The hero of the 2016 Ryder Cup took some mighty blows from Augusta National Golf Club but never went down – he is Captain America, after all – and now has a green jacket to drape over his red, white and blue cape.
Advertisement
But for now, the wait goes on. “You can never have enough crystal”, he said, adding the day “wasn’t a total loss” despite being one shot out of last place.
This has become a familiar lament for Fowler, who now lugs around the unwanted baggage as the best player without a title in one of golf’s biggest events. Having found the fairway and green at 18 under enormous pressure, he calmly rolled a downhill putt to within four feet and converted the short return to claim the grandest of prizes.
The 27-year-old Texan nearly managed to shoot under 70 in all four rounds of the event, something that nobody has managed to do in its entire history.
Then it was Spieth, who says and does all the right things off the course, making a Sunday charge that even Nicklaus could appreciate. Last year, he shared the Masters lead after 36 holes and was only a shot behind Sergio Garcia and Justin Rose entering the final round – and responded with a 76 that included a miserable back nine.
“Are you kidding me”, Spieth mouthed to his caddie. And he got into the final group, an ideal position as he goes after the final leg of the career Grand Slam.
Jordan Spieth reacts after putting on the 18th hole during the fourth round at the Masters. His 8-foot par putt for a record-tying 63 narrowly missed on the right.
“I stuck to my game plan all week”, Reed said. “It kind of makes me hungry to get back out there and try to win some more”. “But it was a phenomenal day”.
“Everybody really likes battling Patrick, because he loves it so much and eats it up”, said Spieth, who has a win, two seconds and a third in five Masters starts.
Fowler couldn’t resist a little jab at his good friend. “I was growing up watching him”.
But Spieth, only 24, already has three major titles on his resume.
Suddenly struggling with his irons, the 42-year-old superstar effectively shot himself out of the tournament with rounds of 73-75 on Thursday and Friday.
His Top Five finish at all four majors in 2014-without winning-still stands alone.
Woods tried to temper expectations raised by his top-five finishes in two tuneup events, and it turns out he was wise to do so.
This one felt different than all the others. The first two rounds will be played at another course in Augusta, Champions Retreat.
They cheered for McIlroy on the first tee, certain that he was going to overcome a three-shot deficit and win his first green jacket.
Reed’s first PGA win back in 2013 signed his ticket to play in his first major which was the Masters, and then his first major win ended up being here as well.
“So yes, I saw Jordan and Rickie just storm up those leaderboards and go up”.
“Honestly, it doesn’t really concern me”, the 27-year-old golfer, who finished 15 under par for the tournament, told CNN Sport’s Don Riddell. But he is a very accomplished player and he could yet win another Major or two.
Woods started the weekend more than a dozen shots out of the lead and knew he would need something special to happen to get back in contention.
Advertisement
Finally, after the way Spieth made his run from nine shots down at the start of the day, and after Fowler made a birdie on the 72nd hole to make Patrick Reed make a par on the same hole, it came down to Reed above the hole with a downhill putt that must have looked to him as if it might roll all the way to Atlanta if he hit it even slightly too hard.
