Sunday at Augusta never fails to provide the thunderous roars, from Amen Corner down to the final stretch. Here we look at the best and worst plays from the final round of The Masters, writes WADE PRETORIUS.
Birdie
The 18-hole duel between Sergio Garcia and Justin Rose was the standout on Sunday. The pair outlasted the field before turning on each other – but not in a malicious way as they played the final nine holes on Sunday with textbook sportsmanship to match the excellent quality of their battle.
The final pairing showed us everything that golf should be about. Birdies, bogeys, clutch putts, penalty strokes for wayward drives and everything in between. It was a fantastic performance from both, but ultimately Garcia outlasted his good friend Rose to rid himself of his Major nightmares and replace them with a green jacket instead. For Rose, he will be pleased with his performance and go on to have a strong season and possibly add another Major to his own collection.
Matt Kuchar’s hole-in-one on 16 gets an honourable mention.
Par
It wasn’t the dream round that he wanted, but Charl Schwartzel played solid enough on Sunday to add a top 5 to his CV. Although he cut a frustrated figure on Sunday, Schwartzel’s touch was great tee to green, demonstrated best with his eagle attempt on the 13th.
His week at The Masters will give him the confidence in the weeks to come. It’s imperative that he takes the lessons learnt in Georgia with him on tour and look to get his world ranking and FedExCup standing trending in the right direction.
Bogey
The penultimate pair of Rickie Fowler and Jordan Spieth take this ‘honour’ after failing to add their share of the fireworks at Augusta. Friends and some of the best players on tour, they struggled to make an impact on Sunday as Spieth struggled on the front nine and Fowler was unable to give himself the regular birdie attempts that a player in his position during the final round of a Major needs. Both finished well over par in the final round.
Spieth is not quite the master of Augusta – he found the water at 12 again – but at least has multiple Majors to his name already and that will help him sleep a bit easier. For Fowler, he will continue to carry around the ‘overrated’ tag as long as he continues to put himself into contention and then failing to deliver the goods.
