Jordan Spieth Ties His Worst-Ever Round at Augusta to Close 2017 Masters
For the second straight year, Jordan Spieth's dreams of a Masters triumph turned into a nightmare.
Spieth tied his worst-ever round at Augusta National Golf Club in Sunday's final round, carding a three-over 75 to fall out of contention and go into the clubhouse tied for 11th place. This will be the first time Spieth has failed to finish in the top two at a Masters tournament. He'd previously tied for second twice and won the 2015 event at age 21.
Now an elder statesman at the ripe age of 23, Spieth began his day within two strokes of the lead and to many the favorite to win the tournament. Neither Justin Rose nor Sergio Garcia had ever won a Masters, while Spieth was seemingly on his way to an unheard of fourth straight top-five finish—if not his second win.
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| Par | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 36 | |
| Score | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 38 | |
| Par | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 36 | 72 |
| Score | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 37 | 75 |
That feeling lasted all of about one hole.
Spieth opened his day with a bogey on two of his first three holes, setting a tone for a round that fell off the rails before righting itself a little at the end.
While Spieth birdied No. 2, it was the only positive until he was well out of contention. Starting with the bogey at No. 3, Spieth played a 12-hole stretch at Augusta at six over. He added a bogey at No. 6 to make the turn two over for the day and then immediately dropped another shot at No. 10.
Of course, even with Spieth playing himself out of contention, the gallery was laser-focused on how he'd play No. 12. A year ago, the par-three hole turned into a nightmare. Spieth, who at one point led by five strokes during the final round, dropped two shots into the water on the 12th on his way to a quadruple bogey that handed the lead over to Danny Willett.
Then Spieth did it again. His first shot at No. 12 went into the drink Sunday, with the gallery gasping in a state of deja vu.
The Twittersphere was understandably abuzz after his shot hit the water:
Spieth mercifully hit his second shot over the water and wound up only carding a double bogey, but the damage was done. He added another bogey on No. 14 and looked to be flying his way out of the top 20 altogether.
Then...Jordan Spieth became Jordan Spieth again for some odd reason. Spieth finished his round with three birdies in his final four holes, somewhat salvaging the round to wind up with a respectable overall finish.
The final score is all that matters, but Spieth's round was more of a nightmare than his finish indicates. It was the equivalent of putting up touchdowns in garbage time. The numbers still matter; they're just not as meaningful as if they would have happened earlier in the round.
Postgame Reaction
Spieth placed the blame on his approach around the green, per Mike O’Malley of Golf Digest: "My wedges and short game really let me down this week."
He looked at the silver lining in the aftermath as well, per the Associated Press (h/t USA Today): "It was the most free that I've ever felt at Augusta National. So be it that I end up shooting one of my worst rounds."
"I'm really pleased with the way we finished this round to get back to red," he added. "Because for a while there, it was 'What are we doing?' And I wasn't doing much wrong and that's what was so tough."
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