PGA Results: 2012 Masters

The Masters This past weekend was fantastic for golf fans.  The Masters tournament was exciting and any number of players had the chance of winning down the stretch.  In the end it came down to the two players in the second to last group, Bubba Watson and Louis Oosthuizen.  Regulation wasn't enough for those two who finished at -10, so they went to a sudden death playoff. In the playoff both players hit perfect drives on the par-4 18th, which is a very tough hole.  Both players hit the green in regulation and Louis Oosthuizen was first to putt.  His putt stayed on the high side, leaving the opportunity for Bubba Watson to win the first playoff hole.  He and his caddie both apparently read the putt incorrectly, as they were both surprised to see the putt drift left of the hole. The sudden death playoff moved to the 2nd playoff hole, the very tough par-4 10th.  The 10th is a very tough downhill dog-leg left which the players must shape the drive right-to-left to keep it in the fairway.  Bubba blasted his drive through the fairway and deep into the trees right of the hole.  Once he saw Bubba's shot, Oosthuizen smartly chose 3-wood instead of driver to keep the ball in play.  Louis failed to execute that 3-wood properly though and also blocked his drive right.  He was lucky however, as his ball kicked out into the 2nd cut.  Louis's 2nd shot came up short on the up-slope in front of the green. Bubba Watson's ball was quite deep in the right trees.  There was a window straight out of the trees he could hit though, which aimed at the fairway bunker about 50 yards short of the green.  The ball was laying on pine straw.  It looked like Watson would have to chip out.  But being the unbelievable talent he is, and having the ability to hook the ball like no other player, Watson decided to go for the green.  This heroic shot had disaster written all over it.  It could catch up in the trees. If he didn't hook it, the ball would go left of the 10th into more trees, etc.  From 155 yards Watson hit one of the most incredible shots in Masters history, hooking the ball with a gap wedge 40 yards onto the green.  The ball landed below the hole and actually spun up the hill toward the hole to about 12 feet. Oosthuizen's chip from short of the green went long to the back fringe.  His par putt missed.  The Masters title was Bubba's, so long as he could two putt from 12 feet.  No problem.  Tears were flowing as Masters champion Watson's mother and friends hugged him on the 10th green. Historic Shots Aside from Bubba's heroic hooked gap wedge, there were some other incredible shots on Sunday.  Bo Van Pelt shot a 64 Sunday, a record.  In that round was an ace on the 16th hole. Just a few groups after Van Pelt's ace, Adam Scott aced 16 as well.  Shades of 2010 where two aces were recorded on the 16th. The most unbelievable and historic shot of the tournament came on the 2nd hole.  Louis Oosthuizen was over 250 yards out on this par-5.  He hit a perfect 4-iron which hit short of the green, bounced forward and started rolling toward the back right pin.  It seemed to take forever for the ball to get to the hole but it did.  The ball dropped for a TWO on a par-5!  That's an Albatross or double-eagle.  That double eagle was only the fourth double eagle in the 76 year history of the Masters. Players Who Were Factors Phil Mickelson came into the final round one shot behind 3rd round leader Peter Hanson. He was the favorite to win with all of his experience and the momentum he had from shooting a 30 on the back nine the day before.  But an errant tee shot on the par-3 4th hole hit the railing of the grandstand.  From there Mickelson ended up having to hit to right-handed shots (he's left handed remember) just to get out of the bushes.  A missed flop went into the bunker, where he'd blast out to a foot for a putt for a triple bogey.  That triple was Mickelson's 2nd of the tournament.  Even with the triple on six, Phil still had a chance, but couldn't make enough birdies on the back nine. Peter Hanson came into the final round with the lead, but bogeys on two of the first three holes, combined with the albatross put him several shots back early.  He fought back, but was not close enough to make the playoff. Matt Kuchar made eagle on the 15th to bring himself to a tie for the lead.  That lasted one hole, as he blocked his tee shot on 16 into the right greenside bunker.  He'd make a bogey which he would not be able to recover from. Lee Westwood was a factor the whole week, starting the first round with the lead.  A few missed putts and short game mistakes cost Westwood his chance at his first major win. Players Who Were NOT Factors Following the win at Bay Hill, Tiger Woods was looking like a big favorite to win the Masters.  Woods however, had a poor ball striking week.  He was leading the tour in total driving statistics coming into the Masters, but astonishingly his great driving and iron play disappeared.  Woods's frustration was on display as he swore and kicked a club on the 16th hole.  Woods would shoot rounds of 72, 75, 72, 74.  He never broke par. Rory McIlory looked to be positioning himself well after the first two rounds (71-69).  In fact for one bit he was tied for the lead on Friday.  Weekend rounds of 77-76 shot him completely out of the tournament. World #1 Luke Donald wasn't much of a factor, shooting +3 for the week, 13 shots off the lead. Conclusion This past week included some great theater and historic shots like the double eagle by Oosthuizen, and it introduced a new major champion with a homemade golf swing, bomber Bubba Watson.  Once again the Masters and the fantastic Augusta National Golf Club put on the best and most exciting tournament of the year.