SUPER SPIETH’S
Sizzling 64 sets pace but Rory falls away
Jordan Spieth didn’t think he had a prayer of winning the 82nd Masters with a round to play. ‘i’m looking forward to my first stress-free final round at augusta national,’ said the texan before setting out.
in four previous appearances, Spieth had been in either the final group or the penultimate one in compiling a marvellous record than included one victory and two runnerup finishes.
this time he was nine strokes behind and no one had ever made up such a deficit to claim the Masters. With 22 of the last 27 winners coming from the final group, it was only natural that all the attention was focused on patrick reed and rory Mcilroy in the last pairing.
But with both of them clearly affected by nerves, Spieth detected an unlikely opening. So good was he over the first 12 holes the one thing his final round hadn’t become was stress-free.
the 24-year- old reached the turn in 32 shots to cut the deficit from nine shots to four going into the fabled back nine. two years ago, he was four up with nine to play but lost out to danny Willett. he knew better than anyone what was possible.
there was a lovely moment at the 12th, the hole that cost him in 2016. this time he found the putting surface and threw his arms into the air. he holed the putt for a two. Just the four shots better, then.
at the 13th, Spieth played one of the great shots of this Masters. From the pine needles on the dogleg at this par five, he took a hybrid and hit a tremendous blow to 12 feet. the only surprise was that he missed the eagle attempt.
on Saturday evening, Mcilroy and reed had both needled each other after their marvellous third rounds, where the american had shot 67 for a three-shot advantage over the northern irishman, who had closed the gap with a 65.
‘i feel like he has all the pressure because he’s got a three-shot lead and he’s got to sleep on it,’ said Mcilroy.
‘rory’s the one who’s chasing the career Grand Slam,’ reminded reed.
the truth of the matter, of course, is the stakes were enormous for both, and goodness was it underlined as both players delivered golf that was clearly consumed by nerves.
the jitters both players were suffering showed from their opening tee shots. after the starter, augusta member toby Wilt, introduced reed, he promptly hooked a three wood into the pine needles.
Mcilroy then struck a tee shot that might have been his worst since the last time he was in the final group here in 2011, when his drive at the 10th went straight left and he played from under the shadow of Butler’s Cabin.
this one went straight right and was so bad his initial reaction was to play a provisional. he got lucky, just as he had on a number of occasions during Saturday’s third round.
From roughly the spot where phil Mickelson had made a triple bogey on Saturday, Mcilroy had an opening clear enough to strike his approach into a greenside bunker, where reed had also finished. reed then bladed his shot 30 feet past the flag. Mcilroy played his sand shot beautifully to six feet and holed the par putt to take full advantage of his good fortune. With reed getting a bogey, he had already made inroads into the deficit.
Buoyed by his fortune, Mcilroy launched a 379-yard howitzer at the second and played a towering iron shot to six feet. With reed only managing a par, he actually had a chance to wipe out the arrears entirely after just two holes, but he pushed it.
that was as good as it got for Mcilroy. drives and iron shots kept going right, as did short putts.
two more atypically wayward drives at the seventh and eighth, and it was clear that Mcilroy was going to have to somehow find a way to relax over the fabled back nine to keep his Grand Slam hopes alive.
there was no obvious improvement, with a bogey at the 11th. after 12 holes, Mcilroy was four
behind Spieth, who was on the 16th, and five adrift of Reid. Rickie Fowler was two off the lead and John Rahm three behind.
Here was a devastating illustration, if ever one was needed, of why only five players have managed the Slam.
Spieth dropped a shot at the last to finish with a 64 at 13 under, two behind Reed.
The dramatic proceedings hardly needed something to heighten the anticipation but Paul Casey provided it with a glorious cameo.
The way the 40- year- old Englishman dismantled the first six holes of the back nine was breathtaking.
With three holes to play Casey was going along so serenely he had a course record in his sights and a scarcely believable score of 62. To think, Casey made the cut with nothing to spare. In fact, he was the first man on the course on Saturday with Augusta member Jeff Knox marking his card. Casey compiled a 69 to move up the leaderboard.
He continued the good work with a front nine played in 33 strokes but the real fireworks began at the 11th where he chipped in for a bonus birdie. At the 12th he holed for another birdie and then at the 13th he sank another long one for an eagle three. It meant he had played the trio of holes that comprise Amen Corner in just eight shots — equalling the best of all time.
There was more. Birdie at the 14th. Birdie at the 15th. He was nine under for his round, needing one more birdie to lower the record set by Greg Norman in 1986 and matched by Nick Price 10 years later. As he stood on the 16th tee it was as if reality struck. A par, bogey, bogey finish meant ‘only’ a 65.
Is it possible for a man to be disappointed with such a total? It might have been Casey given the glorious opportunity he had for the lowest score seen at Augusta for over 20 years.