Weather : Perfect, sunny 81*F light breeze SSE 8mph
Tee times/ pairings http://www.masters.com/en_US/players/pairings/
1030 Weir out of it now plays with Canadian Open champ Snedeker
110 Adam Scott and Jason Day the top two Aussies for bragging rights
150 Stadler and Couples with outside chances
200 Justin Rose with his Ryder Cup asst captain Thomas Bjorn who can win this !
210 Lee Westwood and Furyk and don't count either out
220 Fowler and Jimenez, two stylists, and Miguel's 66 has be pulling for him at 50!
230 Kuchar and Blixt and remember I picked Kuchar in my preview
240 Bubba and Speith and my gut says neither will be the winner..
Final wrap
Well let me be the first to admit I was wrong, as you can see from the pairing analysis above I didn't think Bubba or Jordan Speith would win, I picked Matt Kuchar in my preview on Wednesday.
However Bubba's jitters and uncertainty from Saturday turned into a flood of confidence come Sunday afternoon, especially after Speith's two shot advantage turned into a two shot deficit thanks a dramatic three putt on 8 and a rookie mistake on 9, then a ball into Rae's Creek on the 12th and a missed birdie on 13.
Bubba gets full credit from me. We all know there are all kinds of swings on tour, but they all are on plane and on line coming into and going out of contact however Bubba's wide open stance, homemade swing which features a natural fade work just great at Augusta, in fact he was in the top 3 in fairways hit all week, and he ate up the par 5's. He shapes shots more than anyone in the pro game, he see's shots with an imagination that only he can see, he hits it longer while under control than 99% of his peers, is a pretty good putter and in short is highly entertaining to watch.
Now that he is married and has an adopted son, like so many of us who experience fatherhood for the first time, he seems much more stable and settled as he starts to realize what life's priorities are all about therefore is much less apt to get in his own way on the golf course.
Watson closed with a 3-under 69 to beat a pair of Masters rookies in Spieth and Jonas Blixt of Sweden to win his 2nd Masters in 3 years.
Speith had all the momentum early by holing out for birdie from the front bunker on No. 4, and making back-to-back birdies to build a two-shot lead through seven holes. Bidding to become the first player in 35 years to win a green jacket in his first try, Spieth looked to be well on his way until the three putt on No. 8 as Watson got up-and-down for birdie to tie for the lead, then a rookie mistake, leaving his approach below the flagstick on No. 9 and watching it roll back into the fairway, setting up another bogey and two-shot swing.
Watson was too powerful, too experienced, too tough to beat. Spieth closed with six pars for a 72 and tied for second with Blixt, who never went away but never really threatened. Blixt shot a 71
Watson finished at 8-under 280 and goes to a career-best No. 4 in the world.
Miguel Angel Jimenez, the 50-year-old wonder from Spain, shot 71 and finished alone in fourth. Matt Kuchar lost a share of the lead with a four-putt double bogey on the fourth hole and never challenged again. He closed with a 74 and tied for fifth with Rickie Fowler (73).
Remember nine players were separated by three shots at the start of the final round only for this to turn into a two-man show, virtual match play, as none of the rest could mount a challenge.
Mike Weir closed with +1 73.
This Masters lacked the big back nine charge, in fact Bubba's biggest fear walking up 18 with 4 putts for the win was that he'd break down and start Bubba-ling.
Still with all the storylines Lee Westwood T7, Rory McIlroy T8th after a 2nd round 77, Bernard Langer was 8th as well, Jimenez 4th after his 66 on Saturday with his funky warm up drill while smoking on of his favourite cigars, Freddie Couples in the mix until 75 on Sunday, Adam Scott relishing his title defence accompanied by his Dad....on and on it goes..
The ratings will be affected because Phil and you know who were not in the field, but I didn't miss them at all..... nor I'm sure did Bubba !!
Bryan Angus
(files from europeantour.com, Reuters, AP )
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