American Patrick Reed has held his nerve through a tense final round at the Masters, holding off a fast finishing Jordan Spieth to claim his first major with a one-shot victory.
Spieth shot a eight-under 64 in the final round to pull back within one shot of Reed, before a bogey on the final hole that also cost him second place.
That went to Rickie Fowler after shooting 67 in his final round.
Reed, the overnight leader, never flinched throughout a raucous afternoon at Augusta National.
Clinging to a one-shot lead, his 25-foot putt down the slippery slope on the 18th green ran three feet by the hole as Reed pressed down both hands, begging it to stop. From there, the 27-year-old Texan calmly rolled in the par putt for a 1-under 71.
"To have to par the last hole to win my first major, it definitely felt right," Reed said from Butler cabin, right before Sergio Garcia helped him into a green jacket.
Reed, who goes by the nickname Captain America after some patriotic performances in the Ryder Cup, said closing out the round was mentally tough.
"Today was definitely probably the hardest mentally a round of golf could possibly be," he said.
"It was going to be tough, anytime trying to close off a golf tournament is really tough."
Spieth, a former Masters champion, began the day nine shots behind and turned in one of the greatest final rounds in Masters history.
But his tee shot on the last hole struck a tree branch, his hopes of improbably catching Reed were ended.
"In general this round was fantastic," said the 24-year-old Spieth, who has a win, two seconds, a third and an 11th-place finish in five starts at Augusta National.
Spieth said he was so far back after two lacklustre days with his renowned putter that he just put his head down and tried to have fun.
"The first time I saw the leaderboard was after I tapped in on 18. Honest to God. Didn't look once today," he said.
"That was my plan going in. I'm nine back. Go out and just have fun."
Rory McIlroy went into the round three shots off the lead, in good position to make a run at the career Grand Slam. But he stumbled to a 74 and finished six shots behind Reed.
Young Australian Cameron Smith made a dramatic charge in the final day, firing a six-under 66 to finish in a tie for fifth.
Fellow Australian Marc Leishman carded a two-under final round to place ninth at eight-under for the tournament.
ABC/ AP
