A mistake, then family disgrace: Why brutal snub could be final straw in Masters feud<\/a><\/p>\n2016 champion Danny Willett consoles Jordan Spieth after an extraordinary triumph at Augusta. Harry How\/Getty Images\/AFPSource: AFP<\/p>\n
As Spieth sat in Butler Cabin at Augusta National, the champion golfer looked green to the gills as he listened to the two peers to his left discuss their glorious afternoon in 2016.<\/p>\n
This was the moment the broader golf world was introduced to American Bryson DeChambeau, the champion amateur in the 2016 Masters who finished in a tie for 21st.<\/p>\n
It was an honour, the fresh-faced Bryson said, he could \u201cnever have imagined in a million years\u201d before confirming he would be turning professional. And what a career big Bryson has compiled.<\/p>\n
DeChambeau then congratulated Danny Willett, who had just become the second Englishman to win at Augusta in a triumph truly remarkable given the circumstances.<\/p>\n
Willett would praise Spieth for how he handled the situation. Harry How\/Getty Images\/AFPSource: Getty Images<\/p>\n
The Yorkshireman believed he would miss the Masters that year given his first son was due on the Sunday the major was decided, but baby Zach was in a rush and arrived early. <\/p>\n
Midway through the final round, and with Spieth sitting at 7-under with a significant buffer, the 28-year-old thought he was playing for second. But \u2026 we\u2019ll get to the unthinkable.<\/p>\n
This was Willett\u2019s day, one that coincided with his wife Nicole\u2019s birthday, and he was thrilled.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou talk about fate. You talk about everything else that goes with it. It is a crazy, crazy week,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Then the moment, as dictated by tradition, came with the chairman of Augusta National Golf Club, Billy Payne, calling on Spieth to present the \u2018Green Jacket\u2019 to Willett.<\/p>\n
In a scene broadcast across America and beamed around the world, Spieth rose from his chair, only to sway and lose his balance before righting himself with some help from the seat.<\/p>\n
\u201cI almost fell over there,\u201d he said to Willett, a broken smile on his face. The wretched truth was he already had.<\/p>\n
Later, he said, the ceremony was almost as difficult as what had unfolded on the back nine.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs you can imagine, I can\u2019t think of anybody else who may have had a tougher ceremony to experience,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t imagine that it was fun for everyone to experience other than Danny\u2019s team and those who are fans of him.\u201d <\/p>\n
Elk sliders! Rory’s Masters menu | 01:15<\/p>\n
HELL ON AMEN CORNER<\/p>\n
Willett talked about fate, but it was scarcely conceivable a couple of hours earlier that Spieth would not be in the position of attending Butler Cabin as a glorious Masters champion.<\/p>\n
The young American was on track not just to join the immortals but to also set a new mark when it came to unparalleled brilliance at a tournament revered around the world.<\/p>\n
Spieth started the final Sunday a decade ago having led around Augusta for seven straight rounds, a streak no-one else has matched, with that run including his 2015 triumph by four shots over Phil Mickelson and Justin Rose.<\/p>\n
There were some ebbs early but in a stunning stanza to finish the front nine, he birdied the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth holes to establish himself as a dominant leader.<\/p>\n
The 22-year-old had also finished in a tie for second behind Bubba Watson on debut two years earlier, with Gow saying his excellence around the greens helped set him apart through this period.<\/p>\n
The look on his face says it all.Source: AFP<\/p>\n
\u201cThe course just suits him because he is quite creative around a green. If he misses a green, he figures out how to get up and down well,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen his putting in those years was off the charts. His driving had been good, without being great, but he was still able to get it into the right slots.\u201d <\/p>\n
Scottie Scheffler is the current top gun. Rory McIlroy is the defending champion. DeChambeau, clearly, is a big game player. But Spieth\u2019s stunning ascension at such a young age had him marching towards greatness.<\/p>\n
Rory sheds light on tense Masters moment | 01:26<\/p>\n
Seeking to become the first back-to-back, wire-to-wire winner, he was turning the Masters into a procession. Successfully navigating the back nine would establish him as a great. <\/p>\n
Tiger Woods required seven Masters appearances to clinch a second green jacket. The Golden Bear Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer needed six to get their second. <\/p>\n
Ben Hogan and Seve Ballesteros were dual-Masters winners. And only Woods, Nicklaus and Nick Faldo had successfully defended a Masters. But Spieth was within reach of two in three years after debuting with a second. It was record pace.<\/p>\n
Then came the wobble on Amen Corner. It might sound peaceful but every golfer knows the stretch between the 10th and 12th holes can be as perilous as any walk around the globe.<\/p>\n
It is accepted that no champion is ever crowned until they have navigated Amen Corner. The adage rang true once again.<\/p>\n
After a bogey on ten, a putt for what might have proven a steadying par slid narrowly past on the 11th, almost lipping the cup as it set alarm bells ringing.<\/p>\n
Broadcaster Frank Nobilo, the New Zealander who had finished fourth in the 1996 Masters famous for Greg Norman\u2019s remarkable collapse, noted; \u201cIt is a complete turnaround here\u201d.<\/p>\n
Bryson’s hopes of victory sink at 11 | 01:18<\/p>\n
FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS <\/p>\n
When assessing the knockout blow that unfolded on Golden Bell, a name that belies the bastardry that can unfold on the 12th hole at Augusta, Andy Bell from The Guardian noted locals joked it had \u201cbroken more men than marriage or moonshine\u201d.<\/p>\n
A couple of years earlier Spieth\u2019s pursuit of a remarkable triumph on debut fell short when a shot that landed on the edge of the 12th green tricked backwards into Rae\u2019s Creek.<\/p>\n
Spieth still led in 2016 but as Nobilo noted, he now found himself \u201cin a tussle\u201d, and as Gow said, exacerbating this was his troubles on the previous two holes.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs golfers, we start to half doubt ourselves and the last thing you want to do at Augusta National when you are trying to win is walk on to the 12th tee doubting yourself,\u201d Gow said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is not a golf course you can defend against. It really isn\u2019t. You need to be in that mindset of attacking. One thing people get wrong about it is that you don\u2019t necessarily need to attack the pin, but you need to attack the green at a certain spot from a certain line to keep the ball on the green. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou still have to keep the mentality of playing the golf course to be attacking, to be confident with every shot you hit, but the golf course will bite you if you don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
The shot that cost Jordan Spieth the 2016 Masters.Source: AFP<\/p>\n
On the tee, the broadcast picks up his caddie Michael Greller calmly telling the star to \u201ccommit to the right of the CBS camera and you will split those two bunkers\u201d. But it is clear Spieth\u2019s mind is clouded. He asks Greller, \u201cWon\u2019t this go over?\u201d. <\/p>\n
Assured the 9-iron he had in his hands was the right club, the tournament leader left it short and fans sitting on a grandstand below groaned as the ball landed short and trickled back into the water.<\/p>\n
The pundits point out Spieth had changed his mind standing over the ball, having initially agreed to draw the ball back into the green, only to opt for a fade that fell short of the target. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what I did in 2014 and it cost me the tournament then, too,\u201d he would later lament.<\/p>\n
As this was occurring, Willett found his way out of a tricky spot on the 15th hole and was praised, with the caller noting; \u201cThe first mistake you make in pressure situations is poor decision making. He is not making any bad decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Disaster strikes.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
Ultimately, it was not the tee shot that cost Spieth. He might have recovered with a double-bogey. What followed hurt him.<\/p>\n
Deciding to take a drop rather than hit another tee shot, the champion struck a chip so fat it plopped into the water once again to the astonishment of flabbergasted fans and experts behind the microphone.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh my goodness. This is unbelievable. The iron man is now having an absolute meltdown,\u201d Nick Faldo says in commentary.<\/p>\n
\u201cGoodness, Frank. He turns and walks to the 10th tee and we can hardly get the superlatives to mark this man\u2019s incredible achievements and he is going to go bogey, bogey and (now) we don\u2019t know what.\u201d<\/p>\n
Faldo later said Spieth had \u201cnever hit one that fat in his life\u201d, while Nobilo described the 12th hole as \u201ca lonely place right now\u201d despite the golf world watching on in disbelief as the horror unfold.<\/p>\n
Gow said a sign of how muddled Spieth had become in his thinking was the position where he dropped the ball.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat got me was where he dropped it. He dropped it on a downward slope, across water, to a raised green,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe grass is beautiful down there but it is not cut close enough that you can get a lot of spin on it, and he was too close to get a lot of spin on it, so it was a strange way that he went about his business when he was walking down the 12th. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt all just unfolded from there. And he is not alone in doing that there. (Tony) Finau and (Francesco) Molinari did it on the same hole (in 2019). They just capitulated. It just all fell apart.\u201d <\/p>\n
Spieth said later he was in more than two minds as to how to approach what became a calamity, noting; \u201cI\u2019m not really sure what happened on the next shot. I just hit it fat.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was reported that as he walked to the 13th tee, he turned to Greller and said, \u201cBuddy, it seems like we are collapsing.\u201d<\/p>\n
‘The shot of a lifetime!’ | 02:07<\/p>\n
A CHAMPION REBOUNDS<\/p>\n
As he celebrated a career-defining triumph, Willett had the good grace to praise the manner with which Spieth handled what was a traumatic afternoon.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was brilliant, just like everyone would imagine him to be. That was probably 15 minutes after he came off, so he could not have been in the best frame of mind, but he is a classy guy,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe shook my hand and said, \u2018Well done. Great playing today.\u2019 He did everything you could really expect someone in that position to do and it just goes to show the kind of guy he is.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t want it to go any way like that, but, unfortunately, round the golf course with the pressure that is on, crazy things happen and that was one of those typical Masters moments where someone from behind comes up and plays nice all day.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnfortunately it was one person\u2019s to lose that day, I guess, and I feel fortunate that we were in the position we were to take the best chances.\u201d <\/p>\n
Jordan Spieth was praised for his attitude despite a disastrous final round at Augusta National in 2016. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
The recipient of the rarest of gifts 20 years earlier when Norman capitulated, Faldo approached Spieth as he was getting into a courtesy car to offer a consoling word about a finale he later described as \u201ca mixture between disaster and torture\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cGreg was, right from the word go, on a downward trend, and Jordan was on an upward trend,\u201d he told reporters. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe good news is he\u2019s 22. You regroup. He\u2019s way too talented \u2026 and he\u2019s got a lot of majors he\u2019s going to have a shot to win.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Golden Bear, too, was shattered for the experience endured by a rising star of the links.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy heart goes out to him for what happened, but I know Jordan is a young man who will certainly learn from this experience and there will be some good that comes out of this for him,\u201d Nicklaus said.<\/p>\n
Augusta – Most iconic sports theme ever? | 06:00<\/p>\n
Spieth vowed to learn from the experience and was able to bounce back with a triumph at Colonial soon after before rebounding from a dip midway through the final round of the British Open in 2017 to claim his fourth major.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a golfer, as a person, I can always look back on this experience and say we were strong,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt really shouldn\u2019t have been tough times but it is given the position we\u2019re in, and that creates noise. It\u2019s great when you\u2019re on top, and it\u2019s not fun on the other side of it, but nobody in here has to necessarily experience that side of it. But it makes me really enjoy a moment like this even more. It really does.\u201d<\/p>\n
Spieth has not won a major since but he has finished in the top 10 on seven occasions, which includes thirds at Augusta in 2018 and 2021 and a fourth last year.<\/p>\n
Given his record, Gow would not be surprised if the 32-year-old marks the 10th anniversary of one of golf\u2019s most infamous meltdowns with another strong push.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven after the capitulation, he could still play after that. He is one of those guys who had a lot of belief in what he does and how he does it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven this year, I know he hasn\u2019t played extremely well, but he has had a couple of top 11s, a couple of top 20s, and I reckon he is hovering around there. And when he gets to the Masters, wow, you can see what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After the most excruciating afternoon of his career, Jordan Spieth was unsteady on his feet, a punch drunk…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":510542,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[178705,178697,178698,8421,178679,156599,86919,158492,178704,100132,178686,178711,69610,26916,178714,64790,178682,178687,178706,178708,59367,178691,178689,178699,178693,178694,178680,178713,178712,37643,178690,178683,178681,5904,14688,178685,95945,16203,178695,21973,11476,178696,15460,66772,86972,4051,19889,178710,6960,178684,178701,178707,106001,101,178692,86906,178688,8937,178702,56,54,5336,55,178703,178678,178700,86916,178709,78998],"class_list":{"0":"post-510541","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-golf","8":"tag-absolute-meltdown","9":"tag-alarm-bells-ringing","10":"tag-amen-corner","11":"tag-america","12":"tag-andy-bell","13":"tag-arnold-palmer","14":"tag-augusta","15":"tag-augusta-national-inc","16":"tag-bell-tolls","17":"tag-ben-hogan","18":"tag-billy-payne","19":"tag-bryson","20":"tag-bubba-watson","21":"tag-car-crash","22":"tag-career-defining-triumph","23":"tag-cbs-corporation","24":"tag-champion-golfer","25":"tag-champion-rebounds","26":"tag-champion-strikes","27":"tag-courtesy-car","28":"tag-courtney-walsh","29":"tag-crazy-things","30":"tag-danny-willett","31":"tag-dominant-leader","32":"tag-dual-major-winners","33":"tag-excruciating-afternoon","34":"tag-expert-pundit","35":"tag-famous-stretch","36":"tag-fans-sitting","37":"tag-final-round","38":"tag-frank-nobilo","39":"tag-game-player","40":"tag-glorious-afternoon","41":"tag-golf","42":"tag-golf-course","43":"tag-golf-world","44":"tag-green-jacket","45":"tag-greg-norman","46":"tag-incredible-achievements","47":"tag-jordan-spieth","48":"tag-justin-rose","49":"tag-legacy-defining-triumph","50":"tag-maine","51":"tag-nick-faldo","52":"tag-nicole","53":"tag-north-america","54":"tag-northern-america","55":"tag-paul-gow","56":"tag-phil-mickelson","57":"tag-pressure-situations","58":"tag-remarkable-collapse","59":"tag-remarkable-triumph","60":"tag-rising-star","61":"tag-sports","62":"tag-stroke-win","63":"tag-tee-shot","64":"tag-thing-people","65":"tag-tiger-woods","66":"tag-tournament-leader","67":"tag-uk","68":"tag-united-kingdom","69":"tag-united-states-of-america","70":"tag-unitedkingdom","71":"tag-unparalleled-brilliance","72":"tag-unparalleled-greatness","73":"tag-wire-to-wire-winner","74":"tag-young-age","75":"tag-young-american","76":"tag-young-man"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/510541","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=510541"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/510541\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/510542"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=510541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=510541"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=510541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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