Masters final leaderboard https://www.masters.com/en_US/scores/index.html
Patrick Reed started this much hyped Sunday at the Masters bogey 5, par 5 ..Rory McIlroy rescued a par 4 at the first after a wild drive, then missed a 3 footer for eagle at the 2nd, settling for birdie... Reed's 3 shot lead was down to one and I thought here we go..
However that's as close as Rory would get on a wildly entertaining Sunday, his putter let him down, he missed half a dozen putts inside 10 feet, he ended up shooting +2 74, T5 -9.
Reed on the other hand battled away all day I thought, out in E36, back in 35 for his -1 71 and as it turned out his -15 total, built mainly on his 69 66 67 earlier rounds was just enough to hang in there, despite spirited charges from several players, mainly Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler.
Spieth as I expected was paired with his good pal Justin Thomas, 9 shots behind and he played relaxed, fun golf on his way to a -8 64 and in fact if his drive at 18 hadn't clipped a tree branch and fell only 180 yards out, leading to a bogey 5, he may have completed the greatest comeback in Masters history. He didn't look at a scoreboard once all day, until he tapped in on the 18th.
Rickie, dressed in his traditional electric orange pants and hat, was also sensational, 65 67 on the weekend, in fact his birdie at the 18th got him to -14, making sure Reed needed a par for the win.
Looking back..
Adam Hadwin had a steady if unspectacular week, 69 75 72 71 -1 T24 and he was tied for the lead briefly at -3 on Thursday and Friday. This will be another building block in his career, more confirmation he belongs with these guys.
Mike Weir missed the cut as he gets set to join the Web.com Tour.
Spain's big Jon Rahm rallied from an opening 75 to finish 4th 68 65 69 -11 and he is already in Madrid for this weeks Spanish Open.
Henrik Stenson, Bubba Watson and young Aussie Cameron Smith will all be pleased with their T5 at -9, Bubba with a win and T5 in the last two weeks.
#1 Dustin Johnson was so under the radar this week with the arrival of Tiger causing the usual hysteria from the media, especially the team at the Golf Channel, but who can blame them. they wouldn't have jobs if it weren't for him. DJ quietly finished in the top 10, 73 68 71 69 -7
Tony Finau made the fastest recovery from a dislocated ankle I've ever seen, and he had a good week considering, T10 68 74 73 66 -7
Justin Rose was my pick to win and he like Justin Thomas just never got in on the race, 72 70 71 69 -6 T12.
Tiger Woods T32 73 75 72 69 +1, looked rusty as he should considering how few competitive rounds he's had. Nowhere near the Tiger of old, unable to rely on his driver, with sloppy iron play, as I mentioned in my Wednesday pool picks. None the less, many of my fellow colleagues in the media should be embarrassed for reporting with their hearts instead of their heads.
Phil Mickelson was as bad, 70 79 74 67, rescuing a near last place finish with a closing 67..
Doug Ghim the amateur warmed our hearts with an eagle at 18 on Thursday and a holed bunker birdie on the 18th yesterday as he hugged his father who is his caddy, knocking his dad's cap and glasses off in the process.
Did you know Patrick Reed is a full fledged member of the European Tour which he joined last year to expand his golfing experience around the world. That means the last 3 Masters winners are members of the European Tour, Danny Willett, Sergio Garcia and now Patrick.
Sadly, Patrick's parents live right in Augusta and were not in attendance. He chooses not to comment on what must be a very strained relationship.
So Augusta is deserted, except for clean up crews and for the lucky media members who have won the lottery to play today, it's the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town for the PGA Tour this week, the European Tour is in Madrid for the Spanish Open.
Bryan Angus
Bryan Angus. ..
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