SERGIOH! HE TAKES 13 AT ONE HOLE
Defending champion finds a watery grave with brutal 13 at 15th
SERGIO GARCIA’S defence of his masters green jacket was effectively over at the 15th hole of his first round yesterday after he took a nightmare 13 shots. garcia put five balls in the water to suffer the ignominy of equalling the highest score for a single hole in the history of the masters. Last year he eagled the same hole on the way to winning the tournament. The Spaniard, who finished with a nine-over-par 81, said: ‘i don’t know what to say. it’s one of those things. it’s the first time in my career. The ball just didn’t want to stop.’
They often talk about the cruel beauty of Augusta National but what befell the defending champion Sergio Garcia in the opening round of the 82nd Masters yesterday was pure sadism.
No player ever wore their green jacket with more pride than the Spaniard over the past year.
For three days he has walked on air around these cherished acres and was a gracious host of the Champions Dinner.
Now he is more in need of a straitjacket after recording the worst score seen on a single hole at Augusta for 38 years.
A 13 that he felt was unlucky but must have left him feeling unhinged last night, as he reflected on the fact his defence had come to an end during 15 minutes of Masters madness.
While Tiger Woods shot a prosaic 73 to show that even a walking miracle man can only perform so many prodigious feats, two amazing stories unfolded at the top of the leaderboard.
The Masters is being shown live in China for the first time and 22year- old haotong Li — the man who beat Rory McIlroy to win the Dubai Desert Classic in January — certainly made it a worthwhile exercise with a fine 69.
Out on the course, Tony Finau, who dislocated his ankle on the eve of the tournament celebrating a hole in one during the par-three contest, had limped his way to four under par with two to play.
Finau popped his ankle back into place right there and then after the dislocation and was declared fit to play following an MRI.
Meanwhile, McIlroy was getting his career Grand Slam hopes off to an ideal start as he moved to two under par with six holes to play.
Masters specialist Jordan Spieth was also going well at three under with five to go.
As he made his way to the fateful 15th hole, Garcia was doing OK at two over. This, after all, was the hole that changed everything for him in the fourth round last year, the hole he eagled to catch Justin Rose. Another eagle this time and he would be on the first page of the leaderboard. Then, a grotesque episode where he wrote a new page in the annals of Masters infamy.
After going for it in two and finding the water that protects the front of the green, Garcia pitched over the hazard with his fourth shot. But there was too much spin on the ball and back it rolled into the drink.
A bad mistake, certainly, but hardly an unusual one on this deceptively dangerous risk/ reward hole.
Only then he did it again. And again. And again. By now, it had turned into car crash television, something to watch through the fingers of your hands. A re-run of the end of the movie Tin Cup, if you’re familiar with that excellent golfing picture.
except this was all too real, the biggest golf tournament in America — not cinematic entertainment. With those four destructive blows, any hope Garcia had of keeping his arms in the jacket had gone.
The packed grandstand roared their approval when he tried for a sixth time and, mercifully, the ball came to rest on the green. he ended up having to hole a 10-foot putt for a 13. yes, a 13.
Needless to say, it was the worst score on that hole in the entire history of the tournament by two shots. It was the worst score seen on any hole since the 13 posted by Tom Weiskopf at the 12th in 1980, and the 13 by Tommy Nakajima at the 13th in 1978.
Perhaps only in golf could a man go from playing his sport with immaculate grace to writing down something that would embarrass the most hapless of hackers.
Some were ready to mock him when he said afterwards that he never hit a bad shot, but when people talk about Augusta’s fine margins, this might have been the ultimate illustration.
If any of those wedge shots had carried another six feet the ball would have stopped, rather than rolling back into the hazard, and he would have been left with a short birdie putt each time.
It says much about the character of Garcia that he stepped on to the par-three 16th, struck his tee shot to 10 feet and rolled in the putt. From a 13 to a two, but it made no difference in the grand scheme. his defence to all intents and purposes was over.
he signed for an 81. Give him a four at the 15th, and it would have been a level par 72.
While Garcia was wondering about what a difference a year can make, Charley hoffman was giving the leaderboard a similar look to 12 months ago.
Back then, the underrated American shot a wonderful 65 and here he was at it again with a 69, a score matched not only by Li but US Ryder Cup hero Patrick Reed and Swede henrik Stenson on his 42nd birthday.
This was the first time Stenson had broken 70 on day one here,
and came about following a change in strategy as he tried to do something about the fact in 13 previous appearances at Augusta he had one solitary top 15 finish to his name — and that a hardly headline-grabbing tied 14th in 2014.
‘Why don’t you try something different and use your driver?’ his coach Pete Cowen had suggested. ‘Sure, it will be more risky and you might miss the cut but better you take a chance and perhaps force your way into contention than finishing 25th again.’
Well, it certainly worked on day one.
Goodness knows, after all the shenanigans in South Africa for their other boys of summer, Australian sport could do with a lift here from its golfers.
Perhaps it will be the unassuming Marc Leishman, 34, who delivers it.
He was not remotely fazed by playing alongside Tiger as he showed what a wonderful iron player he is in shooting 70. It would have been better still but for an unfortunate double-bogey at the 15th.
As for Tiger’s other playing partner, Tommy Fleetwood showed all his battling qualities. Europe’s No1 had stood at two over par after 12 holes but came back to finish with a 72.
Former Masters champion Danny Willett showed plenty of fight to come back from five over par after 10 holes, facing calamity, to post a 75.
The 2016 champion from Sheffield was joined on that mark by fellow Yorkshireman Matt Fitzpatrick.
Paul Casey was highly fancied here, but he had a real rollercoaster round before settling for a 74.
As for Woods, after all the hype, the hoopla and the sheer joy of having him back, came a round that certainly didn’t contain any miracles.
Nothing wrong with that, of course, given that this was his first competitive round at this event for 1,069 days — and he has shot worse than 73 on the first day in the past and gone on to win (a 75 in 2005).
Indeed, Woods grew into the round and finished with two birdies in his last five holes.
When it comes to his golf, we may yet see the miraculous over the fascinating three days to come.