On the 74th time of asking, the Spaniard landed his first major championship at Augusta National and was pushed all the way to the end by the Englishman.
Advertisement
And Garcia said he has nothing but respect for his friend and rival. “To do it on his 60th birthday, it’s something fantastic”.
The start of the second nine had exposed a shaky swing from Garcia, who missed the 10th green and dropped his first shot of the round, falling to seven under, Rose now in the outright lead heading into Amen Corner.
“It’s a coin flip, is it going to jump or come out spinny”, Spieth said. He deserves it as much as anyone out here. He has had his fair share of heartbreak.
“He rallied and had a great comeback”.
In 2007, Garcia led by three going into the final round of the British Open at Carnoustie. “Even after making a couple of bogeys, I was still very positive”. And just pretty much believe in myself. Yeah, I get nervous on some shots out there.
More than his shotmaking, Garcia said, it was a change in attitude and determination that he could win despite setbacks, like bogeys at 10 and 11 to fall two shots back, that brought him the greatest pride. The pin-point accuracy of the approach shots made for edge-of-your-seat viewing down the final few holes, and players praised both Rose and Garcia for their incredible final-hour duel.
Still, it was easy to sense Spieth’s disappointment detailing his miscues after the round while Garcia and Rose were locked in battle that eventually was won by the Spaniard in a playoff. We were cheering each other on. “I am so happy”, said Garcia, 37.
Rose then fired to 15 feet from the flag, but then missed his par putt.
“Could I have made the putt on 17?”
Asked whether or not he felt like he let it slip away on the back nine, he said: “Yeah, I would say this one probably is one that slipped by, for sure”. He put his tee shot in the water on the par-3 16th, and he took two shots to get out of a bunker on the 17th. Rose ended up bogeying the hole, while Garcia notched a birdie. And what I needed to do.
Spieth said he felt his play early in the round impacted Fowler’s round in a way. Just, it feels good out there. Garcia wasted no time wrapping up the Masters, sinking a birdie putt before crouching in disbelief while hearing chants of “Ser-gee-oh!”
But the mistakes, including bogeys after a weak wedge shot on 14 and a missed putt on 18, held him back from making a run at the lead. It came and then it went and it came and went a second time on the 72nd hole, as many people who had seen him fail before expected.
Advertisement
Both were overtaken by 2011 champion Charl Schwarzel, who drained a 23-foot putt at the last to claim outright third with a 68 at six under par. He matched his worst score at Augusta (Day had 76 in the first round in 2012 before withdrawing in the second round with an ankle injury), and it was two strokes higher than his previous worst 36-hole score in the Masters.
