AUGUSTA, Ga. — The white ball was launched from the pink driver directly into the green trees before coming to rest on the brown pine straw.
Who knew that from there, from some 20 yards deep into the trees lining the 10th fairway at Augusta National, we would witness one of the greatest shots ever executed in a Masters history so rich it represents a veritable museum of the game’s most iconic moments?
Who knew a guy named Bubba would ever be given a Green Jacket?
FINAL MASTERS LEADERBOARD
In an unforgettable final round at Augusta National that was rife with dramatic twists and turns, Bubba Watson outdueled Louis Oosthuizen on the second playoff hole to seize the 76th Masters.
Getty Images
Bubba Watson
When he tapped in his six-inch par putt for the win on the 10th hole, Watson had more trouble composing himself than he did hitting the impossible shot he pulled off for the win.
He collapsed into the arms of his caddie, Ted Scott, and hugged his mother, Molly, as well as several PGA Tour friends who were following the playoff — Rickie Fowler, Aaron Baddeley and Ben Crane.
For Watson, a quirky, self-made player from Bagdad, Fla., the entire moment seemed like an out-of-body experience.
“I’ve never had a dream go this far, so I can’t really say it’s a dream come true,’’ Watson said while fighting back tears.
The swashbuckling, chance-taking, sometimes erratic Watson, who uses a pink driver to promote awareness about cancer, which claimed his father’s life, realized his dream by executing a shot for the ages, one that will go down in Masters lore.
After both players parred No. 18, the first playoff hole, Watson pulled an errant tee shot into the right trees on No. 10, the second playoff hole. He then miraculously carved a 52-degree gap wedge 164 yards through a small gap in the vegetation, hooking it 40 yards in the air before coming to rest about 10 feet from the flag.
With Oosthuizen also having hit a poor tee shot but failing to reach the green, that left Watson with an easy two-putt to win thanks to the great escape from the trees.
“I hit a crazy shot that I saw in my head, and somehow I’m talking to you with a Green Jacket on,’’ Watson said.
Watson said in one of the first conversations he had with Scott, his caddie of six years, Watson told him, “If I have a swing, I’ve got a shot.’’
So as Watson and Scott walked to the ball on No. 10, Scott reminded him, “If you’ve got a swing, you’ve got a shot.”
So he did.
Oosthuizen said he had “no idea’’ where Watson was because he was so deep in the trees. At that moment, the South African had to be thinking he had one arm in the Green Jacket.
Not so fast.
“I saw the ball come out — it looked like a curveball,’’ Oosthuizen said. “Unbelievable shot. That shot he hit definitely won him the tournament.’’
Oosthuizen, who was paired with Watson all day, hit his own shot for the Masters ages on the second hole that looked like it might win him the tournament.
Oosthuizen carded the first ever double eagle on the second hole when he hit a 4-iron 253 yards and watched it disappear into the hole after trickling its way some 90 feet on the green.
That catapulted Oosthuizen, the 2010 British Open winner at St. Andrews, into the lead at 10-under par at the time.
“It was tough after that double eagle, because when something like that happens so early in the round you think, ‘This is it, it’s my time,’ ’’ Oosthuizen said. “It was my first double eagle ever. It was tough the next five holes to get my head around it.’’
It was tough to get your head around this entire week, because none of what transpired yesterday made any sense based on the expectations.
The week began with nearly everyone in the golf world expecting Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson to dominate.
But by the time yesterday’s final round began, among those Big Three, only Mickelson, a three-time Masters winner, remained in contention.
He entered the day one shot off the lead, which made him the overwhelming favorite to win a fourth Green Jacket.
Everything seemed in place until an implosion on the par-3 fourth hole, where Mickelson carded a triple bogey, damaging his chances beyond repair.
The obvious is sometimes not so obvious.
Case in point: That impossible shot in the playoff and a Masters champion named Bubba.
mark.cannizzaro@nypost.com
Louis Oosthuizen, Oosthuizen, Bubba Watson, Augusta National, Green Jacket, playoff hole, Ted Scott, AUGUSTA, Ga.
No comments:
Post a Comment