AUGUSTA, GA. » Can we get a big amen for Jordan Spieth because that famed corner of the golf course proved to be his undoing?
Down by one coming off the 11th green after missing a makable birdie putt to tie eventual winner Bubba Watson, Spieth stepped up to the 12th tee and promptly hit his iron on the steep bank just short of the front of the green and watched the ball trickle down into the water, taking his green jacket with it.
A huge Amen Corner crowd jammed in among the pines with the cigar smoke drifting in the afternoon sunlight groaned in disbelief as Spieth’s golf ball plunked about 10 feet short of safety. The eventual bogey at the 12th and another missed birdie putt at the par-5 13th after Spieth sprayed his drive wide right into the pines was all Watson needed to win the Masters on Sunday by three shots over the 20-year-old Texan and Sweden’s Jonas Blixt.
Watson, coming off a shaky bogey at 10, matched Spieth’s par at 11, then parred the 12th and birdied the 13th to keep the drama at a minimum. In the final pairing, Watson and Spieth parred in as the Augusta National crowd showed its appreciation for both golfers with huge ovations at every hole the rest of the way.
The anticlimactic ending was driven home all too hard after both golfers displayed a wide array of shots on the front nine in a tit-for-tat episode of one-upmanship. Spieth built an early two-shot advantage with a par, birdie, par start, before hitting his tee shot at the difficult par-3 fourth into the front bunker, giving Watson an opening he took by knocking his ball 3 feet from the hole.
Not to be outdone, Spieth holed out from the bunker for birdie, prompting Watson caddie Ted Scott to give him a small round of applause. Watson said something to Scott, forcing a slight shrug. Scott then cheered Watson on when his man birdied it as well to remain down by two.
A similar situation happened again at the par-3 sixth. Watson trailed by only one after a bogey by Spieth at the fifth. He smacked his tee shot to within 5 feet for birdie. But once again, Spieth topped Watson with a near hole-in-one for a kick-in birdie, forcing Watson to sink his just to stay close.
The crowd — missing Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson — was finally abuzz as it turned into a two-man race through the front nine. Watson took a two-shot advantage into the turn, thanks in part to consecutive birdies at 8 and 9, but could have been tracked down had anyone mounted a charge over the closing holes. No one did, leaving Watson winning his second green jacket in three years.
Those living in Las Vegas could have collected a tidy sum on Watson, who was a 30-1 shot at Caesars Palace. Interestingly enough, Watson was a 25-1 choice the first time he took home a green jacket in 2012. Spieth was a 9-1 pick this year and Blixt was a mind-numbing 60-1 selection.
For Spieth, you get the feeling this is just the start of something big. As frustrated as he got with himself on the closing nine — several times he gripped the club in a controlled rage — you get the feeling he learned more lessons on this Sunday than he could have had he remained at the University of Texas.
And for Watson? Well, he’s only one jacket shy of Mickelson and two away from Woods. That’s saying a lot for a man named Bubba. Like the Dalai Lama, he’s long off the tee and has an excellent short game and putting stroke to go with it.
Granted, his mind tends to wander, but if he can remain true to his putting stroke, he has all the shots in his bag to go far. And while we’re at it, let’s give Bubba a big amen, too. He tamed that far corner of the course as well as anyone. And is wearing a green jacket once again to prove it.
Reach Paul Arnett at parnett@staradvertiser.com or 529-4786.
