We start our Masters recap with Danny Willett, who wasn’t even expected to compete in The Masters tournament. That made what happened on Sunday that much more unpredictable. None of it would have been if it weren’t for an epic collapse from the No. 2 ranked player in the world hadn’t faltered down the stretch and opened the door for one of the most improbable of finishes. Jordan Spieth’s collapse opened the door for Willett to make a charge and by the time the dust had settled it was Spieth putting the green jacket on Willett following the 80th edition of The Masters.
Spieth was nine holes away from a wire-to-wire victory when he stumbled in a collapse that was absolutely shocking to watch. Spieth had a five-shot lead heading in to the 10th tee when he dropped six shots over the following three holes to tumble down the leaderboard. His collapse included consecutive bogeys at the 10th and 11th followed by a shocking 7 on the par-3 12th. Speith would birdie on the 13th and 15th to make for an interesting finish but another bogey on 17 left him at 2-under and sealed the deal for his Masters fate. Few if any would have predicted such a finish after he dominated at last year’s Masters tournament and through the first three rounds of his year’s edition as well. Nobody was happier by the time that it was over than Willett.
The 28-year-old did well to hang around heading in to the back nine in the final round and a combination of his strong play and Spieth faltering at Amen Corner opened the door for him to contend for the outright win. Willett birdied on the 13th, 14th and 16th to move to 5-under and by the time he reached the clubhouse he knew that as long as Spieth didn’t birdie on each of the final two holes his lead would be safe. Willett became the second Englishman ever to win at Augusta after Nick Faldo did it 20 years ago. It was an incredible turn in only his second appearance at The Masters, especially considering he almost missed the tournament because of his wife’s pregnancy. Willett became a father in March and he followed that up by becoming a Masters champion in April.
Willett’s 5-under 283 left him with a three-stroke lead over Spieth and Lee Westwood. Westwood, who was playing with Willett, made an eagle on the 15th hole to climb within one shot of the lead but he three-putted on 16 to remain in Willett’s rearview mirror. Meanwhile, Dustin Johnson followed up a double-bogey on the 5th with five birdies to climb in to a contention but another double-bogey on the 17th kept him from challenging Willett for the victory. Rory McIlroy posted a 71 in the final round to finished tied for 10th. Jason Day shot a 73 in the final round to finish tied for 10th as well. Other notables include Masters rookie Rafael Cabrera Bello finished tied for 17th at four-over and 56-year-old Bernhard Langer finishing tied for 24th at six-over after firing a 79 in the final round.
Masters Notes
Taking a look at the leaderboard, the top was dominated by Americans and Englishmen. The top seven spots went to players from those countries, which highlighted just how well those two countries are doing on the PGA Tour these days. Three of the top four spots went to men from the United Kingdom as Willett was followed by Lee Westwood, and Paul Casey finished fourth.
The highest finishing player from neither of those countries was Soren Kjeldson, who placed in a tie for seventh. Hideki Matsuyama was right behind him, and then the American-British trend continued. If you care to add Rory McIlroy to the mix, those two countries produced 11 of the top 13 finishers.
Jason Day entered The Masters as one of the favorites but he finished in a tie for 10th. Bubba Watson was also in that conversation, but finished up in a tie for 37th.
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