The 2018 Masters Tournament almost lived up to its pre-tournament. Almost.
While the leaderboard was packed with the majority of the world’s top 20 for much of the week, it was the man ranked 24th, Patrick Reed, who walked away with the green jacket after four thrilling days action at Augusta National.
With only one top-10 finish in a major to his name, 27-year-old Reed was not part of the script in the weeks and days leading up to what was billed as one of the most exciting tournaments in years.
Reed was a 60/1 shot to win the tournament, with few golf punters having backed the American. If you’re looking for golf betting tips then you should check out Team FA . They provide daily free tips and betting previews on numerous events throughout the golfing calendar.
With so many different threads around Tiger Woods (major comeback), Rory McIlroy (grand slam), Sergio Garcia (defending champion), Jordan Spieth (Augusta specialist), and whether world no.1 Dustin Johnson might ‘slip up’ again, it was easy to forget that there were four rounds of golf yet to be played around one of the most challenging golf courses in the world.
And, as ever, sport rarely listens to scriptwriters. The final round promised a titanic battle between two former Ryder Cup foes, with McIlroy looking to gain revenge for his one-hole defeat at Hazeltine 18 months ago at the hands of Reed. Paired in the last group – from which the Masters’ winner invariably comes – the early signs of a ding dong battle looked good, when Reed dropped a shot at the first to close the gap to two shots. And when McIlroy stuffed his second shot to four feet at the par-five second for a potential eagle, the game was definitely on.
But the North Irishman missed, settling for a birdie, while Reed made par to keep a one-shot lead which he was never to relinquish. McIlroy looked out of sorts from his very first drive, which found the trees, and he spent most of the afternoon out of position, having to manufacture rescue shots just to save par, while others around him were tearing up the course. His grand slam race was run as early as the eighth, when a third bogey of the round at the par-five hole left him four shots back, and struggling to keep tabs on his rival. Further bogeys at 11 and 14 saw him eventually slip into a share of fifth – an ignominious end to a day that promised to deliver golfing history.
Elsewhere, thankfully, things were hotting up. With Reed treading water over the front nine, with two birdies and two pars, the chasing pack started hunting down their pray.
Hunter-in-chief was Jordan Spieth, who was nine shots off the lead when he started his Sunday round, and seemingly out of contention. But the champion of 2015 reeled off three birdies in his first five holes, and then made further gains at the eighth and ninth, to make the turn in just 31 shots.
With his tail up, Spieth then went on a back nine charge for which Sundays at Augusta are renowned. The 24 year old – yes, he’s still that young – birdied the 12thand 13th, to close within two of Reed, and then repeated the dose at 15 and 16 to tie for the lead on 14 under. A birdie attempt from 20 feet at 17 grazed the lip.
Meanwhile, Reed, sensing his chance at a first major title slipping from his grasp, birdied the 12thand the 14thto move to 15 under. Spieth, needing to birdie the last to tie for the lead, went for broke, and hit the trees off the tee, with the ball ricocheting back into the fairway leaving him over 300 yards to the green. A bogey ensued to leave him on 13 under, and his race, not only for the green jacket, but also for a course record 62, was run. Not many players come away from a final round 64 feeling disappointed, but Spieth will be one. His time will surely come again.
But Reed was far from safe. Rickie Fowler, that perennial major might-have-been, was making his own charge for green jacket glory. Five shots off the pace at the start of the round, he made the turn in 35 to close the gap on Reed to four, and then reeled off birdies at 12, 13 and 15 to narrow the margin to two. With the partisan crowd cheering him on, he stuffed his approach to 18 to seven feet and holed the putt to take the clubhouse lead on 14 under.
After parring 15, 16 and 17, Reed reached Augusta’s final hole needing one more par for the win. A solid, 290-yard drive just short of the bunkers set up a mid-iron approach, which he bravely hit over the flag to 24 feet. The fast, downhill putt rolled four feet past, but he made no mistake on the one back, and the green jacket was his.
Reed closed with a 71, the worst final round score of the top 15 finishers bar McIlroy, but earlier rounds of 69, 66 and 67 had given the Texan, who has five PGA Tour wins to his name, a comfortable cushion for that to be enough.
“To win your first major is never going to be easy,” said Reed. “And it definitely wasn’t easy today. I knew it was going to be a dogfight. It’s just a way of God basically saying, ‘Let’s see if you have it.’ Everyone knows you have it physically with the talent, but do you have it mentally? Can you handle the ups and downs throughout the round? I didn’t get up or too down during the round. It was a steady round, but it got the job done.”
Final Scores
273 P Reed (USA) 69 66 67 71,
274 R Fowler (USA) 70 72 65 67,
275 J Spieth (USA) 66 74 71 64,
277 J Rahm (Esp) 75 68 65 69,
279 R McIlroy (Nir) 69 71 65 74, H Stenson (Swe) 69 70 70 70, B Watson (USA) 73 69 68 69, C Smith (Aus) 71 72 70 66,
280 M Leishman (Aus) 70 67 73 70,
281 D Johnson (USA) 73 68 71 69, T Finau (USA) 68 74 73 66,
282 J Rose (Eng) 72 70 71 69, L Oosthuizen (RSA) 71 71 71 69, C Hoffman (USA) 69 73 73 67,
283 R Henley (USA) 73 72 71 67, P Casey (Eng) 74 75 69 65,
284 T Fleetwood (Eng) 72 72 66 74, J Thomas (USA) 74 67 70 73,
285 H Matsuyama (Jpn) 73 71 72 69,
286 W Simpson (USA) 76 73 70 67, F Molinari (Ita) 72 74 70 70, J Day (Aus) 75 71 69 71, J Walker (USA) 73 71 71 71,
287 A Hadwin (Can) 69 75 72 71, B Grace (RSA) 73 73 74 67, S Kim (Kor) 75 73 68 71, B Wiesberger (Aut) 70 73 72 72,
288 R Moore (USA) 74 72 72 70, S Kodaira (Jpn) 71 74 71 72, M Kuchar (USA) 68 75 72 73, K Kisner (USA) 72 75 69 72,
289 A Scott (Aus) 75 73 70 71, D Berger (USA) 73 74 71 71, H Li (Chn) 69 76 72 72, T Woods (USA) 73 75 72 69,
290 Z Johnson (USA) 70 74 74 72, P Mickelson (USA) 70 79 74 67,
291 F Couples (USA) 72 74 73 72, R Cabrera Bello (Esp) 69 76 74 72, J Vegas (Ven) 77 69 72 73, B Dechambeau (USA) 74 74 72 71, M Fitzpatrick (Eng) 75 74 67 75, B Langer (Ger) 74 74 71 72,
292 B Harman (USA) 73 74 76 69, T Hatton (Eng) 74 75 73 70, I Poulter (Eng) 74 75 74 69, K Aphibarnrat (Tha) 79 70 72 71,
294 M Kaymer (Ger) 74 73 74 73,
295 V Singh (Fij) 71 74 79 71,
296 X Schauffele (USA) 71 78 72 75, D Ghim (am) (USA) 72 76 74 74,
297 K Stanley (USA) 72 74 75 76,
298 C Reavie (USA) 76 71 75 76,