Rose unable to hold off Garcia in regulation
AUGUSTA, Ga. — As soon as the putt slipped past the cup on the first playoff hole, Justin Rose knew it was over.
He took off his cap and stood to the side of the green, resigned to his fate.
Not two hours earlier, it looked like the Masters was his for the taking.
Now, all Rose could do was watch as Sergio Garcia curled in a 12- foot birdie to finish off a dramatic duel at Augusta National.
"It was a wonderful battle with Sergio," Rose said Sunday evening, "I just needed one or two putts coming in."
He grimaced a bit, no doubt remembering the little 6- footer that skidded by the cup on No. 13, when he had a chance to put Garcia away after the Spaniard drove one under an azalea bush.
Or perhaps he was thinking of the 7- footer at the 17th, the one he just didn't hit hard enough, resulting in a bogey that sent him to the 72nd hole tied with Garcia.
And he'll never forget that final hole of regulation, his first crack at No. 18, where another 7- footer burned the edge of the cup.
It really stung when Garcia missed an even shorter putt.
But Rose isn't going to beat himself up too much.
"I would say this one probably is one that slipped by, for sure," Rose said, quickly adding: "I can't pick holes in my performance. I felt fantastic out there. I felt cool, calm and collected."
As soon as it was over, Rose walked out to embrace Garcia in the middle of the green.
"It's always nice to be a part of history," Rose said. "I would have liked to be on the right part of it."
Spieth melts down
Jordan Spieth played the final round of the Masters precisely how he planned which is why he couldn't believe his run at another green jacket turned into one of the worst rounds at Augusta National in his young career.
He was still shaking his head in disbelief when he walked off the course.
Spieth, the 2015 Masters champ, began the day at 4 under, two strokes behind coleaders Rose and Garcia and was thrilled about his chances of winning his second Masters. Instead, Spieth opened with bogeys on two of his first three holes.
He shot a 75, a score he shot here in the opening round and his largest number in 16 career rounds at Augusta National.
He said the results weren't shocking, "just a little bizarre."
Spieth used a late rally to control the damage in his round, making birdies on the 15th, 16th and 18th holes to finish at 1 under overall the fourth time in four career appearances he broke par at the Masters.
He tied for 11th, ending a remarkable run of finishing second, first and second the past three years.
"I'm really pleased with the way we finished this round to get back to red" under-par numbers, Spieth said. "Because for a while there, it was ` What are we doing?' And I wasn't doing much wrong and that's what was so tough."