Bubba Watson, the unconventional left-handed swinger from Bagdad, Fla., held off a field of challengers and won the Masters in a playoff against Louis Oosthuizen on a thrilling Sunday at Augusta National.
Watson had won three times on Tour but until now had never been able to take a major championship. He shot 68 to finish 10 under for the tournament, which left him tied with Oosthuizen. Watson won the playoff with a par on No. 10, the second playoff hole.
Watson sealed the victory with a shot that was the essence of his game. After blowing his drive way right on No. 10, he played a sweeping hook off the pine needles to about 15 feet. He missed the putt but got down in two, which was enough to beat Oosthuizen, who made bogey.
With one swing from the middle of the par-5 second fairway, Louis Oosthuizen shook the trees at Augusta National, holing out for a double eagle.
It was the first double eagle on that hole in 76 playings of the Masters. It was the fourth double eagle in tournament history, joining Gene Sarazen's in 1935 at the 15th hole, Bruce Devlin's in 1967 at the eighth hole and Jeff Maggert's in 1994 at the 13th hole.
From 253 yards, Oosthuizen threaded a 4-iron shot between two fronting bunkers and watched it roll across the green, from left to right, and into the hole. The 2 sent Oosthuizen from a shot out of the lead to two shots ahead early in the final round of the Masters.
AUGUSTA, Ga. — A boy in a green shirt held his right arm up as Phil Mickelson sized up a long eagle putt on the par-5 13th hole in the third round of the Masters on Saturday. Mickelson knew it was a slow putt that would curl off to the right at the top of the hill. He’d faced a similar putt to the same pin placement in the third round of the 2010 Masters, and he’d made it.
“Boy, this’ll get a roar goin’ if he makes this,” a man said.
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Hunter Mahan doesn't know if he'll ever live down his stubbed chip at the 2010 Ryder Cup, even as the gaffe recedes into memory. He took down Rory McIlroy at the Accenture Match Play Championship to notch his first Tour win of the season. He outlasted the field in Houston for his second.
Even with his name sitting on a Masters leaderboard going into the final round, he hasn't run free of the occasional barb about a two-year-old mistake.
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Augusta National giveth, and Augusta National taketh away.
In Saturday’s third round it gave to Padraig Harrington, who birdied five of the final six holes to climb to four-under-par, five strokes off the lead. What the course gave to the Irishman, it took from England’s Justin Rose, who dropped four shots over the closing four holes — including a four-putt on the 16th — to finish on even par.
“Fortune favors the brave at times here,” Harrington said after his 68. “But it can catch up with you, as well.”
AUGUSTA, Ga. — As Phil Mickelson slipped a green jacket onto Charl Schwartzel last year, Schwartzel's caddie, Greg Hearmon, said, "As always, it happens on the back nine on Sunday … just like you dreamt it."
It certainly did for Schwartzel, who birdied his last four holes last year. This year, like all years, the final nine holes on Sunday will play a major role in deciding the winner. The good news for the players is that traditional Sunday pin locations have been established over the years, so they have a good idea of what they’ll be facing.
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) – Two players from different ends of the spectrum each made Augusta National look vulnerable Saturday.
Now, Peter Hanson and Phil Mickelson will be paired together for the final round at the Masters.
Hanson, making only his second appearance at the year's first major, shot 7-under 65 to take a one-shot lead over Mickelson, who put on a short-game clinic Saturday to land in good position for a fourth green jacket.
After his day of precise shot-making ended with an approach to near tap-in range on No. 18 for a birdie, Hanson finished at 9-under 207. Mickelson, meanwhile, shot 30 on the back – one shy of the course record – to close a round of 66 that left him at 8 under.
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Are you superstitious? Believe in ghosts? Magic? The power of the great beyond?
If so, you might soon believe this 76th Masters is over. Destiny has already chosen Lee Westwood to slip into a green jacket on Sunday.
AUGUSTA, Ga. – The halfway leader of the 76th Masters takes pain medication for his back and is eligible for AARP.
Last week in Houston, he all but pronounced his golf game an ancient relic.
Then Fred Couples, age 52, arrived at the humps and hollows of Augusta National Golf Club and started carving drives and pouring in putts. Fred Couples: 1992 Masters champion and resident sandbagger.
Through 36 holes of a wild Masters, Couples shares the lead at five-under-par 139 after a second-round 67 that featured seven birdies and just two bogeys. Tied with Couples is another laid-back soul, Jason Dufner, last year’s runner up at the PGA Championship.
