AUGUSTA, Georgia: The ecstasy of Danny Willett's three-shot
victory at the Masters on Sunday will forever be linked to the
eye-popping agony of Jordan Spieth's stunning collapse on the back nine
at Augusta National.
Renowned for his mental toughness under pressure and already
the winner of two major titles at the tender age of 22, Spieth was
seemingly poised for a second successive Green Jacket after storming
five strokes clear with nine holes to play.
That Spieth then went bogey, bogey, quadruple-bogey through 10, 11
and 12 to drop three shots off the pace was one of the most astonishing
scenes ever played out at a major championship, and begs the question of
how he will handle such a meltdown."If you would have told anybody in the golfing world that Jordan Spieth, with the lead, would make seven birdies on Sunday at Augusta and loses, they would have said you're crazy," said former world number one David Duval.
"This is going to add some scar tissue for Jordan Spieth. He
got to the 10th tee and the wheels just came off. This is either one of
the things that is going to make him tougher or it is going to be a
hard thing to get over.
"This one got away from him and he is going to go back to
the drawing board," Duval said in his role as an analyst on Golf
Channel. "He will sit down this week and say, 'What happened and how do
we not let that ever happen again?'"
Three-times Masters champion Nick Faldo, who clinched his
third Green Jacket in 1996 after a dramatic last-day collapse by Greg
Norman, agreed.
"This will scar him," said the English former world number
one, who was also renowned for his steely on-course focus while racking
up six major titles during his Hall of Fame career.
"This will damage him for a while. We're all in shock with
what happened to Jordan. In '96 you got the sense that Greg was
struggling, but it was bit by bit.
SLOW BURN
While Norman's 1996 debacle was a slow burn after he started
the final round with a six-shot lead and agonisingly watched it
evaporate as he carded a 78 to Faldo's superb 67, Spieth's shocking
collapse was brutal in its speed.
"What happened to Jordan, it was so sudden, just bam," said Faldo. "It was 10 minutes of golf. That's the harshness of it."
Jack Nicklaus, who won a record six Masters titles,
expressed the views of many with a sympathetic but encouraging statement
on his website, saying: "I think the whole golfing world feels for
Jordan Spieth.
“He had a chance to do something truly special and something very few
have done before - and be the youngest to accomplish that - and he just
didn't pull through."My heart goes out to him for what happened, but I know that Jordan is a young man who will certainly learn from this experience and there will be some good that comes out of this for him."
Many insiders firmly believe that Spieth, who is wise beyond
his years as a golfer, will be able to overcome the mental and
emotional scarring of Sunday's meltdown.
The young American knew all week that his game from tee to
green was not at its best, and it was his brilliant putting above all
that helped him lead after each of the first three rounds before failing
to close the deal.
"I'm very confident in the way that we play the game of
golf, said Spieth, who consistently brackets himself with his caddie,
Michael Greller, to emphasise the team approach. "When we're on, I
believe that we're the best in the world.
"I believe we were the best in the world getting by, for the
most part this week, with what felt uncomfortable over the ball with my
iron play.
"I hit some really good irons, but for the most part it was
my ability to map out the course, my putting and my short game that
pretty much had us in the lead. Big picture, this one will hurt. It will
take a while."
Spieth had been bidding to become just the fourth player to
clinch back-to-back Green Jackets and the second youngest player in the
modern era to win three major titles with only Gene Sarazen ahead of
him. He should be just fine, in time.
(Editing by Frank Pingue)
- Reuters
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