The Masters spoiler

darpar · 2018-04-05T00:15:36+00:00

This has the potential to be one of the best Masters in a while (but they're all pretty special), with the likes of the young guys Fowler,Spieth,Thomas etc....

mikeintopeka

darpar - several talking heads from several sources, last night and this morning, thought Rory would be under more pressure today than Reed. He has made it known he is really hungry for the personal grand slam and being close going into Sunday would make him tighter than normal. Maybe they were right. Everyone has opinions.

darpar

mikeintopeka
Missing that eagle putt on 2 had to be a big let down for McIlroy.

mikeintopeka

darpar - Yep, especially after Reed made a 5 for par on 2. An eagle could have started the avalanche that would have buried Reed. Then, Reed goes to #3 and makes birdie from the fringe with a putter. That was a gut punch to Rory's mid-section, especially so early in the round.

mikeintopeka

Something I REALLY liked about this years Master's final round....the pace of play was great! Reed and McIlroy finished in less than 4 hours!

rsvman

mikeintopeka Amen! No slowpokes in the final groups.

RobertThomas

That was fun!

ode

What a charge by Jordan and Rickie, but Patrick showed some guts with his final round....some good putters in that trio. Rickie is $ from 10 on in, Jordon hitting that occasional bomb, and Patrick is clutch!

PA-PLAYA

Congrats to Patrick Reed.

Was hoping Rory would lift his game for this final round like he did Saturday, but it became obvious early on that it wouldn't be his day. Unfortunately his performance on Sunday only adds to the uncertainty that this could be the one major puzzle that he's incapable of finding the last piece to.

Congrats also to Fowler and Spieth, who made this a 3-man race coming down the stretch and kept the pressure on. Thought Rickie played about as well as he could've possibly played, and Jordan's bogey at the last hole for 64 was the only thing preventing him from tying the record of the lowest round ever shot on Sunday in a major. Where Rory failed, Rickie and Jordan succeeded in keeping the pressure on the leader in the groups up ahead.

Also happy to see Tony Finau crack the top-10 after what happened to him on Wednesday at the par3 contest with some inspired play on Sunday by birdieing 6 of his last 7 holes.

I thought it was a great tournament, as always. Rarely do the players we most want to win these majors step through that door, but Patrick Reed displayed a lot of composure and determination this week to get it done.

All credit to him. 🙂

simonsez

No-one could deny that Patrick Reed was a very deserving winner. He must be very close to achieving his cherished" top 5" position after this 😉.

Weirfan

Really enjoyable Masters and a very deserving winner.

Congrats Patrick Reed !

johnnydoom

What an exciting last two days. I never would have thought Reed would win today with a 71, but he made a putt everytime he really needed to today. What a display by Spieth. I don't know who put the voodoo on Rory's putter, but it was inconceivable that he would miss that many after the way he was going yesterday and even the start of today.

PA-PLAYA

johnnydoom

His putting was definitely off today, but so too were his driving and iron play.

I don't think Rory overlooks any opponent, but I think he went into the round really thinking that he was the one to beat. Which is all well and good, as long as your game holds up and you're making pars and birdies.

It seemed like his short miss for eagle on the second hole ended up being his tone-setter for the day. That's when the pressure of Masters' past really seemed to kick in.

Either way, you're not gonna go into the final round of a major trailing by 3 shots, shoot +2 on the round, and come away feeling very confident about how you dealt with the pressure or your performance. The question will still loom this upcoming week for McIlroy about why this layout continues to deny him.

What part of all that was nerves, what part of that was execution - who knows.... It obviously seems a bit of both played a role in his demise today, at least based in part on what I observed.

rsvman

I think Rory was getting stuck in his swing today, which he hadn't been doing on the previous 3 days. He gets the club a bit too far behind him, and then if timing isn't perfect, it can lead to a lot of the shots we saw today, especially the pushes.

I think he is always behind/stuck a bit, but his timing is generally phenomenal so he gets away with it. Maybe when he gets a bit of nerves it makes it harder to have the timing work out perfectly? If he gets even the tiniest bit quick from the top the whole thing kind of unravels. For the first three rounds he was swinging so effortlessly and the transition was extremely smooth. I think those two things go together. Today, when he was reaching a bit, the transition got a bit too quick, which exacerbates the "stuck" situation.

PA-PLAYA

rsvman

And with his club head speed/ball speed, the errant shot is magnified significantly compared to most others.

I think Rory has a lot of natural length, but still loves to pound it out there beyond everyone else. It's the one thing that I think Mickelson has struggled with over the years as well and has played the most significant part in his struggles off the tee - swinging 110%, whether it's driver, 3wood or mid-iron.

Just because a lot of these longer-hitting guys can hit 8-iron 180 yards doesn't mean they have to. They've played long enough, are talented enough, to reel back and find control of their golf ball with a less-aggressive swing.

johnnydoom

I didn’t realize that Ricky has so many top fives in Majors until I just saw it on the Golf Channel. He certainly gave it a heck of a run today. I knew he was good, but he really is a lot better than I had realized.

PA-PLAYA

johnnydoom

He's definitely numero uno on my personal list of the best who've yet to win a major. He'll have the odd tournament here and there when he's off, like the rest of them. But Fowler has one of the best swings in the game, and is usually an excellent putter.

Historically I just think he's yet to find a certain comfort level in his game in the biggest tournaments of the year, and that has led to a lot of indifferent play and indecision on the weekends when he's under the gun and needs to play aggressive. His tendency has most always been to be conservative, to not make mistakes. Yet that strategy hasn't worked out all that well for him in the majors.

Hopefully the round he enjoyed today reminds him that he's got more than enough talent to win a major. I really am surprised that he hasn't ticked that box yet. He was well back today, played with nothing to lose. He should consider that from his round today going forward.

Can't be afraid to win, can't be afraid to lose.

Reed wasn't. And that's the mindset these guys need in that situation.

Rickochet

I read an article yesterday that among the pro's Reed is the second most disliked PGA pro second only to Bubba. Whassup with this?

Hoss7504

Rickochet

I've heard from people who have met him that he is a complete prick.

PA-PLAYA

Rickochet

Got booted from his first college team (UGA I think) for ”character” reasons. Had a history of partying, alcohol, and was let go. Also an allegation suggesting an instance of him cheating during a qualifying round for a college tournament.

Estranged from his parents several years ago. Hasn’t contacted them since he got married. Had his parents removed by police back during the 2014 US Open, per his wife’s wishes.

So there’s some bad history there. To say his life has been complicated would be an understatement. What would influence a child to remain estranged from his parents by his choosing?

Lots of stuff few people know. He’s a loner on tour, doesn’t mingle or play practice rounds with other players too often. Few people know him beyond the golf course.

Something, it seems, happened to cause a serious distrust in others, including his mom and dad.

In the “real” world outside of the limelight of pro golf, few of us would think twice about it and assume that it’s just part of life unfortunately for some people... maybe caught up in a situation where someone betrayed trust, or perhaps an unwillingness to grow up, to accept past failures and make amends. Or perhaps marrying the wrong person. His wife doesn’t seem to be any more “likable” than he is on tour based on some stuff I’ve read.

Who knows what and why, what is fact and what is fiction.

One thing is certain - Patrick Reed doesn’t want to talk about it.

mikeintopeka

Rickochet - that poll was taken several years ago. It was before his first appearance in the Ryder Cup and how his swagger, and most importantly, winning record, changed opinions of fellow US tour players-especially those under 30. Did you notice one of the first players to greet him with a hug when he was walking to the scorer's table today was Ricky? Reed also made several statements about how honored he was to represent the USA at the Olympics after a few other guys declined the invite. Thus his nickname on tour is now "Captain America".

Reed has some baggage from his freshman year of college when he was dismissed from the U of Georgia and the golf team and the rep followed him to Augusta State where that small school won the NCAA a couple of times - shocking the collegiate golf world. Fingers were pointed at him over some missing items AND behavior issues in Athens and then followed him to Augusta where there were rumblings about cheating on the course. Regarding the 'behavior' problems in Athens, he said he had been arrested more than once due to alcohol related incidents that year.

I just saw, and commented on, a Facebook picture a friend posted from a party he attended at his next door neighbors home in The Woodlands, TX with the Reeds. This social gathering was just a few days before Patrick won his first PGA event 6 years ago. Patrick and his wife Justine were the guests of honor for a "Good Luck" party and my friend was very complimentary of the couple in posting congratulations to them on the win.

johnnydoom

Rickochet He doesn't appear to have been a saint. Who knows what happened with his parents, all sorts of rumors that his dad was a control freak. I have no way to know, but it is probably pretty safe to say that he didn't likely get where he is in golf without his parents doing a lot to make it possible. It could be something from childhood, or maybe he just married against their wishes, who knows?

Rumors that his teammates at Georgia hated him and that when he had a drunken escapade that involved law enforcement that was a perfect reason to get him off the team and send him packing to Augusta State. It would appear that he is arrogant and most take an instant dislike to him accordingly. Much of that still showed in his pre and post round interviews this week. It is very likely that, because of the wrong he's done, he's also been accused of things he didn't do as well.

He does appear to be adaptable though. His golf game is growing and improving indicating that he realizes he needs to continually work at it. Hopefully, he's working similarly on his personality and we're seeing and will see continuous improvement in that area also.

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