Patrick Reed reacts to a putt on the 18th hole during the fourth round at the Masters golf tournament Sunday, April 8, 2018, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
The first major of the season did not fail to disappoint, and golf fans all over the world were glued to their televisions watching the action unfold. On Sunday evening, 27 year old American Patrick Reed hung on to win the Masters in Augusta, Georgia, with a score of -15.
Reed, also known as “Captain America,” started the day at -14 and only had to shoot a 71 to capture his first career green jacket. Second and third place finishers Rickie Fowler and Jordan Spieth were surging up the leaderboard all day, finishing -14 and -13 with scores of -5 and -8, respectively.
Reed played well in every facet of the game. He hit fairways off of the tee, hit greens in regulation and made the most out of his birdie opportunities. It was rare to see Reed hit two bad shots in a row throughout the duration of the tournament.
Spieth’s 64 on Sunday marked the lowest score ever recorded on a Sunday at the Masters, and tied the record for the lowest round played in Masters history. It looked as if he was going to catch Reed all day, and at one point he was at -9 for the day. A bogey on 18, the hardest hole at Augusta National, ended up sealing Spieth’s fate.
Fowler, who was paired with Rahm and playing just ahead of Reed, sunk a clutch birdie on 18 to enter the clubhouse at -14. As the gallery erupted in cheers for Fowler’s putt, Reed walked up to the 18th tee with playing partner McIlroy. The pressure was at an all-time high. Reed needed to make par or better on Augusta’s hardest hole in order to win his first ever major. And Reed delivered, going from tee to fairway to green, leading up to a two-putt par.
Other top finishers included Spaniard Jon Rahm at -11 and Rory McIlroy, Cameron Smith, Henrik Stenson and Bubba Watson at -9.
Tony Finau, who had turned his ankle celebrating a hole-in-one in the par 3 tournament the day before the Masters began, managed to finish T10 with a -7, largely thanks to a final round of 66. On Monday, pictures of Finau’s ankle showed just how bad it was [Picture of Tony Finau’s ankle].
Old timers Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson didn’t necessarily impress anybody from Thursday through Saturday, but the PGA veterans managed to shoot -3 and -5 on Sunday, respectively. The two legends combine for seven green jackets, but neither golfer was in contention to add another one this time around.
It was another frustrating Masters performance for McIlroy, who will have to wait until next year to try winning the only major that has eluded him to this point. McIlroy went into Sunday in second place with a -11, just three shots off of the lead. He shot an underwhelming 74 on Sunday, where he just couldn’t make his birdie putts.
Sean Janos is a campus correspondent for The Daily Campus. He can be reached via email at sean.janos@uconn.edu.
