This article is part of our Weekly PGA Recap series.
Jordan Spieth took down Augusta National with a 64 in the first round of the Masters on Thursday, one off the course record. The Lords of Butler Cabin usually don't take too kindly to such an assault on their baby. But they didn't respond, even after Spieth shot 66 on Friday and Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson implored Billy Payne and Co. to firm up the greens. That's they only way anyone could've caught Spieth.
They didn't firm up the greens.
Nobody caught Spieth.
Spieth cruised to victory in the 79th Masters, closing with a pair of weekend 70s to tie the all-time low score of 270, set by Woods during his 12-shot runaway in 1997. Spieth won by only four strokes, over Mickelson and Justin Rose, but the comparisons with Woods' epic win have begun.
It was the first major championship for each, Woods becoming the youngest major winner at 21 years, 3 months to Spieth's 21 years, 8 months. Spieth set 36-hole (14-under) and 54-hole (16-under) Masters scoring records and totaled a record 28 birdies. He even became the first golfer in the history of the tournament to reach 19-under, a number he ceded with a final-hole bogey.
On the other hand, only 16 golfers were under par the year Woods won, half as many as the whopping 32 on Sunday. Mickelson and Rose went so low that there are many years 14-under would've won, and they shared the lowest score ever for a runner-up (David Duval was
Jordan Spieth took down Augusta National with a 64 in the first round of the Masters on Thursday, one off the course record. The Lords of Butler Cabin usually don't take too kindly to such an assault on their baby. But they didn't respond, even after Spieth shot 66 on Friday and Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson implored Billy Payne and Co. to firm up the greens. That's they only way anyone could've caught Spieth.
They didn't firm up the greens.
Nobody caught Spieth.
Spieth cruised to victory in the 79th Masters, closing with a pair of weekend 70s to tie the all-time low score of 270, set by Woods during his 12-shot runaway in 1997. Spieth won by only four strokes, over Mickelson and Justin Rose, but the comparisons with Woods' epic win have begun.
It was the first major championship for each, Woods becoming the youngest major winner at 21 years, 3 months to Spieth's 21 years, 8 months. Spieth set 36-hole (14-under) and 54-hole (16-under) Masters scoring records and totaled a record 28 birdies. He even became the first golfer in the history of the tournament to reach 19-under, a number he ceded with a final-hole bogey.
On the other hand, only 16 golfers were under par the year Woods won, half as many as the whopping 32 on Sunday. Mickelson and Rose went so low that there are many years 14-under would've won, and they shared the lowest score ever for a runner-up (David Duval was 14-under in 2001, when he lost by two as Woods won his second green jacket).
Spieth led by four strokes over Rose heading into Sunday, and his advantage was never less than three. He now moves to No. 2 in the world, behind Rory McIlroy, who coincidentally was 21 and had a four-shot lead after three rounds in the 2011 Masters. Only then, McIlroy ballooned to an 80 and his first major title had to wait.
Spieth now steps to the fore of an impressive group of younger American golfers, including two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson, Rickie Fowler, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed. Of all of them, the polite, diplomatic and humble Spieth certainly fits the mold of an ideal Masters winner -- ideal in the eyes of Augusta members.
Which takes us back to the committee doing nothing to make Spieth's first major win more difficult. It was almost as if they wanted him to win.
MONDAY TAKEAWAY
Phil Mickelson
We got to see how much fun a golf tournament is when Mickelson is in the mix. This was his first top-10 of the year and his best finish since tying for second in the PGA Championship last year. He's still looking for his first win since the 2013 Open Championship. Mickelson, 44, may not be able to contend on a regular basis -- something his owners wouldn't like -- but it seems he can raise his game for the big events.
Justin Rose
Rose was enduring his first start to a golf season in years, with last week's T37 in Houston by far his best showing. So even though the Englishman has a good track record at Augusta, his best finish ever there came out of nowhere. Regardless, his owners have to feel Rose righted his game at just the right time.
Rory McIlroy
McIlroy's bid to complete the career grand slam will wait at least another year. But after a bad round and a half left him in danger of missing the cut, he turned it around for another one of those backdoor top-10s. Or in this case, a backdoor top-4, as the Northern Irishman shot the low round of Sunday, a 66, to vault to solo fourth. He may not have sent a message to Spieth, but he sent one to Woods, besting his Sunday player partner by seven strokes.
Hideki Matsuyama
Matsuyama equaled McIlroy for the round of the day, leaving him a shot back in solo fifth -- his best major showing. This was Matsuyama's sixth top-10 of the season, behind only Spieth's seven, and he's proving more valuable than most gamers could've imagined. A major title sometime soon would no longer surprise.
Dustin Johnson
Johnson was on the short list in pre-Masters predictions. While he did tie for sixth with Paul Casey and Ian Poulter, he wound up nine shots behind Spieth and didn't really contend. After rolling in a Masters record three eagles in the second round, Johnson stumbled to a 73 on Saturday. Johnson's owners, including this one, can't help but think what's holding him back is still between his ears.
Charley Hoffman
Hoffman opened 67-68 to set up a Saturday pairing with Spieth. He didn't gain ground, but he held his own. Closing with a 74 in the penultimate pairing with Mickelson left Hoffman tied for ninth, a standing that nets him an invite to Augusta in 2016 (top 12 and ties get invited back the next year). While you could be disappointed Hoffman didn't finish higher, he's extended a terrific season, adding a third top-10 and a sixth top-25. He's seventh in the points race.
Rickie Fowler
Not playing all that well all season, it was hard to envision Fowler matching last year's success in majors -- top 5 in each. He didn't, but he more than respectably tied for 12th. Fowler also tied for 12th at the WGC-Cadillac last month while tying for third in the WGC event in China in November. At least Fowler is raising his game in the big events.
Tiger Woods
A 69 on Friday followed by a 68 on Saturday showed us all that Woods is back. A 73 on Sunday -- featuring a mid-round hand injury that doesn't appear to be serious -- showed us all that going all the way back to 2000 won't be happening. But Woods' owners have got to be pleased that their likely expensive investment won't be for naught. Woods still won't play a lot, but it seems he'll contend on a regular basis.
Steve Stricker
Stricker wound up T28 in his first start of the year after December back surgery. He followed a trio of 73s with a 68 to climb 18 spots on Sunday, certainly a welcome development for his owners. But this won't change his already-reduced schedule. Short of a tournament win, this looks like it might have been Stricker's Masters farewell, as it's hard to see him staying in the top 50 with such a limited schedule.
Adam Scott
Scott went back to the broomstick after beginning 2015 with a conventional putter that didn't do its job. But Scott, now No. 5 in the world, didn't putt better and didn't contend, tying for 38th, 19 strokes behind Spieth. If he's not going to contend with the broomstick, Scott's value, of course, goes way down.
Bubba Watson
The defending champion never got things going, unable to break 70 all tournament, leaving him tied with Scott, Cameron Tringale and Charl Schwartzel. It's hard to tell whether Watson is going through a disinterested phase, something he's been prone to. Maybe like the San Francisco Giants, Watson wins only in even-number years.
