. The birdie putt missed its mark, as did the return putt for par – a bogey to drop back to 7-under. Another solid strike on the 12^th saw him facing a 12-footer for birdie. But the wheels had well and truly come off and he made an astonishing four-putt double bogey, before hooking his tee shot on the 13^th hole into Rae’s Creek and burying his head in his hands. He salvaged par at the 13^th but his challenge had ended, limping home with a closing 80 to tie for 15^th place.

One last thing: He is still very young at age 21, and there is every conceivable chance that he still has half a dozen major victories in him, if not more. I certainly hope that he does reap the appropriate level of rewards for his immense talent. Yet the comparison with Greg Norman in 1996 is a little creepy. Norman shot 63-69-71-78 to lose by six strokes after leading by five with a round to play; McIlroy shot 65-69-70-80 to lose by ten strokes after leading by four with a round to play. Both looked punch drunk by the time they left the 12^th green, and both were amazingly classy in the immediate aftermath of a crushing Sunday afternoon. Stretching back a little further, McIlroy’s tunning final round 62 to win the 2010 Quail Hollow Championship had more than a little of the vintage last round Norman charge about it as well. I just hope that his 80 at Augusta, hot on the heels on a second round 80 at St Andrews in the 2010 British Open when leading after the opening round, is not a sign of future stumbles when within reach of Major championship glory.

The Quiet Achievers – Bo Van Pelt, Luke Donald, KJ Choi, Angel Cabrera

Van Pelt was the least prominent of the quartet, hovering at 6-under for much of the day before eagles at both the 13^th and 15^th holes saw him vault into contention. His charge would be short-lived however, as bogies and the 16^th and 17^th holes saw him drop back to an 8-under par 280 for the tournament and a tie for eighth place.

KJ Choi joined Van Pelt on 280, having started the day in a tie for second and reaching 10-under twice on the day with birdies on the 9^th and 15^th holes. A bogey on the 12^th hole and two to close out his round saw him lose touch with the leaders slightly, albeit another fine effort at Augusta from the South Korean.

2009 Masters champion Cabrera joined McIlroy in the final pairing after a stellar 67 on the Saturday and advanced to 10-under for the tournament with a birdie on the 8^th hole. Much as occurred with Choi, ‘El Pato’ (or ‘the duck’) stumbled at the 12^th hole with a bogey but regained his position at 10-under with a birdie on the 15^th. However his tee shot to the 16^th sailed just over the green, leaving a treacherous up-and-down to salvage his par. Cabrera left himself with about an 8-foot uphill putt for a three but was unable to coax it home – his quest for a second Green Jacket essentially ended there, and he wound up alone in seventh place.

Luke Donald had started the tournament with a 72 to be well off the pace but had worked himself into the fourth-to-last group on Sunday with rounds of 68 and 69. Birdies on the 8^th and 10^th holes brought him to 9-under and within striking distance of the leaders before a disastrous double bogey on the 12^th hole saw him briefly slip back. His response was swift, making birdies on the 13^th, 15^th and 16^th holes and reaching 10-under with two holes to play. A pivotal approach shot to the 17^th found the very back edge of the green, from which Donald could either putt through the fringe grass between his ball and the hole, or chip over it. Donald elected to putt and his ball held up significantly in the longer grass, leaving too much work to do with the second putt and a resulting bogey. His final hole was an eclectic mix befitting of such a crazy Masters. His tee shot fell just short of the fairway bunker and left him with an extremely awkward stance, his recovery shot amazingly hit the flagstick before rebounding off the front of the green and he ‘duly’ chipped in for a birdie. The phrases ‘duly’ and ‘chipped in’ very rarely appear in the same sentence, but it was such a crazy hole at such a crazy Masters that the chip-in just felt like it belonged. He signed for a final round 69, a total of 278 and a tie for fourth place.

Chasing a Golden Bear – Tiger Woods

Out well in advance of the main contenders and trailing the overnight leader by seven strokes, Tiger’s front nine read: par, birdie, birdie, bogey, par, birdie, birdie, eagle, par as he turned in just 31 strokes and briefly assumed the joint lead of the tournament at 10-under par. Much as he did at the 11^th on Saturday, Woods missed a short par putt on the 12^th hole to drop a shot and then was unable to take advantage of the 13^th hole, hitting his second shot into the swale beyond the green and then leaving too much work to do with the putter after a poor chip. He birdied the 15^th hole to be one of approximately 25,000 players to reach 10-under midway through their back nine but could go no further, albeit that a wonderful piece of improvisation with his second shot to the 17^th hole from under a low-hanging tree branch helped to prevent the loss of a shot. He left with a tie for fourth place and another tale of misery with the flat stick

Giving a quick nod to the elephant in the room: have you noticed how often in the past couple of years Woods has been quick to lament his form with the putter? Or how many putts he has faced during that period where Vintage Tiger (VT) would have simply willed the ball into the hole, a la his putt to send the 2008 US Open at Torrey Pines to a Monday playoff? There was a time when if the situation simply demanded that Tiger make a putt, he found a way to make it happen. Whether he can ever recapture the VT form is a lingering question – it will be partly determined by whether he uses his poor putting as a crutch when not winning, or whether he bears down and gives his putting the same attention as the significant swing overhaul he has been working on with his coach Sean Foley. 

The Australian Flourish – Adam Scott, Jason Day, Geoff Ogilvy

Ogilvy, like Woods, started the day at 5-under and well off the pace. Unlike Woods, he started slowly with two early bogies and reached the 12^th tee at even par for the day and still well out of the championship frame. From that point he went on a birdie barrage, recording five birdies on the trot to leave the 16^th green at 10-under (side note: the only main player in this Sunday afternoon saga not to reach 10-under with a birdie on the back nine? Rory McIlroy, who was 10-under standing on the 10^th tee and went backwards at a rate of knots. You have to feel for the guy.). He couldn’t keep the momentum going for the final two holes, but it was an extremely encouraging sign for the 2006 US Open champion, who must surely feel good about his game headed towards the US Open at Congressional in June.

Even more impressive was the performance of Jason Day, a 23-year old competing at Augusta for the first time. Beginning the day at 8-under par in a four-way tie for second and paired with countryman Adam Scott, Day recorded bogies at the 1^st and 7^th but birdies at the 2^nd and 8^th to turn in even par for the day. His back nine was sublime for such an inexperienced player at Major championship level – birdies at the 12^th and 13^th holes, a clutch birdie putt at the 17^th and a tremendous tee shot and approach to the final hole, capped off by a successful birdie putt to reach a tournament score of12-under 276. In a post-round interview, he admitted to plenty of (completely understandable) nerves on the back nine, but showed great composure and plenty of mettle down the stretch. You will hear more from Jason Day in another major tournament in the not too distant future.

Given his well-documented problems with the putter over the better part of a decade, Adam Scott was perhaps the least likely of the Australian trio contending on the final day. However the broomstick putter may yet be his saviour, much as it helped to reinvigorate Peter Senior’s performances over the past two decades. He started the day at 7-under and was still at that figure after six holes, but birdies at the 7^th, 8^th and 11^th holes brought him into contention. He failed to take advantage of the par-5 13^th hole but responded with a tremendous approach to the 14^th and capitalised with a birdie. After a second shot to the 15^th hole which into the right-side bleachers and two more awkward shots, Scott faced a tester for par – the sort of putt that had been eluding him for years on end. This time he poured it in and followed with a birdie on the 16^th hole to reach 12-under and a sole possession of the lead, before a clutch par save on the 17^th. While he was unable to make a fifth straight pressure putt on the final hole, his putting did seem to be more in keeping with the remainder of his excellent game. Here’s hoping that a continuation of this trend sees him fulfil the potential that has been on display for many years.

The Victor – Charl Schwartzel

Crazy fact about the winner of this crazy tournament – he played the 11-hole stretch from the 4^th hole to the 14^th hole (inclusive) in 1-over par, yet shot 66 for the day. How can that possibly happen? I’m glad you asked. His approach to the 1^st green finished well wide of its intended target, from where Schwartzel was able to chip in for a birdie to start his round with a bang. He went one better on the 3^rd hole, where his approach shot found the bottom of the cup for an eagle two to reach 11-under very early in the day. A bogey at the 4^th hole and 10 consecutive pars followed, before a birdie on the 15^th kept him in touch with Adam Scott, who by this point had hit the front. Charl’s putter had become red hot though, as he became the first player to birdie each of the final four holes to capture the Green Jacket. The last player to win the Green Jacket after playing the final four holes in 4-under par was Jack Nicklaus in 1986 (who finished eagle, birdie, birdie, par) – on the Silver Anniversary of the Golden Bear’s final round charge, it seemed fitting.

Schwartzel’s victory also emphasises a very strong period for South African golf – had I suggested to you last July that (a) two of the next three Majors would be won by South African golfers and (b) neither would be named Ernie Els or Retief Goosen, you’d have probably committed yourself to never reading another column of mine again. The professional game is alive and well in South Africa, while the other country whose sporting colours are green and gold also left Augusta with plenty to feel positive about.

Thanks to Scott Halleran/Getty Images AsiaPac for use of the photo