AUGUSTA, Ga. >>
If no one in history had ever shot four rounds in the 60s in 81 previous Masters, then you had to figure Patrick Reed wasn’t going to be the first.
Add to that fact that six of the top 10 golfers giving chase already had at least one major piece of hardware in their trophy case, then it stood to reason Reed wasn’t a sure thing to be fitted for a green jacket entering Sunday’s final round at chilly Augusta National Golf Club.
Struggling from start to finish where his opening shot was tucked next to a pine tree and his 71st found the bottom of the cup from a knee-knocking 3 feet, Reed somehow got it done during a dramatic back nine that had the patrons screaming and yelling like a wild party on New Year’s Eve.
Most figured playing partner Rory McIlroy would be the one to keep Reed from winning his first major on this crisp April afternoon at the emerald green pasture that Bobby Jones cultivated into America’s most recognized 18 holes. The Northern Irishman was trying to become the first European to win all four major championships in one career and as it turned out that didn’t happen either.
McIlroy was the only golfer among the top 15 finishers to shoot over par on Sunday to remove himself from consideration early on during the back nine. But there were other golfers willing to step in for him, namely Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler.
Spieth also had to battle a little Masters history en route to his unlikely run at greatness. He began the day nine shots off the pace, despite being the opening-round leader where he carded a blistering 66. But a 74 on Friday and a 71 on Saturday left him at 5 under after 54 holes and in need of a minor miracle to catch his fellow Texan.
History won out again.
After 17 holes, Spieth was 9 under for his round and within one shot of Reed, who was somewhere on the 15th hole just trying to survive. If Spieth pars, he matches the course record of 63 set first by Nick Price in 1986 and then again by Greg Norman in 1996. If he birdies, he breaks it and draws even with Reed with a real chance to become the first golfer to win at the Masters who began his round from more than eight shots back.
He did neither.
An errant shot off the tee, much like the one
he had during Thursday’s opening round, eventually had Spieth staring down an 8-footer for par at the 18th that he just missed wide left to finish at 13 under for the
tournament.
His 64 equaled the best closing round set six times before and he eventually finished two shots behind Reed. Twice before, past winners Jack Burke in 1958 and Gary Player 20 years later made Masters history by winning after trailing by eight shots. Nine was a Hogan Bridge too far. But that didn’t mean the drama was over.
Fowler still had a little left in the tank and made things interesting with a birdie at the 18th to finish at 14 under for the tournament, just one shot behind Reed. In 2014, Fowler placed in the top five of all four majors and in the top five twice last year at the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship.
He was bucking his own history of close but no victory cigar as he waited in the scorer’s cabin to see if he could improve upon his projected runner-up finish in 2018. But much like everyone trying to do something that had never been done before, he came up just short, leaving Reed as the last golfer standing.
Fortunately for Reed, his failure to shoot his last round in the 60s didn’t keep him from warming up inside that green jacket Sergio Garcia threw on his back as the sun sank low in the west, but it sure made things interesting for those basking in the moment.
The former Augusta State golfer probably wasn’t the patrons’ first choice to slip into the magical green coat, but they cheered him on just the same as history on this long afternoon decided to repeat itself and not be broken.
