So that’s that for the 80th Masters Tournament. Commiserations to Jordan Spieth. And congratulations to Danny Willett, who shot a flawless 67 today, and was the deserved winner of the 2016 Masters, his first major. It did look for a while like the 50th anniversary of Jack Nicklaus becoming the first back-to-back winner would be celebrated by Spieth matching the achievement. But other factors were at play. It was 20 years since Faldo won England’s last Green Jacket, and 30 years since Nicklaus won with his son Jackie on the bag wearing caddie number 89. Willett’s caddie Jonathan Smart was, needless to say, wearing 89. Some things are just meant to be.
Spieth bravely comes out to talk. “It’s tough, it’s really tough,” he says, his voice cracking, understandably so. “I put a bad swing on it at 12, right at the wrong time. It was a lack of discipline coming over that bunker, coming off two bogeys. I was still leading the Masters. I put some weak swings on it, three holes in a row, and suddenly I wasn’t leading the Masters any more. We have the confidence that we’re a closing team. I still have that confidence. But it was a very tough 30 minutes for me, and I hope I never experience it again.” It’s easy to forget he’s played here three times, winning once and coming runner up twice. And that he’s only 22! He’ll bounce back from this.
Then Danny Willett! “I can’t describe the emotions I’m feeling. Someone’s got to win, and fortunately it’s my day today. It was a very surreal day when you look at the ebbs and flows. My son was due today, but came early so I could come and play. You talk about fate!” And then the jacket’s draped over his shoulders by Spieth, who nearly loses his balance over a chair leg, but manages a smile as he performs the ceremony.
Billy Payne, chairman of Augusta National, and CBS anchor Jim Nantz, get things going in the Butler Cabin! Here comes low amateur Bryson DeChambeau, last year’s champion Jordan Spieth - man, this must be hard - and finally the new hero Danny Willett! First up, DeChambeau. “It’s an honour to be the low amateur here. I look forward to making a cheque next week!”
So Danny Willett becomes only the second Englishman after Sir Nick Faldo to win the Masters. This is Europe’s first win since Jose Maria Olazabel in 1999. And it’s not been a bad week for Sheffield, has it, with young Matthew Fitzpatrick just behind Willett in a tie for seventh! While we wait for the presentation of Willett’s Green Jacket in the Butler Cabin, a look at the final leaderboard:
-5: Willett
-2: Westwood, Spieth
-1: Casey, Holmes, D Johnson
E: Fitzpatrick, Kjeldsen, Matsuyama
+1: Rose, Berger, McIlroy, Snedeker, Day
+3: Aphibarnrat, Oosthuizen
+4: Cabrera-Bello, Lee, Grillo, Horschel
+5: Koepka, DeChambeau, Donaldson
Spieth sends a brilliant second into the green, a class act to the end. As he makes the long, painful walk up 18, the gallery respond with more warm applause. Incidentally, Hideki Mastsuyama finished the day with a 73, ending the week at level par, while Bernard Langer shot 79; it was one round too far for the veteran, who ends at +6. And then there’s Spieth’s playing partner Smylie Kauffman, who carded a painful 81; he’s +7. But the last shots of the 2016 Masters will be made by the 2015 champion: two putts for a par from Spieth. It’s a 73. He takes off his cap, doffs it to the crowd, receives a hug from his caddy, and bites his lip in sadness. Did he lose it round Amen Corner? Or with those two drives at 17 and 18 last night, leading to the bogeys that allowed the likes of Willett to dream? Perhaps, and perhaps. But in the end, he was beaten by the better player today: Danny Willett, who shot an astounding 67 to grab the 2016 Masters with both hands! That par-saving pitch across 17, for starters, was a shot for the ages. So congratulations to another class act: the 2016 Masters champon, Danny Willett!
Jordan Spieth hits the loneliest drive of the week. He splits the fairway. The applause from the gallery - warm and sympathetic - will be ringing hollow in his ears. He trudges up the fairway, surrounded by thousands of well-wishers, yet never so alone. He crumbled around Amen Corner. He’s not the first to do so, he’s not going to be the last. But being the most current hurts damn hard. Now the entire Tournament has snapped into the focus offered by hindsight, he was never quite in control of his game this week. That he scrambled so often, and got so close, is an astonishing testament to his unique ability. This sort of defeat would break many a player, but I doubt it will break this amazing young man. It might even make him a whole lot stronger, which is a worrying thought for everyone else indeed.
DANNY WILLETT IS THE 2016 MASTERS CHAMPION!
Spieth’s par putt slides to the right of the cup. The bogey seals his fate - and that of Danny Willett, whose superlative 67 has earned him the Green Jacket!
-5: Willett (F)
-2: Westwood (F), Spieth (17)
Spieth splashes out to 12 feet. Under normal circumstances, that’s a fine escape from sand. But it’s not good enough for poor Jordan Spieth. He’ll now need to sink that for par, and hope to hole out from the fairway on 18!
Spieth wears the look of a man who knows it’s all over. “I’m not even close to getting there,” he sighs, as his second to 17 slamdunks in the bunker guarding the front of the green. He will need something very special to knock that in. Danny Willett is so very close to Masters glory!
Dustin Johnson signs for a 71. He’ll end the week tied for fourth at -1. Jason Day, his playing partner, shoots 73 and ends tied for 10th at +1. Meanwhile on 17, Spieth splits the fairway with his tee shot. Par won’t be good enough. Though he’s only had five of those today!
Danny Willett, who can surely smell the fabric of his Green Jacket, speaks! (He can just about manage to speak, so wide is the joyous smile across his face!) “Every emotion you can think of is going through my head. I am ecstatic. I put in a really good performance today, and hopefully it’s good enough!” When did he find out about Spieth’s meltdown on 12, the moment he knew he was leading the Masters? “I’d just missed a putt on 15, ran behind the teebox to the bathroom, and everyone was shouting, look! You’re leading the Masters! I came out, saw it, and yes, it was real!”
Spieth misreads his putt! He gives it far too much to the left, and the ball stays out on the high side! He’s got six feet coming back, too - and that one goes straight in. But he now needs a birdie-birdie finish to force a play-off.
-5: Willett (F)
-3: Spieth (16)
Spieth lashes the sweetest iron at 16 straight at the flag! It takes a bounce past the pin and he’ll be left with an eight-footer coming back! This is absurd! One of the most dramatic Masters in many a year! It looked all over when Spieth reached the turn - and again when Willett was taking control as the young American found trouble down the left of 15. But now look! This is far from over! Charl Schwartzel claimed this prize in 2011 after four birdies over the closing four holes. If Spieth manages the same, the Eastern seaboard could shear off towards London.
But the Masters is still in the balance! Spieth dances around his putt for a couple of minutes, checking and rechecking the line. And finally he guides in a gentle right-to-left curler for his birdie! This shows astonishing mental strength after what happened to him around Amen Corner! He’s only two off Willett’s lead! This could be going right down to the wire! Though any dramatic denouement won’t involve poor Dustin, who three putts from the back of 17; that’s a double. He drops to -1, a sad end to another near miss.
-5: Willett (F)
-3: Spieth (15)
-2: Westwood (F)
-1: Casey (F), Holmes (F), D Johnson (17)
Willett taps in for his par, and a huge smile plays across his face! He knows he might - just might - have done enough to win the Masters! Out in 34, back in 33: that’s a seize-the-day 67! The generous Georgia crowd erupts: many will have wanted the home favourite Spieth to win, and he still might, but the Patrons know they may well have just seen their new champion putt out! It’s not over yet, of course. But it’s looking very healthy for the man from Sheffield!
Westwood chips up from the front of 18 to ten feet. Then Willett rolls a slightly nervous putt towards the cup from 15 feet. It stops a couple short. But he wasn’t in the mood to race that by. Westwood knocks in his par putt for a 69, and he ends the week at -2. Another near miss. Meanwhile on 15, Spieth lays up with his second, before wedging to ten feet. A birdie here, and things could become very interesting.
Updated
Willett hits the approach of his life! He eases an iron onto the bank to the right of the green, sending his ball bouncing right and towards the hole. It stops roughly pin high, leaving the leader with a 15-footer across the green for birdie! Back on 17, Dustin can only splash out from the bunker to the back of the green, leaving a treacherous long putt back down the putting surface for par. His race is run.
Spieth’s driver has let him down all week. The putter’s got it out of trouble again and again, but now the chickens are coming home to roost. His tee shot at 15 leaks off to the left, and he might not have a route into the green in two. Up on 17, Dustin dunks his approach into the bunker guarding the front of the green. And up on 18, Westwood punches out from the trees towards the green, leaving the stage to Willett, who is about to hit the approach of his life. “You’re making this up, aren’t you?” begins Simon McMahon. “Next you’ll be telling me Sergio’s been reinstated and leads by five. He’d still lose though, wouldn’t he?”
Spieth rolls in the par saver! He stays at -2, and he keeps fighting. But unless something happens to Willett down the last, he’ll need at least a birdie down 15. And it’s a perfect tee shot by Willett on 18, a 3-wood deliberately selected to avoid an adrenalin-fuelled visit to Sandy Lyle’s Bunker. He finds the middle of the fairway. Westwood tries to fade his driver round the corner, and finds the trees. His bid is all over. “This seemed like a boring procession; now, what the hell is going on?” asks Matt Dony. “You’d have to have a heart of stone to not want to see someone like Willett storm to a Masters victory, but you’d also need a heart of stone to not feel for Spieth. I’m pretty torn.”
But if you’re to win a major championship, you have to over-ride the nerves. And here’s Spieth, creaming a fairway wood into the heart of 14, while up on 17, Willett bumps an 80-foot chip up onto the green, knocking it stone dead! He saves his par brilliantly, though the tap-in hit the right-hand side of the cup, betraying understandable nerves. He’s -5, a dream so close. Westwood takes two putts from 50 feet for birdie: he stays at -2. On 16, Dustin’s putt somehow stays out on the high side but he knocks in the par putt to stay at -3. And then finally back to Spieth, who nearly drains a 40-footer for birdie! But it slides an inch to the right of the cup, and five feet past. That’ll be a testing one coming back. If he misses it, his bid for back-to-back Masters titles could be in serious bother.
The nerves are kicking in now, all over the shop. Spieth hits his drive at 14 straight left. He clatters the trees, and the ball comes bouncing back into the second cut. But he’s got a long way to go if he’s to reach the green. Willett meanwhile sends his approach at 17 over the back of the green. Dustin, for once, seems the calmest, sending his tee shot at 16 to 20 feet.
Dustin once again can’t make his eagle putt, but birdie at 15 will do in the circumstances. He’s now a couple behind Willett, at -3 in second place on his own. Meanwhile Spieth hasn’t finished yet: from the back of 13, he bumps eight feet past the cup, and rattles the birdie effort home! This is far from over. But you’ve already worked that out a long time ago.
-5: Willett (16)
-3: D Johnson (15)
-2: Westwood (16), Spieth (13)
Spieth looks broken right now as he walks between shots, but he’s doing his best to haul himself up when he’s actually getting down to business. He batters a drive down the middle of 13, then sends his second just off the left side of the green. But he’s even further up against it now, because Willett has just sunk his birdie putt on 16! That’s his third birdie in four holes, and ascension to the big time beckons! He’s got a three-shot lead - because Westwood three-putts the same hole, missing his par effort from close range. He’s back to -2.
-5: Willett (16)
-2: Westwood (16), D Johnson (14)
-1: Casey (F), Holmes (F), Spieth (12)
Updated
Danny Willett has decided it’s time to seize the day! He’s whistled his tee shot at 16 straight at the flag, and will be left with a six-footer for birdie! Also in carpe diem mode: Dustin Johnson, who decides to lash a long iron low and hard towards the 15th green anyway, and to hell if an overhanging branch tries to get involved. And he finds the heart of the green, where he’ll have a look at eagle! “Nice Billy Liar reference,” writes Dave Espley. “Do you think Spieth’s about thraiped wi’ the Masters by now?”
Some admin amid the mayhem. Dustin made a very fine two-putt par from the back of 14. He’s then pulled his drive at 15 left, and will have to lay up. Brandt Snedeker meanwhile has birdied 8, 13 and now 16, and suddenly he’s there at -1.
Updated
This Masters is getting WILD: Lee Westwood chips in from down the back of 15 for eagle! Willett, a little spooked by that, misses a 12-footer for birdie and settles for par. The gallery then folds in on itself as the scoreboard tells the story of what’s happened to Spieth on 12. He’s splashed out from the bunker at 12 to three feet, and tapped in for quadruple bogey. Since the turn, he’s hit 5-5-7. Amen Corner really has done a number on him. He’s got the par fives to come, but is he in any state to tackle them properly?
-4: Willett (15)
-3: Westwood (15)
-2: D Johnson (14)
-1: Casey (F), Holmes (F), Snedeker (16), Spieth (12)
This is both astonishing, and horrible to watch: from the drop zone, Spieth hits a fat wedge into the water! That wasn’t even close to clearing Rae’s Creek! He’s hitting five into the green now - and sends that one into the bunker at the back! The Masters could be slipping through his fingers here, the latest victim of Amen Corner! Augusta National is, collectively, palpably stunned. The atmosphere’s been sucked from the place! Total shock! This is a dreadful meltdown. Danny Willett will be leading the Masters soon.
You’ll have noticed the name of Lee Westwood on that leaderboard, by the way. He couldn’t make his birdie at 12, but picked up a stroke at 13. After parring 14, he’s sent his second off the back of 15. A tricky up and down if he wants birdie. Willett lays up with his second. On 14, big Dustin finds the back of the green, but his ball doesn’t kick round to the right, towards the hole, as he expected. It’s, as Danny Boon once said, all happening.
Updated
Spieth finds Rae’s Creek! His tee shot at 12 slides off to the right, takes one bounce on the bank, and drops apologetically backwards into the water! He’ll be facing a penalty drop! It’s 2014 all over again, when he found the water during his duel with Bubba Watson! He swallowed hard as he watched that sail towards the dark blue vagueness. Just for a second, he looked like the very young man he is. The back nine on Masters Sunday, huh?
Up on 18, JB Holmes birdies to sign for a 68. He’s -1 overall, after coming back in 32, with birdies at 12, 13, 16 and 18. And so nearly an Oosthuizen-assisted hole-in-one at 16! Jason Day meanwhile can’t make his birdie on 13, and at +1 his race is run. He’s never quite got going this week. And on 11, Spieth lets his par putt slide off to the left! Back-to-back bogeys, and he’s suddenly going to feel the breath of Danny Willett on his neck!
-5: Spieth (11)
-4: Willett (14)
-2: D Johnson (13)
-1: Casey (F), Holmes (F), Kjeldsen (14), Westwood (14)
But Spieth isn’t currently three in the lead for nothing! He sends a wedge of no little genius towards the flag at 11, pitching a couple of inches by the cup! It’s nearly in. But not quite, spinning away to five feet. But what a chance to scramble his par! Before he can putt out, Willett knocks in his birdie effort to move to -4, and while Dustin doesn’t hit his eagle effort on 13, he taps in for birdie and rises to -2.
Spieth takes his medicine from the trees, pitching back out onto the fairway. The sensible play. No need to take on the water with a miracle shot. On 14, Willett claps his second to five feet! He’ll have that to move to within a couple of Spieth. And the leader in a little bother back there on 11! Seems they were right about the Masters only really starting on the back nine on Sunday. It’s all kicked off since Spieth reached the turn!
In all that recent hullabaloo, we’ve kind of forgotten about Jason Day and Dustin Johnson. The big man, having found trees down 11, nearly sent his second into the waterk, the loveable galoot. But he scrambled par. Par for Day there too, and the pair then parred 12 (as Willett, from Fred Couples Country, did before him). Dustin’s now blasted his second at 13 pin high to 25 feet. He’ll have a look at eagle!
No it most certainly isn’t over yet, because Spieth has just flayed his tee shot at 11 into the woods down the right. Not for the first time this week, either. Last time he did this, he was very fortunate not to send his ball scampering into the drink. If he was to do that again now, you’d hear the collective sharp intake of breath in North Carolina!
Spieth is making a bit of a meal of 10. His three wood is short and right, and in the second cut. His second gets plugged in the bunker guarding the front of the green. He can only splash out to 20 feet. He tries to curl in the right-to-left breaker, but this one stays out. He’s back to -6 - while Danny Willett finds the heart of 13 in two, and a couple of putts later makes his birdie! He’s -3. It’s not over quite yet! Meanwhile birdies for Justin Rose and 15 and now 16, and he’s -1 all of a sudden after picking up three strokes in four holes. And a closing birdie for Paul Casey, and he signs for an excellent 67. He finishes at -1.
-6: Spieth (10)
-3: Willett (13)
-1: Casey (F), Rose (16), Kjeldsen (13), Westwood (13), D Johnson (12)
Updated
Kjeldsen booms a long drive down 13, but instead of going for the green in two, lays up. He finds the second cut down the left with a dreadful pitch, clips to eight feet, then misses the relatively easy birdie putt. No more than he deserves, a punishment for being so timid. Par, and he stays at -1. Meanwhile Andy Gordon is a very wise man: “I’ve given up on expecting a dramatic finale and am now sitting back and enjoying the quality. In 20 years time I’ll be able to say that I witnessed the early years of Speith’s majors career.”
Astonishing scenes on 16, as top-level professional golf meets billiards! JB Holmes very nearly makes it a third hole-in-one, his ball stopping four feet from the cup. Louis Oosthuizen then plays an even better shot. It looks to be rolling in, but hits Holmes’ ball. For a second, it looks like Oosthuizen has sent Holmes’ ball into the cup, but it slides off to the left. But Oosthuizen’s ball hasn’t finished! Upon making contact with Holmes’s ball, it spins off to the left. And as Ball Holmes slides past the left of the cup, Ball Oosthuizen curls gently to the right, then back to the left and in! The most amazing hole in one of all time? Yes. Yes it is. Oosthuizen already has a Sunday albatross to his name, and now this! All he needs is a Green Jacket someday for a unique set! That is utterly unbelievable. You’ll be seeing that again. And again and again and again! And that’s the first time there has been three holes-in-one at the same hole on the same day at the Masters! Wow!
Spieth finds the heart of the 9th in regulation. He’s playing it steady now, nursing that four-shot lead. Who could blame him? But out comes the flat stick, and he curls in the 25-footer he’s left himself, right to left, always going in! Four birdies in a row! He’s out in 32! Kaufman meanwhile turns in 39, having bogeyed by missing a three-footer for par. His race is run. But then so is everyone else’s, unless Spieth uncharacteristically crumbles. They usually say the Masters only truly begins on the back nine on Sunday. Spieth’s only just arrived there, but looks to have done all the hard work already!
-7: Spieth (9)
-2: Willett (11)
-1: Kjeldsen (12), D Johnson (10)
Updated
Matt Kuchar has just produced a facsimile copy of Tiger Woods’ famous 2005 chip-in at 16! That’s almost as notable as the two hole-in-ones! The only difference being, the ball doesn’t pause before dropping. But never mind that. Because ...
Willett takes an aggressive line with his second on 11, toying with the water, but leaves himself a 15-foot birdie chance. It slips by, and he remains at -2. He then flirts with the drink again at 12, but his tee shot just gets over Rae’s Creek and lands to the right of the bunker. Not quite Fred Couples Country, but he’s been a little bit fortunate there. Westwood finds the heart of the green, and he’s pin high with a 25-foot look for birdie.
Updated
Jason Day sends his second at 10 down Westwood Hill, and can’t get up and down. He’s back to +1. Dustin’s approach is pin high, but his ten-footer for birdie is left up on the high side. He stays at -1. The big man probably needs something special on the par fives. Kjeldsen responds to bogey at 11 by clipping his tee shot to eight feet at 12 and rolling in the putt. He’s back to -1. Meanwhile Justin Rose has birdied 13, then scrambled a magnificent par on 14, bumping a large left-to-right curling chip to three feet and knocking in the saver. He’s +3.
McIlroy escapes with a bogey at 11, then comes a whisker from draining a 30-footer on 12 to grab the shot back. But he stays at +4. More misery around Amen Corner. Behind him, a dropped shot for Kjeldsen, who can’t get up and down at 11 from Larry Mize Country. He’s back to level par. Willett can’t make his 20-foot birdie putt on 10, but a par at a difficult hole will suffice; Westwood fails to get up and down from the bank and slips back to level par. Spieth meanwhile larrups two biggies down 8, just off the front. He chips up to a couple of feet, and this is three birdies in a row. This is a brilliant performance by the reigning champion. Kaufman meanwhile finds the stands at the back of the green, bundles a wonderful pitch and run to eight feet, but pulls the uphill birdie chip. He stays at level par. This is Jordan Spieth’s to lose now.
-6: Spieth (8)
-2: Willett (10)
-1: D Johnson (9)
E: Fitzpatrick (F), Casey (16), Kjeldsen (11), Westwood (10), Day (9), Kaufman (8)
Mattthew Fitzpatrick rolls in a 20-footer for birdie on 18, and he’s signing for a 67! That’s one of the performances of the week, and at level par overall, currently tied for sixth, he’s almost certain to be invited back next year! He birdied 14, 15, 16 and 18, and shaved the hole on 17 too! What a finish! What a prospect this young man is. He’s already won low amateur at the US Open and Open, but as a professional he’s arrived in earnest this week. Meanwhile Casey wedges his third at 15 to eight feet, and rolls in the birdie putt. He’s level par now, and will be cursing that second-day 77.
Day batters his drive at 9 into the trees down the right. He punches low and hard off the pine needles and up onto the green. But he’s at the back of it, and curls a massive right-to-left semi-circular 60-footer to four feet, then tidies up for a stunning par! He’s out in 36, and level par. Birdie meanwhile for Dustin, who sent his second pin high; a 12-footer flies into the hole and he’s out in 35, and -1 overall. Meanwhile Willett finds the centre of 10 with his approach, but Westwood hoicks his second into deep trouble down the tree-lined bank to the left.
Rory has just found the water again at 11. He’s developed a little thing about Amen Corner, hasn’t he.
Bryson DeChambeau hits a putt across the 18th. It’s his last shot as an amateur. It earns him a birdie on an iconic hole - an iconic hole that he’s triple and double bogeyed this week - and he’s signing for a level par 72. He’s +5 overall, and the winner of the amateur silver medal! He’ll be in the Butler Cabin later on with ... well, it’s likely to be Jordan Spieth, isn’t it? He knocks his birdie putt into the cup at 7, and he’s three clear of Danny Willett - with the inviting par-five 8th coming up! Kaufman three putts from the back, and he’s back to level par.
-5: Spieth (7)
-2: Willett (9)
-1: Kjeldsen (10), Westwood (9)
Birdie for Westwood on 9, as he tickles a treacherous wiggler down the green from 12 feet, and he’s out in 34, -1 overall. He’s a shot behind Willett, who leaves himself a six-foot tester, but knocks it in for par. He’s reached the turn in 34 strokes too. They’re staying on Spieth’s heels, though the leader might be moving further ahead quite soon. Might as well hold the leaderboard for that.
Such a shame for Paul Casey on 14. He swishes a gorgeous iron right at the flag, the ball landing pin high, six feet from the cup. But he pushes his putt to the right, and he’ll stay at +1. Another bogey for McIlroy, this time at 10, and he’s back to +3. Meanwhile on 7, Spieth blasts his driver down the middle of the track - the big stick out for the first time today, after some work this morning with his coach - and spins his second back to four feet.
Updated
Dustin Johnson fizzes a stupendous long iron straight at the flag on 8. It lands four feet from the cup, then spins back to ten feet. That’s a relatively simple uphill putt for eagle - but he doesn’t hit it. And even if he did, it was missing on the left. Very poor. But it is a birdie, and he’s back to level par. As is Jason Day, who tickles in a downhill left-to-right slider for his birdie.
Updated
On 6, Kaufman’s tee shot only reaches the front fringe, but he lags up brilliantly to a couple of feet to save his par. Spieth finds the back of the green with his tee shot - then curls in from 15 feet, a massive left-to-right curler, for a bounce-back birdie! He really is a force of nature! Just as the pack close in on him, he presses his foot on the gas. It’s almost as though he does it for kicks.
-4: Spieth (6)
-2: Willett (8)
-1: Kjeldsen (9), Kaufman (6)
E: Westwood (8)
+1: Fitzpatrick (16), Casey (13), Snedeker (9), Day (7), D Johnson (7)
Willett, Westwood and Casey aren’t the only English stars on top of their game right now. Young Matthew Fitzpatrick birdies 14, creams his second into the heart of 15 to set up another birdie, and now he’s lashed his tee shot at 16 to six feet! And he curls in the birdie putt! Three in a row, and he’s suddenly +1!
Spieth continues to be entertainingly erratic from tee to green. This time he’s bumbling along down the right of 5, sending his second clacking into the grandstand. He gets a free drop and chips up to 20 feet, but he can’t keep knocking in the savers, and doesn’t this time. He drops his first stroke of the day. Par for Kaufman. Casey meanwhile shaves the hole at 13 for eagle. He’ll tap in to move to +1. And Willett does the same on 8, to move to -2, one off the lead! This is quite the leaderboard now!
-3: Spieth (5)
-2: Willett (8)
-1: Kjeldsen (8), Kaufman (5)
E: Westwood (8)
+1: Casey (13), Snedeker (8), Day (7), D Johnson (7)
Matsuyama is falling to bits. He hits a fat one off the tee at 6, well short of the green. He then hits a weak chip that falls back off the front. HE can’t get up and down, and that’s a double bogey. He’s back to +3. On 7, Dustin nearly holes out from the bunker at the front, sending his ball 15 feet behind the flag then spinning back. Par. Day meanwhile sends a large curling birdie effort inches wide from the back. Another par. They stay at +1 overall. McIlroy meanwhile has reached the turn in a level-par 36. He’s +2 still.
Updated
Kjeldsen misses a birdie putt from McIlroy Eagle Country on 8. He should have edged nearer to Spieth, but stays at -1, three off the lead in a tie for second with Willett and Kaufman. A run of birdies meanwhile by Kiradech Aphibarnrat has catapulted him up the leaderboard. Birdies at 8, 13, 15 and now at 16, thanks to a 25-foot curler from the back. He’s +2 overall. Paul Casey remains on that mark, after his earlier birdies at 2 and 7. He’s through 12 now, steady as they come out there. And Justin Rose has risen to +2 as well, though he’s been a bit more erratic: bogeys at 4 and 5 followed by birdies at 6, 8 and 9.
Dustin follows up his four-putt double bogey at 5 with a birdie at 6. This is exactly why we love him, and why he’s so goddamn infuriating. He’s back up to +1, though. Meanwhile Willett is so unfortunate on 7, rolling a huge right-to-left breaker for birdie from the back to within a couple of feet. He stays at -1. His playing partner Lee Westwood hits close to ten feet, though, and curls in for a birdie that’ll take him to level par. Another bogey for Matsuyama, though, this time at 5. He’s already two over for his round, and +1 overall. Meanwhile one of the pre-tournament favourites, Adam Scott, is in with a 76. He ends the week at +11. Few were expecting that.
Updated
McIlroy birdied 7, and now he’s lashed his second pin high at the par-five 8th. He’s got a 12-footer for eagle. What an approach! But he lets the putt drift off to the left. He really needs a lesson. Birdie, but that could have been so much better. Meanwhile Spieth slices his tee shot at 4, and he’s very nearly sending that out of bounds! It lands just short of bother, though. So he calmly pitches up from the trees to ten feet, then knocks in the par saver! Kaufman found the fringe at the back with his tee shot - then takes three putts for bogey. Spieth’s got a three-shot lead now. This is some way to win a Masters.
-4: Spieth (4)
-1: Kjeldsen (7), Willett (6), Kaufman (4)
E: Matsuyama (4)
Birdie for Willett on 6 after clacking his tee shot pin high to ten feet. He’s -1. And Westwood follows him in! His birdie takes him back to +1. Matsuyama comes out of the bunker at the front of 4, expecting his ball to spin back towards the hole. It doesn’t, sticking where it lands. He misses the ten-footer coming back, and he’s level par now. Day and Dustin meanwhile take turns to make a mess of 5. Day leaves his second short, then chips 30 feet past the hole. Two putts, and it’s bogey. He’s +1. Dustin meanwhile putts up from the front, then - it’s Dustin Johnson Meltdown Time! - watches in horror as the ball fails to make it up the ridge and falls back to his feet. He knocks it 15 feet past the hole, and can’t sink the bogey putt. In fact he does well to knock in a six-footer he leaves himself for double! Four putts. He’s +2.
Updated
Spieth splits the fairway at 3, then sends his second to the fringe at the front of the green. He’s lucky that didn’t spin back into Langer Country. Kaufman finds the trees down the left with his drive, and sends a flyer through the green. He chips up to the fringe, sends a hot putt eight feet past the hole, and does well to salvage bogey coming back. He’s -2 again. Spieth knocks up to six feet, then holes out for par. He punches the air softly, knowing that might be a turning point. He’s got a two-shot lead.
A second hole in one at 16! This time it’s the US Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III! It’s not an identical shot to Lowry’s, whose ball, once it had pitched and turned left, took a straight line into the cup. Love’s ball curled a little behind the hole after it pitched and moved left, before gently arcing back into the cup. Equally brilliant, though, and once again the gallery goes wild! Gotta love the traditional pin position at 16 on Sunday!
Updated
Trouble for Langer at 3. His second, straight at the flag, runs back off the front of the green. And then his third, a bumped-up chip, races through the green and off down the back. He’ll have a testing up and down just for bogey. He sends his fourth six feet past the hole, and can’t make the bogey putt coming back. A double, he’s three over through 3, and +2 overall. It might be all over for the 58-year-old already; Julius Boros’s record looks safe awhile yet.
Another birdie for Kjeldsen! He races a putt across 5, and that’s fortunate it’s hit the hole. It was really moving. Nevertheless, everyone needs a stroke of luck around here, and he’s -1 now, the only player making a move from the pack! Day and Johnson illustrate this by continuing their steady start: four pars each through 4. They’re still at level par.
A third bogey of the day for McIlroy, this time at 5. He’s +4 overall, and that career grand slam will have to wait at least one more year. But we knew this at the start of the day. Spieth meanwhile takes a very long time indeed to size up the long eagle putt he’s left himself at the front of 2. It’s over the knuckle of the bunker, admittedly, so it’s quite a poser. But this is slow play. Mind you, some things are worth waiting for. He sends his ball right towards the bunker, then back miles left, and finally it esses round right to three feet. What a birdie. Kaufman meanwhile found the front bunker in two, splashed out to six feet, and knocked in a very cool birdie putt. Shame he couldn’t have done that on 1, because he’d have the perfect start there. Still, he’ll be happy enough with that.
-4: Spieth (2)
-3: Kaufman (2)
-1: Matsuyama (2)
The spectacular shots are flying in now! Billy Horschel holes out from the fairway at 8 for eagle! He deserved that stroke of luck after the wind blew his ball into the drink at 15 yesterday. He’s back to +4. Birdie for Hideki Matsuyama at 2, grabbing back the shot he dropped at Tea Olive immediately. He pearled his second to the front of the green, and two calm putts later he’s back to -1. Langer could only par: he stays at level par. And pars for Day and Dustin at 3, the former a fairly fuss-free two putt, the latter missing a short birdie effort after chipping up well from the swale at the back.
Hole in one for Shane Lowry! It’s the 16th hole in one at the 16th hole in Masters history! A beautiful shot that drops gently into the centre of the green and curls left, trickling down, straight into the hole, which is situated in its traditional Sunday position middle-left. He plucks the ball from the hole and feigns to throw it to the gallery, before smiling broadly and pocketing his souvenir. He’s +10, well down the leaderboard, but he’s got a couple of precious memories from this Masters: an outward nine of 31 on the opening day, and now a hole-in-one at one of the great theatres of golf! Hats off to the big man!
Kjeldsen looks like he’s enjoying himself. He’s in the bunker at the front of the par-three 4th, and splashes out delicately to a couple of feet. He’ll save his par, and he jumps about accordingly in the excitable manner. Back on 3, Dustin attempts to drive the green like Rory, but like Lennie Small, he doesn’t know his own strength. That’s through the back, and instead of an inviting eagle putt, he’ll have a fiendishly difficult up and down if he wants to pick up a single shot here.
Updated
Spieth sends his second on Tea Olive straight into the heart of the green. He’ll have a fairly straight putt - by Augusta National standards, anyway - from 30 feet. Kaufman, however, managed to get a stance near the bunker down the fairway, and clipped his second to four feet! Wow! Spieth doesn’t hit his birdie putt, though it was dead on line, and he’ll make do with a par to start. Then Kaufman pulls his short putt a tad to the left, and it rolls round the back of the cup and away to the right. He’s still four feet away! That was a rush of nervous energy. Spieth taps in for his par - as does Kaufman, who betrays a few understandable nerves by excitedly bending down to pluck his ball from the cup almost before it had dropped.
A second birdie of the day for Paul Casey, adding 7 to the one he made at 2. He’s +2 overall. McIlroy bogeys 4 after sending his tee shot miles right; he’s +3. A three-putt par for Dustin Johnson on 2; a very average start by the big man, who stays at level par. As does his playing partner Day, who two-putts from just off the green for his par.
An unfortunate start for Langer, who putts up from the back and sends his ball 25 feet past the cup. He can’t make the one coming back, and he’s immediately back to level par. And Matsuyama bogeys as well, unable to get up and down from the front. He’s level now too. On 2, Willett misses another very makeable birdie putt, this time from eight feet, pushing a frankly appalling effort out to the right. Coming behind, Jason Day, who sends his second wide right of the green, then doesn’t hit his chip coming in. But somebody’s making a move! Up on 3, Soren Kjeldsen rakes a monster across the green for birdie! He’s level par!
-3: Spieth
-2: Kaufman
E: Kjeldsen (3), Willett (2), Day (1), D Johnson (1), Langer (1), Matsuyama (1)
Updated
First the penultimate pairing: Bernhard Langer is through the back of the green in two, Hideki Matsuyama short right. Both face tricky up and downs. And back on the tee, the final pairing! The leader Jordan Spieth splits the fairway, and finally Smylie Kaufman takes his driver and lashes his ball near the bunker down the right. He’s not in it, but he might not have the best stance there.
Fairly fuss-free birdies for Jason Day and Dustin Johnson on the opening hole. No drama. They stay at level par. Up on 18, Henrik Stenson signs for a 69, and ends the day +6. Not bad at all, though the best round of the day so far has been by the French amateur Romain Langasque, whose four-under 68 catapulted him up from the bottom of the leaderboard to +10. He’ll not be winning the silver medal, unless Bryson DeChambeau suffers an unlikely confidence crisis, but that’s some achievement today by the 20-year-old. Everybody’s happy.
McIlroy pearls his drive down the right of the short par-four 3rd, and off the bank by the side of the green. The ball kinks round to the left, stopping 15 feet behind the hole. He’ll have that for eagle! He can’t make the tricky downhill putt, but in goes the birdie attempt from a couple of feet, and he’s back to +2. Meanwhile Bryson DeChambeau has reached the turn in 35. A birdie at 2, the rest pars. He’s +4. That’s a fine performance for a player who will be turning professional once he’s scribbled his name on today’s card.
Disappointment for both Willett and Westwood on the 1st green. The former misses a 12-footer for birdie after a lovely second shot, and stays at level par; the latter three putts and drops back to +2. Rory splashes out from the bunker at 2 to 12 feet, but he’s got to make that for par. Which he does, but that’s a 5-5 start, not what he was after at all. He’s +3. And there’s a big pairing about to tee it up: Jason Day and Dustin Johnson. If someone’s going to make a run from the pack, you fancy it could be one of these two. Or perhaps both of them.
The 2012 and 2014 champion Bubba Watson signs for a one-under 71. It’s his best round of the week, though that’s not saying much. He ends his Tournament at +9. His playing partner Sergio ended his tournament bravely: birdies at 8, 9, 13 and 16. He signs for a 71 too, and he ends +8. So much hope after that opening-day 69, only for him to follow it up with 75 and 81. Ah well, there’s always Troon. Incidentally, Jamie Donaldson started well, with birdies at 1 and 2, but since then it’s been a struggle. A double bogey at 5 was followed by bogeys at 6 and 7, and before he knew it, he was back at +7.
Paul Casey started nicely with a birdie at 2. But he races a long birdie putt 10 feet past the hole at 5. He refuses to hand the shot back to the field, though. A brilliant Spiethesque saver coming back, straight into the cup, and he remains at +3. Momentum all important if he wants a high finish. Back on the 2nd, Rory finds the fairway bunker down the right, as he does by habit now. He’ll be laying up here again. Then dumping his long iron into the bunker front right. This is a poor start. And on 1, the English pair of Danny Willett and Lee Westwood tee off. Straight down the middle. Up on the green, a 15-foot par saver for Brandt Snedeker, who remains at +1.
A wonderful second into 7 by Matthew Fitzpatrick. He’s got a five-footer for birdie, but hits it way too hard and it horseshoes out. He’s left with three feet for his par! In it goes, but that’s such a shame for the young man, who after his fast start with birdies at 2 and 3 remains at +3. It’s all experience in the bank for an exceptional talent.
Not the start Rory wanted. His chip up to the green doesn’t bite and flies 30 feet past the hole. He can’t drain the putt coming back, and that’s an opening bogey. He’s back to +3, and his already slim chances of doing something special here look gone. Ahead of him, a perfect start for JB Holmes, who opened with birdie at Tea Olive. He’s +2. And an eagle for Henrik Stenson on 15. He’s +8, so it’s of little use to him, but it does suggest the par fives could offer up quite a bit of drama later on when it really matters. The 15th’s not playing into the wind any more. Downwind equals plenty of eagles. That’s the equation we’re all banking on.
Updated
Thanks to Simon there. He’s promised you some excitement - and here’s some excitement. It’s Rory McIlroy! He needs a very fast start if he’s to do anything today, and even then to be honest we’re clutching at straws if a career grand slam is to be completed in a few hours. But he pushes his opening drive into the trees down the right - miles right - and is very fortunate indeed to see his ball clatter back out and into the second cut. He doesn’t take advantage of the lucky break, and sends his second right of the green. He’ll have a very difficult up and down through a swale.
And with that, I’m gone. Scott Murray will take you through the remains of the day – that is, all the really exciting bits. Bye!
Also having a bad day: Davis Love III, who was five over by the time he reached the eighth tee yesterday, is four over today, so it’s an improvement of sorts. And Ireland’s Shane Lowry, who triple-bogeyed the third and has reached the turn at five over. Keegan Bradley meanwhile has just double-bogeyed the 11th, and is also five over.
Updated
Chris Wood has triple-bogeyed the part-four third hole, which from his point of view was more festering sore than Flowering Peach. He drops from a tie for 18th to a tie for 32nd, which has got to hurt, though his day is still young.
García doesn’t get a birdie, his putt just dying at the last to miss by an inch. And Watson escapes with a par as well. Two very different ways to get the same result there.
García, also on the 15th, hits his tee shot into woods on the left, lays up, and then hits a lovely approach and might end up with a birdie.
Bubba Watson has made a total mess of his tee shot on the 15th, shanking it to the right where it looked likely to come to a rest behind a grandstand.
And Thomas has indeed birdied the 15th. Smile, lad!
Justin Thomas’s trousers might be rosy, but his face is furious. Every time we see him hit a shot he looks disgusted with himself and life in general. He’s just overrun the green at 15, which he’s absolutely apoplectic about. He’s still one under today, just 22 years old, and going all the way in his first Masters, he needs to give himself a break. Plus, he’s now pitched to within three feet.
Langasque also birdied the last, and was five under over the back nine, four under for the day, by a distance the best final round so far. It leaves him tied for 43rd place; the difference in prize money between 43rd and 54th, where he’d be had he not birdied four of the last five holes, is about $15,000. So, good work (though he’s an amateur, so won’t get any of it).
Updated
A lovely put from Mahan at 14 curls and trickles to within two feet, giving him a chance to pull back another of those shots he dropped between 10 and 12. He’s had three double bogeys so far today, and three birdies (plus one standard, common-or-garden bogey).
The only other player, outwith Donaldson and Fitzpatrick, who is more than one under today is Romain Langasque, who’s three under as he heads to the 18th.
Updated
Matthew Fitzpatrick, who’s playing with Donaldson, has also birdied successive holes – two and three, in his case – to join his playmate at three over overall.
Updated
Justin Thomas, in his fetching pink trousers, has sent his tee shot at the 14th into the trees. Mahan finds the middle of the fairway.
Hunter Mahan dropped five shots in three holes – double bogeys at the 10th and 11th and a bogey on the 12th – but he’s just birdied the 13th. He’s still four over for the day, though.
Jamie Donaldson has only parred either of the first two holes once all week. He’s bogeyed the first in rounds two and three, birdied the second in rounds one and two, and got an eagle there in round three. Today there’s at least been consistency: birdies at both, and he’s two under after two holes. Six more of those and he’ll have a share of the lead.
Hello! And I greet you with news of a par for García at the 12th, and an answer for those of you saying, “Yes, but what does John Hartson think?”
Must say how fantastic it would be if Langer was to pick up his 3rd Green jacket at the age of 58! #properplayer #masters ⛳️
— John Hartson (@JohnHartson10) April 10, 2016
I’m going to hand over now to Simon Burnton, who will take real good care of you for the next hour. See you soon for the denouement of what promises to be a classic Masters!
Bryson DeChambeau came here this week with the intention of making history as the first amateur winner of the Masters. He started out at +5 today, eight behind Jordan Spieth, so that’s not going to happen. He’s unlikely to match the feats of Frank Stranahan, Ken Venturi and Charles Coe by coming second, either. But a high finish and the silver medal would be lovely, nonetheless. To this end, he’s birdied 2, and moved to +4. He’ll be worth keeping an eye on this afternoon, and not just because he looks like the lovechild of Payne Stewart and Chevy Chase. If only he’d not dropped five shots on 18 this week, though!
A few more red numbers for today’s rounds cropping up on the big leaderboard now, all of which augurs well for an afternoon of drama and excitement ahead. Danny Lee, a contender for so long before crumbling on the back nine yesterday, has birdied 2 to move to +4. Jamie Donaldson, after a should-have-been-better 75 yesterday, opens with a birdie at Tea Olive; he’s +4 too. And the marvellous Kiradech Aphibarnrat bounces back from a disappointing double bogey at the last yesterday with birdie at 2. He’s +4.
Scott Piercy was challenging the leaders yesterday, until a disastrous back nine of 42. He started the day out at +5, but has just registered his first birdie for 26 holes at the par-five 2nd. His playing partner, the in-form Rafael Cabrera-Bello joins the under-par band too, with birdie at the same hole. He’s +5 now.
Updated
Sergio had gone 23 holes without a birdie. But he matched Bubba’s four at 8, and now he’s carded back-to-back birds after sinking a 30-foot right-to-left curler at 9. He reaches the turn +10 for the Tournament, with his partner Bubba a shot ahead at +9. Too little, too late, as usual, but it’s nice to see him enjoying himself. Bubba is one of six players under par for their rounds so far today, along with Adam Scott, Harris English, Henrik Stenson, Justin Thomas and Kevin Na. Not a huge number considering there are 29 players out there, but its a better return than the same stage yesterday.
A beneficial lesson here for any of the leaders, should they come a cropper around Amen Corner later this afternoon. Kevin Na (last heard of at 4.10pm BST) couldn’t keep his early form going. Four under for his round through 7, he bogeyed 10, then became Sunday’s first casualty of Amen Corner, dunking his tee shot at 12 into Rae’s Creek. The double took him back down to +14. But he had a positive response to getting wet: birdie at 13 and he’s climbing away from the bottom of that leaderboard again.
Another birdie for Scott, at the par-five 2nd. A fast start for the 2013 winner, who is +5 now. And another birdie for the 2012 and 2014 winner Bubba, who is clearly just playing for kicks now. He lashes his second at the par-five 8th to the front fringe, and gets up and down to move into red figures for the day. It’ll be nice if he could sign off with one decent round, though in fairness he could end up with anything today. He opens his shoulders on the 9th tee, gives it the big blooter, and larrups his ball into the pines down the left of the hole. Even when his antics are completely inconsequential, it’s very hard to take your eyes off Bubba. A superstar.
Updated
The 2013 champion, and many people’s pre-tournament tip, Adam Scott tees off. And he’s started out with a birdie. He’s +6 overall. He was pretty unfortunate to be out in the worst of the wind yesterday. His run of pars from 1 through to 7 was a scrambling masterclass, several mid-range par savers sunk along the way. Jordan Spieth would have been proud. He also turned on the jets on Friday afternoon, when it looked as though he might miss the cut: his tee shot at 12, right by the pin, kick-started that particular rescue mission, and was as good a shot as we’ve seen all week. He’s never quite managed to maintain any momentum, but he hasn’t played badly. It just wasn’t meant to be his year. [Copies last sentence to clipboard for arrival of Rory at 1.55pm ET]
Bubba can’t make his birdie. That’s an awful shame; the approach was a peach. He remains at +10. Sergio’s wedge into the green hit the pin and clanked five feet from the hole. Unfortunate. He knocks in a missable par saver, now that it doesn’t really matter. He’s +12.
A couple of early birdies for Henrik Stenson, at 1 and 2. He’s +7 overall. Henrik turned 40 this week. Does this brisk start count as a belated birthday present? Probably not. Another major passes, and the sense that he’s destined to become another Monty-style nearly man of European golf grows. There are quite a lot of those, come to think about it. Bah. Meanwhile Bubba has suddenly started performing a few tricks. Birdie on 6, after clipping his tee shot to 12 feet, then he’s inches away from spinning a short iron into the cup from 158 yards on 7. The ball rolls six feet past the hole, but so close to eagle. The pack chasing Jordan Spieth will be pleased to see there are shots out here today.
Updated
On Thursday morning we were all wondering whether Bubba Watson had locked himself into an Arnold Palmer style biennial winning cycle. The King won here in 1958, 1960, 1962 and 1964. Bubba won in 2012 and 2014. So much for that, then. After reaching the heights of -3 through 8 on Thursday, he’s not really been that fussed. Back in 41 for a 75. Another 75 on Friday. And a 76 yesterday, though he did at least have the pleasure of beating marker and Masters cult hero Jeff Knox. He started out today with bogey and three pars. Then on the tee at 5, a classic comic cut, as he snap hooks his drive into the trees down the right. The ball hits a branch flush, and twangs back out into the centre of the fairway. He could sell that lucky break to the rest of the field for a few quid. Sure enough, he walks off the hole with a par. He’s +11. His playing partner, circus fans, is Sergio Garcia. A wayward drive and three putts means a double bogey for our major-free pal, and he’s +12. Imagine a parallel universe with these two in the final match. Actually, Sergio and Dustin would be my fantasy pick. Either one of them would need a 15-shot cushion going up the last. Anyway, I digress as we wait for the main event.
Easy to forget that Martin Kaymer was world number one for a while back there. Brilliant but unassuming. His record here is awful, though. This is his ninth visit to the Masters, and he’s missed the cut five times. He’ll not be improving on his best finish of a tie for 31st. After rounds of 74, 75 and 79, he’s bogeyed 1 and 4 today, and flounders at +14, the worst-placed professional left in the field. A slightly strange record given the US Open and PGA wins on his CV, plus a top-ten finish at the Open. Not everyone’s game is compatible with Augusta, I guess, but even Lee Trevino managed a couple of top-ten finishes here along the way. Still, there’s always next year. [Copies last sentence to clipboard for arrival of Rory at 1.55pm ET]
An early illustration of the change in conditions. Yesterday, poor old Kevin Na shot a 13-over-par round of 85. Bogeys at 3, 5, 7, 11, 12 and 18, double bogeys at 1 and 13, and a triple bogey at 14. (Imagine how happy we’d be with that.) Anyway, much has changed today. He’s out first, on his own, and he’s revelling in existential bliss: birdies at 3 and 7, plus an eagle at 2. Four under for his round through seven holes! It hoicks him off the foot of the leaderboard, up to +11, leaving the French amateur Romain Langasque at the bottom on +15. No shame in that for a 20-year-old finding his way.
Updated
Today’s pin locations: The classic placements are there: back right at 12 (Fred chipping up from the bank in 1992); middle left at 16 (Jack sinking a long one in 1975, Tiger curling one home in 2005); middle front at 18 (Sandy in 1988, but take your pick really). And the weather, after two days of acting the bully, is everyone’s friend today. It’s certainly not warm by Augusta standards, but it’s bright and dry, and there’s unlikely to be much wind. After 48 hours of attrition, it’s all set up nicely for birdie blitzes!
Welcome, patrons, to Masters Sunday!
Imagine what the leaderboard of the 2016 Masters would look like had Jordan Spieth brought his A-game to Augusta National. It doesn’t bear thinking about, really, does it.
As it is, the Jack Nicklaus de nos jours and all-round class act leads the field going into Sunday anyway. He’s been wayward this week by his own ludicrously high standards, a few exquisite approaches apart. On occasion he’s sent his ball whistling into the woods with the reckless panache of peak-era Seve. But his astonishing street-fighting scrambles have kept him ahead of the pack. What a putter! Even that opening-day 66 was more notable for the pars he somehow saved than the birdies he inevitably made. But this is how serial champions carry on. He’s on a different plane. He’s one round away from becoming only the fourth player to win back-to-back Masters after Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods, and the first to do so having led both wire-to-wire!
Still, nobody’s perfect. And Spieth’s mini-meltdown over the closing holes last night has thrown this Masters wide open. Look at this!
-3: Spieth
-2: Kaufman
-1: Langer, Matsuyama
E: Day, D Johnson, Willett
+1: Westwood, Snedeker, Kjeldsen
+2: Berger, McIlroy
Spieth isn’t the only player poised to rewrite history. Going out with him in the final pairing: Smylie Kaufman. The 24-year-old from Alabama shot 69 yesterday, the only sub-70 round recorded on either Friday or Saturday. He came in last night with birdies at 13, 14 and 16, demonstrating his mettle when plenty of bigger names were shedding shots hither and yon. Only the one bogey on a treacherous day of high scoring. He admits Spieth’s record against him as junior golfers is “probably one thousand to zero; he’s always beaten me”. But there’s always a first time. And if he lands the Green Jacket today - he’s already won on Tour this season, shooting a final-day 61 to win the Shriners Open - he’ll become only the fourth debutant to win here after Horton Smith in 1934, Gene Sarazen in 1935, and Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979. We could all be Smylie’s people tonight.
Then there’s Bernhard Langer. The two-time Master, winner here in 1985 and 1993, is 58 years of age now. Should he win here today, he’ll become the oldest player to ever win a major, beating the record set by Julius Boros at the 1968 PGA by ten years. Greg Norman and Tom Watson have narrowly failed to become fiftysomething major winners in recent years, both coming close at the Open. Can Langer make it third-time lucky for the old-school romantics at Augusta?
Or could Hideki Matsuyama become the first male Japanese winner of a golfing major? Shingo Katayama finished fourth here in 2009, as did Toshimitsu Izawa in 2001. Isao Aoki had a couple of top-20 finishes in the 1980s. Tommy Nakajima tied for eighth in 1988. The 24-year-old Matsuyama finished fifth here last year, and has top-ten finishes at the US Open and Open Championship on his CV too. It’s about that time. He just needs to sprinkle that putter with a little of Spieth’s Special Stuff.
Jason Day meanwhile is looking to become only the fifth player to follow up a win at the PGA Championship with a Green Jacket at the start of the following season. He’d be walking in the footsteps of giants: Sam Snead (1951-52), Jack Nicklaus (1971-72), Tiger Woods (2000-01) and Phil Mickelson (2005-06). The brilliant Australian wouldn’t be out of place.
Or can Rory McIlroy become only the seventh player to complete a career grand slam, after Bobby Jones, Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods? Not on the evidence of yesterday’s shambolic round, no.
A second Englishman for the title? Danny Willett, Lee Westwood and Justin Rose are attempting to follow Nick Faldo’s lead. Can Dustin Johnson finally break his major duck, or will he break our hearts again with another of those endearing, bittersweet meltdowns? Will Soren Kjeldsen finally bring a major title to the Nordic countries? The possibilities are infinite, especially as the course will be set up for birdies today, and the wind isn’t what it was. But there’s one thing we know for certain: it’s on! We’ll get going here at 4pm BST, which is 11am in the sweet Georgia town of Augusta. In the meantime, those tee times...
9.45am ET (2.45pm BST): Kevin Na
9.55am ET (2.55pm BST): Cameron Smith, Romain Langasque (a)
10.05am ET (3.05pm BST): Thongchai Jaidee, Ian Poulter
10.15am ET (3.15pm BST): Larry Mize, Martin Kaymer
10.25am ET (3.25pm BST): Hunter Mahan, Justin Thomas
10.35am ET (3.35pm BST): Sergio Garcia, Bubba Watson
10.45am ET (3.45pm BST): Henrik Stenson, Kevin Streelman
10.55am ET (3.55pm BST): Kevin Kisner, Victor Dubuisson
11.05am ET (4.05pm BST): Bernd Wiesberger, Troy Merritt
11.15am ET (4.15pm BST): Anirban Lahiri, Keegan Bradley
11.35am ET (4.35pm BST): Shane Lowry, Patrick Reed
11.45am ET (4.45pm BST): Adam Scott, Harris English
11.55am ET (4.55pm BST): Davis Love III, Webb Simpson
12.05pm ET (5.05pm BST): Scott Piercy, Rafael Cabrera-Bello
12.15pm ET (5.15pm BST): Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Danny Lee
12.25pm ET (5.25pm BST): Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau (a)
12.35pm ET (5.35pm BST): Matthew Fitzpatrick, Jamie Donaldson
12.45pm ET (5.45pm BST): Bill Haas, Charley Hoffman
12.55pm ET (5.55pm BST): Jimmy Walker, Chris Wood
1.05pm ET (6.05pm BST): Emiliano Grillo, Paul Casey
1.25pm ET (6.25pm BST): Matt Kuchar, Billy Horschel
1.35pm ET (6.35pm BST): J.B. Holmes, Louis Oosthuizen
1.45pm ET (6.45pm BST): Justin Rose, Angel Cabrera
1.55pm ET (6.55pm BST): Daniel Berger, Rory McIlroy
2.05pm ET (7.05pm BST): Brandt Snedeker, Soren Kjeldsen
2.15pm ET (7.15pm BST): Danny Willett, Lee Westwood
2.25pm ET (7.25pm BST): Jason Day, Dustin Johnson
2.35pm ET (7.35pm BST): Bernhard Langer, Hideki Matsuyama
2.45pm ET (7.45pm BST): Jordan Spieth, Smylie Kaufman
Updated
