Emotional Sergio Takes the Green Jacket
It was long before midnight in the UK before a superb birdie putt in a play-off handed Sergio Garcia his first Masters win. But it had been an incredible, compelling night of golf, as for nearly five hours, two world class professionals slogged it out in a phenomenal 19 hole showdown.
Garcia started the final round as part of the final pairing, -6 alongside Justin Rose, on the same score. And although several notable names in the world of golf, most notably Rickie Fowler, were sniffing around with intent for most of the day, it became clear reasonably early on that this was going to be a two-horse race to the finish, as the likes of Jordan Spieth and Charley Hoffman quickly fell away, and the two front-runners accelerated.
It was Garcia who struck first, moving to 8 under as Rose slipped up early on, bogeying the fifth to slip back to 5 under. But Rose responded in the best possible way, bouncing back with three straight birdies to level the scores. Rose was absolutely outstanding in the middle portion of his card, and kept nailing important putts and outstanding approach shots. He was far from perfect, but he looked utterly unflappable.
And the 13th hole proved to be the pivotal one. Sergio was slipping away, dropping shots on both 10 and 11 to leave himself two shots back on Rose, who was nailing par after par. Rose had all the momentum, and with nobody else within three shots, Garcia's tee shot on the 13th went straight into a very nasty bush, leaving him with seemingly irreparable damage. It looked as if taking a drop was his best option, or even going back to the tee. Meanwhile, Rose was close to the green in two, looking nailed on for a birdie as his third shot dropped very close. At this point, it looks as if Rose would be four shots clear of the pack, with Garcia in freefall.
But Garcia recovered, spectacularly. He didn't take a drop, hacked the ball out, made the green in four and nailed an absolutely critical par putt. Whilst as in every major golf tournament, this was a Masters decided by plenty of pivotal putts, the 13th hole was the first of a series of absolutely unbelievable high pressure shootouts, and this was one that Garcia won, as Rose failed to make his birdie putt. Less than five minutes after it had looked like Rose would be walking it, they came out of the hole even, and Garcia remained just two shots back. And that recovery gave him a seismic shift in momentum, as he got over his wobble to birdie the 14th and move within one shot.
If what happened on the 13th was pivotal, then what happened on the 15th was truly special. Garcia absolutely nailed his tee shot, giving him a huge advantage over Rose, who looked slightly uncomfortable after playing his tee shot. And whilst Rose's second shot was solid, Garcia's was sublime, dropping to within a few feet and giving him a makeable eagle putt, one that Garcia duly swallowed for a remarkable two-shot swing, moving him -9 and into the outright lead for about thirty seconds, before a gutsy and determined Rose sunk his birdie putt to join the Spaniard.
Three holes to go, and scores level, and at this point it was Sergio who was on top. This was top level sport at its very highest: two titans of the sport going toe to toe, blow for blow, as a pulsating day of golf reached its climax and the drama simply wasn't going away.
Garcia shot first on the 16th and absolutely ripped it, dropping right on the pin. But Rose hit back instantly, dropping his ball on the other side of the pin, slightly further away but with a much better lie. This time Rose shot first, and took the advantage, sinking his putt to move into double digits. Sergio choked, and Rose had the lead again.
But that was not the end of the story, as from that moment on, it was Rose who lost his midas touch. A huge error on 17 cost him dearly, as he hit the bunker on his approach shot and was unable to salvage par. That bogey dropped him back into Sergio's clutches, and it was all square moving onto the 18th.
This was as high drama as it got. One hole to play, scores tied, it was already effectively a play off. And neither player blinked with his tee shot or his approach shot, both of them absolutely ripping it to within eight feet, again Rose slightly further away but with a nicer lie.
And then, from neither of them blinking to both of them. Rose missed his putt, and the ball was well and truly in Garcia's court. But somehow, Garcia also contrived to miss under immense pressure, and on we went, this time to an offical play-off.
And this time, it was once again Justin Rose who folded first, pulling his tee-shot wide and onto the pine needles, an error from which he was unable to recover. His approach shot was short, his chip was decent, but his final putt to save par went awry. Sergio meanwhile, had found the green in two and had a difficult birdie putt coming. If Rose had been able to salvage his par then it would have been interesting to see Garcia handle the pressure. But needing a safe two-putt for the Masters, pressure off, Garcia sank the putt with ease.
This really was the pinnacle of top level sport. Two players at the top of their game, ebbing and flowing, a match lasting hours but never swinging more than slightly in favour of one player for more than a few minutes, the crowd absolutely roaring, and the magic of Sergio winning on what would have been Seve Ballesteros's 60th birthday. This was gutsy, technical, emotional golf and it was the sport, any sport, at its absolute best. And with a truly magical outcome.
The Hard and Fast Section
- All of the top five won. Pressure on Arsenal.
- Sunderland look very dead. So do Boro.
- Saints denied by last ditch Wasps try.
- Lewis Hamilton hits back by winning Chinese GP. It's on.
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