USA TODAY International Edition
Spieth makes spirited Masters run
Texan comes up short after his 64
AUGUSTA, Ga. – Jordan Spieth, the young master of the Masters, lived the day of his dreams Sunday. For 16 holes, he was painting a sports masterpiece, playing a flawless round of golf with a stunning nine birdies, on pace for the greatest final round in Masters history. No one had ever shot a 63 on Sunday at the Masters. All he needed was two more pars and history would be his.
Nine strokes behind leader — and eventual winner — Patrick Reed when he began the day, Spieth was now tied for the lead with him. All he needed was two more pars, and history would be his. Would a Masters victory come with it?
Not quite. Augusta National giveth, but Augusta National also taketh away. An 18-foot birdie putt on No. 17 that would have taken Spieth to 10-under par for the day, and 15-under for the tournament, keeping pace with Reed, just slipped by, then Spieth made his biggest — and only — mistake of the round, clipping a tree limb with his tee shot on No. 18. After so much good luck, here came the bad. His drive dropped right there, just 177 yards from the tee, making the difficult finishing hole even harder. Yet Spieth still managed to set himself up with an 8-foot par putt, but that too slid by the hole. He cringed. It was his first bogey of the day. His fabulous attempt had come to an end. He finished with a 64, still an excellent round, good for third place overall but stopping his historic march in its tracks. Oh, but what a march it was. “Are you kidding me?” Spieth exclaimed to his caddie, Michael Greller, after a 33-foot birdie putt — the ninth and what would be his last of the day — fell off the face of the earth and into the 16th hole Sunday afternoon.
Are you kidding me, indeed?
It was a day any golfer would have wanted, most particularly a golfer named Rory McIlroy. While the matchplay-style final matchup of Reed and McIlroy fizzled with the Northern Irishman’s surprisingly uneven play, it turned out Reed’s prime rival for the title came from four groups behind.
Spieth, who is 24 going on about 40, it seems, shot 5-under 31 on the front nine, the best score on a front or back nine in the Masters in Spieth’s short but stellar career here. Teeing off 40 minutes ahead of Reed and McIlroy, Spieth birdied the first hole, the second, the fifth, the eighth and the ninth. All of a sudden, he had leaped into third place.
When McIlroy bogeyed No. 8 a bit later, Spieth moved into a tie for second with him. After Spieth birdied the par-3 12th, his old nemesis, he passed McIlroy and moved into second by himself.
Is Spieth made for the Masters? You decide. He tied for second as a 20-yearold in 2014. He led start to finish to win his first major in 2015. He led for the first three rounds in 2016, seemingly cruising to a second consecutive Masters title, when he knocked two balls into Rae’s Creek in the final round in 2016, taking a quadruple-bogey 7 and finishing tied for second once again. Last year was an uncharacteristic drop, a tie for 11th. And now this.
“I didn’t look at any board,” Spieth said on CBS of his Sunday round. “I knew every shot was important coming down the stretch . ... It was a phenomenal day. I think I proved to myself and others that you never give up.”
All the past drama at No. 12 allowed Spieth a moment of comic relief in the midst of his round. When his tee shot safely flew over the creek and just off the back of the green, he raised his arms in triumph with a big smile, mocking his previous travails.
He would be celebrating for real a few minutes later when he drained the 27foot putt for birdie to reach 11 under. “I’ll always have demons out here,” Spieth said, “but I’ll always have a tremendous amount of confidence out here.”
It most definitely was on display for all to see on yet another fascinating Sunday at the Masters for Jordan Spieth.