Going into the back nine, Jordan Spieth had just made four birdies in a row to get to seven under par. He had a five stroke lead over Danny Willett, and it looked like Spieth would cruise to his second straight Green Jacket. But, he went the Greg Norman route and it all fell apart on ten. He bogeyed ten and eleven, and walked to the Par-3 12th Hole. The first shot hits and rolls back into the water. Then, from the drop zone, he chunked his wedge like I do and it went into the water. Then, he overcompensated and hit his fifth shot into the greenside bunker. From there, he got up-and-down for a quadruple bogey. Spieth fell to fourth and Willett took the lead at -4, later extending that score to -5, where he would finish. Spieth made birdies at 13 and 15 to get him to three under, but missed a short birdie putt on sixteen. He then bogeyed 17, and needing a hole-in-one on the par-4 18th hole, Willett was guaranteed the Green Jacket. He becomes only the second Englishman to ever win a Green Jacket, joining Sir Nick Faldo, who won it three times. Willett almost didn't play, because his wife Nicole was due to have a baby. But, that baby was born about 11 days early, and Willett was the last to arrive late Monday night, and the rest is now history.
For Spieth, this 80th playing of the Masters will haunt him. He had a chance to become one of the few elite names to win the Masters in back-to-back. But, he ties for second with Englishman Lee Westwood. We will see how he recovers from this, and if he will be able to defend his U.S Open title and perhaps add a British Open and PGA Championship to his resume.
Cedar Rapids native and Elmcrest member Zach Johnson missed the cut by two strokes, after he hit the water on his backswing on the thirteenth hole on Friday, tough luck for the 2007 Masters winner.
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