While there are a host of players who have lost a lead with the Green Jacket seemingly at their mercy on the back nine on Masters Sunday, there are perhaps as many parallels between the collapses of Rory McIlroy in 2011 and Jordan Spieth in 2016, as there are between that of Spieth and Greg Norman’s meltdown on the same stretch in 1996. Spieth, admittedly, was five shots clear of Danny Willett as he arrived at the 10th, a far more comfortable position than the one-shot lead held by McIlroy who had been reeled in on the front nine. Both unravelled over the next three holes, McIlroy all-but finished by the 10th; Spieth undone by the 12th. At the close, both had lost six shots in as many holes. Spieth’s collapse has drawn comparison to that of Norman when he lost the Green Jacket to Nick Faldo, given they lost the same number of shots at the same holes from 10-12, bogeys on the first two, followed but a quadruple-bogey at Golden Bell.
But McIlroy and Spieth were of a similar age, at the height of their game, and they lost the Masters truly on one hole in that stretch, the 10th for McIlroy, the 12th for Spieth.
Rory McIlroy in 2011
10th hole Camellia
When McIlroy came to the 10th his lead had been cut from four shots at the start of the round to just one, even though he had only dropped one shot on the front nine. At Camellia, he unravelled as the graphic below shows, a triple bogey seven sending him plummeting down the leaderboard to eight under par. The then 21-year-old described it thus: “Things went all pear-shaped after that.”
11th hole White Dogwood
After two fine shots to reach the green at the par four 11th, the tension bit when McIlroy three-putted to record another bogey.
12th hole Golden Bell
More putting woes were to follow at the short 155-yard par three. Avoiding the dangers of Rae’s Creek, McIlroy sent the ball into the heart of the green and then astonishingly four putted from less than 12 feet for another double bogey. Now at five under par, he walked to the 13th, the final hole in Amen Corner, in disarray. After firing his tee shot into Rae’s Creek, he could only sink onto his club in despair his head in his arms, even though he went on to save par. He dropped only one more shot on the back nine, but after a final round 80 finished 10 shots back from eventual winner Charl Schwartzel.
Jordan Spieth in 2016
10th hole Camellia
When Spieth stepped to the 10th tee, his lead seemed impervious to his troubles with his swing. Scrambling and putting prowess had helped him on the front nine and he walked on to Camellia with a five-shot lead after successive birdies on 6, 7, 8 and 9. Even a bogey on the 10th did not seem so bad in that context. But the signs were there that his putting could not right all the wrongs from tee to green. Having found the bunker to the right of the green with his second shot, he took another three, missing one putt from short range.
11th hole White Dogwood
Spieth’s drive – not for the first time at Augusta over the weekend – skewed right into the trees. Even a magnificent third shot with eight feet of the flag could not help him make his par when he missed the putt. Another bogey, and the lead over Danny Willett was down to one.
12th hole Golden Bell
Described by ESPN’s writer Bog Harig as “Golden Hell”, the hole that has seen golfers bewitched by its narrow green and swirling winds eventually did for Spieth. The 22-year-old later pointed to his second swing, his third shot, which plopped into Rae’s Creek as shown above, as the moment he lost the Masters. After a quadruple bogey, the title was lost regardless of how he pulled up over the closing holes.
