Yesterday morning both here and on the radio at TSN1050 I was talking about what an intriguing Sunday we had ahead with storylines galore. That turned out to be an understatement !!
To summarize, this will sadly be remembered on this side of the pond to be the Masters that Jordan Spieth lost, not the one that Danny Willett won with a flawless bogey free round of -5 67.
It is ironic, to say the least that he becomes the first Englishman since Nick Faldo 17 years ago to win when Faldo also shot 67 on a day remembered more for Greg Norman coughing up a six-shot lead.
By the way what about the state English golf. Willett wins, his pal and Chubby Chandler (agent) stablemate Lee Westwood T2, Paul Casey 4th, Justin Rose T10, Matthew Fitzpatrick T7.
By now you know on the 10th tee, Spieth was five shots ahead and shockingly on the 13th tee, he was three shots behind with bogey's at 10,11 and the quadruple 7 at the iconic 12th for the collapse that has made all the headlines.
Look, Jordan has a long a glorious career ahead, and he is not the first, nor will he be the last to be humbled by the game of golf. The key for him as it has been for the others before him is that we are all faced with adversity and it is the mark of a man how he deals with it.
In that regard I believe he will be better for the painful Sunday afternoon he has just endured at Augusta.
Danny Willett :
Now, what an unbelievable day in the life of the lad from Sheffield in Yorkshire, Danny Willett and his family. His final numbers are 70 74 72 67 -5 283 and he birdied 3 of his last 6 holes to tie the low round of the day.
* His wife Nicole is his rock, and she was due to give birth yesterday but their son Zachariah arrived early on March 29, and she insisted he fly to America to play in the Masters. Sunday her hubby went out and secured their son's financial future along with their's on her 28th birthday!!
* He was the #1 amateur in the game in 2008 and played in the Walker Cup in 2007, the same year he won the English Amateur Championship.
* His wife Nicole is his rock but his parents are his foundation. Father Steve is a vicar in the Church of England and his mother, Elisabet is a math teacher. He has three brothers who first taught him to play.
* He left Sheffield with a scholarship to Jacksonville State University in Alabama, where he became the 2006 Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Year and now he is ranked 9th in the world, a year ago he was outside the top 100.
Lee Westwood (69) and Spieth (73) finished T2 -2, a shot ahead of Paul Casey (67), J B Holmes (68) and Dustin Johnson (71).
Matthew Fitzpatrick ended up E after a 67 in his first Masters as a professional, alongside Søren Kjeldsen, (71) and Hideki Matsuyama (73)
Other notables: Jason Day 72 73 71 73 +1 didn't bring his A game, his iron play in particular was off but he still finished T10 as did Rory 70 71 77 71 and Justin Rose 69 77 73 70. Bernhard Langer was one of the lead stories going into Sunday, but 2 early bogey's set him on his way to 79 and a +6 total, T24.
Bryson DeChambeau won the top amateur crystal in his final event before he turns pro today. 72 72 77 72 +5 T21.
What an amazing week, The weather, in particular the wind made Augusta a very stern test for the first 3 days, the greens were too fast in my opinion, and I'd say Ernie Els would agree !
Jordan Spieth's opening 66 turned out to be a bit of an illusion. You'll remember he made 6 birdies that day, but saved as many par's with clutch putts that masked the struggles he was having to get control of his game. Those struggles were highlighted by his bogey, double bogey finish on Saturday, then of course at Amen Corner on Sunday.
Still we must end on a happy note. Danny Spieth is getting on a plane today to fly from Atlanta to Sheffield where he will receive a heroe's welcome from the people who mean the most. His wife Nicole and his son Zach, who one day he'll tell about the day he became the 2016 Masters champion.
Now that's a story !
Bryan Angus
Other notables: Jason Day 72 73 71 73 +1 didn't bring his A game, his iron play in particular was off but he still finished T10 as did Rory 70 71 77 71 and Justin Rose 69 77 73 70. Bernhard Langer was one of the lead stories going into Sunday, but 2 early bogey's set him on his way to 79 and a +6 total, T24.
Bryson DeChambeau won the top amateur crystal in his final event before he turns pro today. 72 72 77 72 +5 T21.
What an amazing week, The weather, in particular the wind made Augusta a very stern test for the first 3 days, the greens were too fast in my opinion, and I'd say Ernie Els would agree !
Jordan Spieth's opening 66 turned out to be a bit of an illusion. You'll remember he made 6 birdies that day, but saved as many par's with clutch putts that masked the struggles he was having to get control of his game. Those struggles were highlighted by his bogey, double bogey finish on Saturday, then of course at Amen Corner on Sunday.
Still we must end on a happy note. Danny Spieth is getting on a plane today to fly from Atlanta to Sheffield where he will receive a heroe's welcome from the people who mean the most. His wife Nicole and his son Zach, who one day he'll tell about the day he became the 2016 Masters champion.
Now that's a story !
Bryan Angus
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