Chris Carlson/Associated PressAll it took was one disastrous hole on Sunday for Jordan Spieth to undo all the good work he had put in over the course of nearly four full rounds at the 2016 Masters.
Winner of the 2015 tournament at Augusta National Golf Club and atop the leaderboard after the first three rounds of this year's edition, Spieth would knock two shots into the water on the par-three 12th hole on Sunday and two-putt once he finally made it onto the green for a quadruple bogey. This came on the heels of bogeys on the 10th and 11th holes.
The No. 12 disaster sunk his tournament score from five under to one under, and he would go on to finish with a final-round score of 73.
His inconceivable meltdown paved the way for England's Danny Willett to win the 2016 Masters, the first major win of his career and his first PGA Tour win of any kind since turning pro in 2008.
Here's the final leaderboard from the competition:
Willett shot a 67 on Sunday with five birdies and no bogeys. Three of those birdies came on the final six holes. It was the only round of the tournament in which he didn't shoot above par. The Englishman needed every bit of that unblemished round, as he beat Spieth by only three strokes.
Willett said he was happy to be in a position to win when it all went belly up for Spieth, per ESPN.com's Jason Sobel:
I just feel fortunate that I was in the position that I was to pounce on the opportunity to accomplish it. If I had been 5 over par, then it wouldn't have mattered what Jordan had done. Fortunately I was in a position where we were in second place, playing quite nicely, and as a result of him doing what he did, we were able to stay at the lead.
His recent play on the PGA Tour didn't do a whole lot to suggest he would emerge as Masters champion. The 28-year-old did manage a third-place finish at the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship on March 3 but finished tied for 22nd at the Valspar Championship and tied for 28th at the WGC-Dell Match Play tourney to close out the month.
Willett's first three rounds were steady if unspectacular, as he notched a 70 in the first round, 74 in the second and 72 on Saturday. There were certainly bright spots throughout, and the PGA Tour recapped his play over four rounds in Augusta, Georgia:
PGA TOUR @PGATOURDear golf fans, Here's how to win the Masters. Signed, Danny Willett https://t.co/dIatOZpLsU
Jim Rome reminded folks to give Willett credit where it was due:
Jim Rome @jimromeDon't get it twisted - Danny Willett didn't back into this. 5-under on Sunday at Augusta is no joke.
While Willett was busy working his way toward a green jacket, his brother, PJ, was hard at work stealing the show on Twitter.
Here's how he reacted to his sibling's big win:
P J Willett @P_J_WillettSpeechless. I once punched that kid in the head for hurting my pet rat. Now look. #bbcgolf #TheMasters
Willett's win was made all the more special by the fact that he nearly didn't play the tournament.
ESPN's Darren Rovell shared the happy reason why:
Darren Rovell @darrenrovellThe wife of Danny Willett, who is in second place, was supposed to have a baby today. Had it last week, which is why he's here.
Spieth was gracious in defeat and explained his unraveling on No. 12.
"I didn’t take that extra deep breath and really focus on my line," he said of his first tee shot, per the New York Times' Karen Crouse. "Instead, I went up and I just put a quick swing on it."
Soon after Spieth's epic collapse, the Toronto Star's Bruce Arthur tried to head off the Internet meme du jour:
If any of you tweet about Crying Jordan Spieth I swear to god
His calls went unheeded, and Jimmy Donofrio provided the best of the bunch:
12th Hole at Augusta is pretty tough, just look at the overhead #TheMasters https://t.co/abqh8co3xj
HBO's Bill Simmons tried to put things in perspective:
Bill Simmons @BillSimmonsKeep your head up Jordan Spieth. You just finished 2-1-2 in the past 3 Masters and you're 22 years old.
Crouse noted that Spieth's fall and Willett's rise resembled the finish of the 1996 Masters:
The scene on the back nine on a cool afternoon called to mind Greg Norman’s six-stroke collapse in this event in 1996, which handed the tournament to the Englishman Nick Faldo. Spieth bounced back with birdies on two of the next three holes but had too much ground to make up and not enough holes. He finished with a second consecutive 73, which was three strokes higher than his closing score last year, when he matched the 72-hole score of 18 under set by Woods in 1997.
Sunday's events are going to haunt Spieth, but he's young and talented and should have little trouble recovering from his nightmare play.
Willett has, of course, gained plenty of fame moving forward, but it's a tad unfortunate that the first thing people are likely to think of when they recall the 2016 Masters will be another player's folly and not Willett's deserving win. It hopefully won't bother Willett. After all, he has the green jacket.
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