10 Apr 201720.04 EDTSo one of the longest quests in the history of golf comes to an end. Sergio Garcia: major champion! Congratulations, Sergio! Happy birthday, Seve!
The Tao of Sergio: “In the last few years I made my peace with the course, and accepted what Augusta gives and takes. And because of that, I am able to stand here today.” And with that, a beaming Willett helps the winner of the 81st Masters Tournament on with his new jacket, and the two embrace warmly. Try watching that without a tear in the eye!
10 Apr 201719.51 EDTSergio speaks! “It’s been such a long time coming. I thought I had it on 18. But I knew I was playing well. I felt the calmest I’ve ever felt on a major Sunday today. Even after making bogey I was positive, I still believed. I hit some good shots, and I’m so happy. It is amazing to do this on Seve’s 60th birthday, and to join him and Jose Maria Olazabal, my two idols in golf, my whole life, it’s something amazing. Jose sent me a text on Wednesday night telling me he believed in me. My fiancée, my parents and her parents, they’ve all been so supportive.”
10 Apr 201719.47 EDTTo the Butler Cabin, where Danny Willett is on hand with a certain someone’s brand new jacket! Sergio enters with a smile as wide as the room. First, a word with the low amateur Stewart Hagestad. “It’s such a blessing to be sitting here with such a worthy champion.” There’s a lot of love in the air. Has the atmosphere in this famous old cabin ever been so giddy? And then a word with the new champion...
10 Apr 201719.45 EDTAnd now here’s a word from the runner-up Justin Rose. “There is a consolation that Sergio has won. He’s felt like I’ve felt many, many times, so it’s hard not to feel good for him. I felt like I had it wrapped up at one point. When Sergio was in the trees on 13 it looked pretty good! But this course offers an opportunity for people to make a comeback, and he did. I felt I got virtually everything right. I’ve had my fair share of great things that’s happened to me, I’m sure there’s going to be many more in the future. If there was half a chance [of making the green in the play-off] given it was Seve’s 60th birthday today, I’d have given it a go!” Yep, a true gent. Commiserations to Justin.
10 Apr 201719.40 EDTBut spare a thought for poor old Justin Rose. Like Sergio, he carded 69 today in a mano-a-mano maelstrom! His was every inch a champion’s performance too, but somebody had to lose. He’s got the thousand-yard stare going on, but like the true gentleman he is, he’s quick to warmly embrace Sergio and congratulate him. Once that’s done, though, he’s lost in the crowd as Augusta erupts around him. What a day’s golf. What a tournament this has been!
10 Apr 201719.37 EDTHas there ever been a happier champion? He squats down for a second, before letting out a primal scream of delight. He embraces his partner, and howls again in wonder. Five years ago, he admitted that he thought he would never win a major. But now look. We’ve waited so long for this ... since the 1999 PGA, to be exact. And now he’s done it! These are some of the most emotional scenes ever seen at the 18th at Augusta ... and the old place has seen some action!
Updated at 19.37 EDT10 Apr 201719.33 EDTSERGIO GARCIA WINS THE 2017 MASTERS TOURNAMENT!!!
He sets himself, and taps his putt down the green. The ball thinks about lipping out on the left, but it loops around the back, and slo-o-o-o-o-owly drops. Sergio’s done it! After all this time, all those near misses, all the heartbreak ... he’s done it! Sergio Garcia ... is the Masters champion!!! A major winner.
Rose paces around his par putt, checking all angles. This has to drop, surely, if he’s to retain a chance of winning the Masters. He strokes it at perfect pace, but it’s always missing on the low side. And now Sergio has two putts to win the Masters! He loops around his putt a couple of times. He blows out hard. He steps up, draws his putter back, and...
10 Apr 201719.27 EDTRose knocks his third pin high. He’ll have a 12-footer straight across the green for his par. He’ll be putting first, so he at least has the opportunity to make his par and put pressure on Sergio’s putt.
10 Apr 201719.25 EDTRose’s ball has come back towards the fairway. But it’s still on the pine straw, and the branches of a nearby tree are in the way. He can’t get to the green, so he just takes his medicine and chips out. Advantage Sergio, who fires another fine iron towards the pin! That one stops about ten feet past, a little to the right. He’ll have another putt to win the Masters, unless Rose holes out from the fairway.
10 Apr 201719.20 EDTOn Sky, Paul McGinley points out that Sergio’s putt was “right down a fault-line and was never an easy putt ... even from that distance it double-broke”. That won’t stop Sergio feeling pretty bad about letting that elusive major slip through his fingers. He looks a little miserable as he takes to the 18th tee again. Rose looks much more chipper. Especially when he wins the honour. He unsheathes the driver ... and sends it into the trees down the right. He gets a lucky break again, in so much as the ball ricochets back out from deep inside the thicket. But it’s only so much luck: he’ll still have a tricky line in from there, if he has one at all. Sergio sends a fine fade around the corner, and he’s in much the better position.
10 Apr 201719.12 EDTThe pair smile and throw their arms around each other as they leave the green. So they’re going to a play-off. Rose will be the more relieved; Sergio will relive that missed putt until the end of time if he doesn’t win it. While they prepare for that, this is how we got here:
-9: Rose, Garcia
-6: Schwartzel
-5: Kuchar, Pieters
-4: Casey
-3: Chappell, McIlroy
-2: Scott, Moore
-1: Matsuyama, Henley, Koepka, Fowler, Spieth
E: Kaymer, Stricker
Sergio has a putt to win the Masters ... and it dribbles off to the right! A little push, and his chance is gone. For now. A par for Sergio as well, and they’ll be going back to the 18th tee for the first sudden-death play-off hole. What a miss, though. Doug Sanders territory? No, not quite, it was a tricky downhill one. Not far off, though. How it’ll be viewed in the future depends on what happens next.
10 Apr 201719.04 EDTRose has an eight-foot right-to-left slider across the green. Sergio’s is half the distance, but downhill and slippery, and therefore missable, especially under this pressure. Rose hits his putt ... and slips it by the right! He leans back and opens his mouth to gasp. Just a par! And Sergio has a putt to win the Masters!
10 Apr 201719.01 EDTBoth men have short irons into 18. Rose sends his a little to the right, but he enjoys a huge stroke of luck: the ball bounces off the bank near the bunker to the right and turns towards the hole, eight feet from the flag! Sergio responds by arrowing his ball straight over the flag, and screeching it to a halt three feet behind! This is beyond astonishing. Rose to putt first. Are we to see a repeat of 16? “I can/can’t/can/can’t watch!” says Rich Fulcher. “I don’t want to do this anymore,” adds Ian Truman. “Can we all agree to turn it off?
9 Apr 201718.56 EDTSergio splits the fairway at 18. Rose follows him down there. There’s nothing between these two amazing, talented, brilliant and brave players! Such a shame that one of them has to lose: either way we’ll have a worthy Masters champion, either way we’ll feel a pang of bittersweet anguish for the loser. What a game is golf!
9 Apr 201718.53 EDTRose splashes out from the sand to six feet. That’s a fine shot looped high into the air and landed softly on the fast green. He’ll have a great chance to make his par. Sergio doesn’t hit his birdie effort at all; never going in. It’s a couple of feet short. Then Rose lets his short par putt drift wide right of the cup! Bogey, and after Sergio cleans up, they’re all square again!
-9: Rose (17), Garcia (17)
Turns out there’d been a Dustin Johnson / Lexi Thompson style rules brouhaha brewing in the background! When Sergio dropped on the pine straw at 13, he removed a nearby loose stalk. Did the ball move as a result? It’s been ruled that it didn’t - and the slow-mo pictures certainly seem to back that up - so no controversy here. But they’ve put it out there for the sake of transparency.
9 Apr 201718.46 EDTRose gets a free drop from a sprinkler head, and though he has to stay in the first cut, he benefits from an improved lie. But he doesn’t take advantage, dumping his second in the deep bunker guarding the front of the green. Sergio lashes his second straight at the flag, over the trap Rose is in, and onto the putting surface. He’ll have an uphill putt from 30 feet for birdie.
9 Apr 201718.43 EDTOh Sergio, why didn’t you commit to that putt?! His first really poor stroke of the day. Old-school Sergio returns at exactly the wrong time. But Rose really stepped up to the plate there; a real matchplay combination after Sergio sent in his tee shot. Moments of brilliance which may well have won him the Masters. He’s such a fine player. Still, Sergio can’t be giving up yet; there are two holes to play on Masters Sunday, and anything is possible. Rose’s drive down 17 leaks off to the right a bit. He’s in the first cut. Sergio blasts his down the middle.
9 Apr 201718.37 EDTRose takes his time over his putt. As he should. He clips it up the green, outside the right of the cup, and curls it back into the hole! A perfectly judged putt! What a stunning birdie, and what a response to Sergio’s eagle! He moves to -10, in the lead again. Can Sergio join him? He doesn’t take so much time ... and prods a tentative effort towards the cup. It dies to the right, and that’s just a par. Oh Sergio! “I was hoping Sergio could make this year’s heartbreak more stylish and sophisticated,” writes James Ferguson. “He is doing a good job of it so far. Just the right amount of false hope. This one is really going to hurt, isn’t it?” I’m saying nothing.
-10: Rose (16)
-9: Garcia (16)
-6: Schwartzel (F)
This is astonishing! Sergio lands his ball ten feet past the flag. It turns back towards the cup. It’s not quite on the correct line like Matt Kuchar’s ace, but it isn’t far away. Six feet to the right. Rose picks up the gauntlet and arrows his straight at the flag. It stops eight feet short. What a pair of tee shots under ludicrous pressure! Garcia hangs out a flat palm, and his friend Rose slaps it. What a sweet moment in the midst of battle! Great sportsmanship.
9 Apr 201718.30 EDTRose strokes a lovely 50-foot putt to the right side of the hole. He’ll still have a three-footer for his birdie. But first Sergio. He rolls his eagle effort towards the cup. It’s pretty straight. It’s on line, but has he hit it?! For a second, it looks like he hasn’t, but it topples in at the last and that’s his first eagle in 452 holes at the Masters! And what a time to make it!!! Wow! Garcia does a little Seve-style punch and skip on what would have been the great man’s 60th birthday, as the crowd explode in happy turmoil! Rose does amazingly well to keep his head amid the tumult and make his birdie. This is back on! Schwartzel, incidentally, sunk a 25-footer on the last for birdie and a 68. He’s the new clubhouse leader!
-9: Garcia (15), Rose (15)
-6: Schwartzel (F)
... he arrows a 7-iron pin high to 14 feet! What a shot! Actually, that hit the flagstick and bounced away. So close to albatross, the Gene Sarazen de nos jours. But what a chance for eagle! First up, though Rose from the fringe.
9 Apr 201718.21 EDTSergio batters a monster drive down 15. After looking so shaky off the tee through Amen Corner, he seems to have found some renewed confidence. That ludicrous par escape on 13, coupled with Rose missing his birdie chance, probably helped. But his Masters bid looked pretty much over when he was taking his penalty drop in the bushes. Now, it’s a live prospect again. But Rose splits the fairway too, then finds the fringe on the left-hand side of the green with his second. Safe and dry. The pressure’s on Sergio, hitting over the water. And...
9 Apr 201718.16 EDTSergio makes his birdie putt on 14! That’s just reward for his excellent second, and now the pressure’s on Rose to make his par putt, having lagged up to five feet. But he takes a deep breath and rolls a slight right-to-left slider into the cup! What steel! Par, and he remains a shot clear of his playing partner. Meanwhile Schwartzel takes two putts for par on 17, then finds Lyle’s Bunker with his drive down the last.
-8: Rose (14)
-7: Garcia (14)
-5: Kuchar (F), Pieters (F), Schwartzel (17)
Paul Casey birdied the last, incidentally, to sign for a 68. He finishes the week at -4, and for the third year in a row will finish in the top ten. At 39, he’s still got time on his side to claim a green jacket.
9 Apr 201718.11 EDTRose can only find the front left of 14. The ball threatens to trickle a little closer to the hole, but it doesn’t move much and he’ll have a 35-footer across the green for his birdie. Sergio responds by landing his ball pin high, 25 feet to the left of the flag. The green gathers the ball towards the hole, and he’ll have an eight-footer for birdie. Meanwhile up on 18, Pieters takes two putts for par, that’s a 68, and he joins Kuchar in the clubhouse lead at -5! “I know it was supposed to be Sergio Garcia Day (again...), but it really is hard to dislike Rose,” says Matt Dony, who can speak for me. “Understated consistency, nice-guy demeanour, world-class talent. If Sergio Sergio’s it up, I hope Rose holds on.”
-8: Rose (13)
-6: Garcia (13)
-5: Kuchar (F), Pieters (F), Schwartzel (16)
Rose takes his frustration out on the little white dappled thing. Blam! He splits the fairway at 14. Sergio follows him down there. Up on 18, Pieters finds prime real estate with his tee shot, then sends a fine second shot 15 feet past the flag. A chance, albeit a curly one, for a final birdie that would set a new clubhouse lead. And on 17, Schwartzel finds the green in regulation, but he’s facing a tricky 25-footer for birdie.
9 Apr 201718.01 EDTSergio fires three from out of the bushes, then wedges brilliantly to six feet. Rose will be kicking himself, then, for sending his second through the back of the green. A long, long putt from the fringe, up the bank and over a ridge, then down towards the hole. The best part of 30 yards. And he gently sends an exquisite putt three feet past the cup! For a second, that threatened to drop for eagle! Then... is this another turning point? Sergio knocks in his par putt, while Rose lets his tiddler slip to the left of the hole! Absurdly, both men are walking off the hole with par! And while all that drama was developing, Pieters pars 17, Schwartzel 16. They’re not going anywhere!
-8: Rose (13)
-6: Garcia (13)
-5: Kuchar (F), Pieters (17), Schwartzel (16)
-4: Fowler (14)
While Kuchar was acing 16, McIlroy landed his tee shot four feet from the flag and made birdie. It was his last of a round of 69, his best of a disappointing week. He’s -3 and he’ll have another top-ten finish at the Masters on his CV. But it’s not what he’s after, is it.
Yes, Sergio has indeed sent his drive at 13 into bother. Under a bush! He’s forced to take a penalty drop, and it’s all unravelling for the poor man. Pieters meanwhile splashes out of the bunker at 16 to six feet, but his par putt breaks off to the left on its last turn, and that drops him back to -5. This is beginning to look very promising for Justin Rose! But on the other hand, Charl Schwartzel birdies 15 to move back to -5, and Matt Kuchar pars the last. He’s back in 31 for a 67, and is the clubhouse leader at -5! So while Sergio may be floundering, this isn’t over yet!
-8: Rose (12)
-6: Garcia (12)
-5: Kuchar (F), Pieters (16), Schwartzel (15)
Pars for Sergio and Rose at 12. Rose very nearly drained his gentle left-to-right drifter, but it died to the right just before the cup. Rose remains two clear of Pieters and his playing partner. And he once again turns the screw on Sergio by blasting a monster drive down 13. Sergio has to nail his ... and he pulls it. That’s not in Rae’s Creek, is it? He wanders after his ball with furrowed brow.
9 Apr 201717.40 EDTPieters sends his tee shot at 16 into the bunker between the pin and the water. A birdie at 13 moves Rickie Fowler back to -4. Kuchar crashes his drive straight down 18, and though he toys with Lyle’s Bunker, he’s in prime position. Scott hits the bank in front of the green at 15, and watches in horror as his ball topples back into the water. And in the final group, both Rose and Sergio find the heart of the green at 12, but they’ll have 30-footers across the thin green for their birdies.
9 Apr 201717.35 EDTRose misses his six footer for birdie. Such a shame after a brilliant approach. But par at 11 on Sunday will do. And he’ll be two clear, because Sergio can’t get up and down from the edge of the green, missing a ten-footer for par, and that’s a bogey. Meanwhile birdie for Pieters at 15 after a good look at eagle; four birdies in a row and he’s right in this now! Kuchar pars 17 meanwhile, and he’ll soon be posting a score to beat.
-8: Rose (11)
-6: Pieters (15), Garcia (11)
-5: Kuchar (17)
Spieth couldn’t make his bogey putt on 12 and that’s a double, another Sunday shocker on 12. Augusta National has really done a number on his noggin. He drops to +1. Fowler bogeys after finding the sand; he’s back to -3. Schwartzel meanwhile is faced with a treacherous pitch from the left of 14. He lands on the green, but the ball scoots 80 feet past. A long trundle for par back up the hole goes six feet past; he pops it in, but that’s a momentum-busting bogey and he’s back to -4. Adam Scott is at -4 too, moving the other way after birdies at 13 and 14. Birdie for Paul Casey at 15, following bogey at 14. He’s -3. Meanwhile Fred Couples signs for a 72. He’s +1 for his week’s work.
9 Apr 201717.25 EDTNow Pieters joins the group at -5 with his third birdie on the bounce, this time at 14! Back down the hole, once Pieters clears the green, Schwartzel sends his second miles left. Meanwhile Sergio is indeed stuck flush behind a large tree to the left of 11. He really should take his medicine and chip back out onto the fairway, but opts to fire through a very small gap to the left of the tree and a bush. Fortune favours the brave, as he punches a low iron to the front of the green. He’ll have chance to scramble his par, or at least limit the damage! But Justin Rose shows his match-play moxie by sticking his second to six feet. The pressure turned up on Sergio, right here!
Updated at 17.31 EDT9 Apr 201717.21 EDTHole-in-one for Matt Kuchar at 16! He bounces his ball to the right of the flag, ten feet past, and lets the topography take the ball back towards the hole. And it’s always going in! If Augusta had a roof, it’d be spinning somewhere over North Carolina now! An ace at the Masters, but more importantly, an eagle that moves him to -5! Another birdie or two, and he’ll be posting a score that may give the leaders, whoever they may be, pause!
-8: Rose (10)
-7: Garcia (10)
-5: Kuchar (16), Schwartzel (13)
Up on 13, Schwartzel has a look at eagle from 25 feet, but the ball stays high on the left. He leaves himself a missable four footer, but in it goes, and at -5 he’s only three off the lead! This is turning into a fascinating, and unpredictable, afternoon! Although make of this what you will: Sergio has whistled his drive at 11 into the trees down the left, and may be snookered by another tree!
9 Apr 201717.15 EDTJordan Spieth finds water at 12 for the second Masters Sunday in a row! He lands his ball on the Fred Couples Bank. It threatens to stick, but dribbles back into the drink. He goes to the drop zone, and chips to six feet. But he’ll be dropping at least one stroke here. He just hasn’t got going at all today.
9 Apr 201717.14 EDTTwo putts, and that’s Sergio’s first bogey since 9 yesterday. That is something of an escape, given the preposterous place he’d put himself. Rose meanwhile gets up and down from the front, chipping to a couple of feet, and he’s now leading the Masters on his own! Fowler meanwhile can’t get up and down from the back of 11 and drops to -4.
-8: Rose (10)
-7: Garcia (10)
It’s difficult to explain how bad Sergio’s shot was there. Fired miles to the right, he’s got a small tree directly in front of him, a huge bunker further on, and then one of Augusta’s trademark greens of nonsense. He lashes a chip high and back down onto the green, his ball rolling across it from right to left and into the fringe at the side. That’s actually not too bad from where he was. But he really needs to get up and down. “Does Dr Golf do home visits?” wonders Simon McMahon. Dr Golf suddenly feels very ill.
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