Final round flourishes

Now the dust has settled around the carnage that was the final round of the Masters, Boss of the Moss thought it was an ample time to celebrate some great final round moments.

For a long time on Sunday it appeared that none of the handful of players in the running was going to step up to the mark and take the tournament by the scruff of the neck.

Thank the Lord then that Adam Scott, Jason Day and, crucially, Charl Schwartzel managed to turn it on when it mattered. You can’t argue with a quadruple birdie finish on any golf course, less so at Augusta when you’re gunning for your maiden major in a pressure cooker environment and Tiger with his feet up as the clubhouse leader.

It’s with that in mind that we celebrate some momentous moments of brilliance in the closing round of a major. Some you will remember – expect even. Others less so.

Tiger Woods – chip at hole 16, 2005 Masters



We’ll start with the obvious. Back when he could do no wrong, Tiger Woods often did the impossible. This shot in the last round of his 2005 triumph was the epitome of that.

Left with a sticky lie just off the green, Woods was left with a horror shot just to make par. In its typical Sunday position, the pin was at the bottom of a steep downslope leaving Woods with the prospect of having to hit the ball away from the hole, land it at just the right spot to catch the top of the hill, and then watch as it rolled to the holeside for a tap-in par.

Being Woods it was a lot better than that. Watch as he hits the shot and you momentarily think he has over-cooked it, before it checks at exactly the right moment to roll down towards the cup. Marvel at the way the ball tracks towards the hole on a seemingly inevitable path.

Finally, watch how the ball stops, wipes its feet and has a look around before dropping. The way the Nike ‘swoosh’ on the ball reveals itself as it topples into the hole is the stuff Mr Nike probably still has wet dreams about.

Of course this shot wasn’t decisive, although it did ultimately guarantee Woods a play-off against Chris DiMarco, which he went on to win. Shot that won the Masters? Not quite. Shot of the Masters? Quite possibly.

Why we shouldn’t worry about Rory

On Saturday evening, fresh from a third round that meant he would go into the final round of the Masters with a four stroke lead, Rory McIlroy was interviewed by the BBC.

As is his way, he gave a candid and charming interview about the position he was in. Hazel Irvine – the BBC’s golf anchor – then reminded the young Irishman of all the support he was getting back home. ‘Andy Murray has also been on Twitter wishing you well’.

How Britain’s number one tennis player must be sympathising with him right now.

There couldn’t have been anyone watching who has played the game at any level who couldn’t appreciate the collapse McIlroy suffered, missing tiddler putts as he tried to put a bad hole to the back of his mind. Peter Aliss said McIlroy’s brain would be feeling like guacamole, and that’s exactly what it looked like was happening.

But I wouldn’t worry. The only question mark I see is with his choice of caddy. Here, more than ever, was a situation where McIlroy needed to be told to focus, carry on and concentrate on the opportunities he could create over the further eight holes – two of which were par fives well within his range. Easier said than done, of course.

He would do well to keep tabs on Ronan Flood, currently Padraig Harrington’s bag man. He was credited with keeping Harrington on the straight and narrow as he came back from the disappointment of a double-bogey six on the final hole of the 2007 Open which left Sergio Garcia a par away from winning. Garcia missed the putt and Harrington – with the help of Flood – regrouped to win a four-hole play-off.

But that would be my only immediate worry. McIlroy says it will only bother him for a few days and I believe him. That is the attitude of a 21 year old. Many comparisons have been made with Greg Norman’s collapse in 1996, but he was 41 when he capitulated and probably realised his last chance was gone.

A lot of nonsense has been written about how this will affect McIlroy, regardless of what he has gone on record as saying. I, for one, don’t have any worries. He isn’t the first to blow a lead in the final round of a major. Nick Watney (three up going into final round of the USPGA) and Dustin Johnson (again, a three shot lead going into final round of the US Open) did it only last year. He won’t be the last either.

And who won the WGC-Cadillac Championship at Doral in March? Yep, Nick Watney. Runner up? Dustin Johnson. Didn’t seem to affect them, did it? Golfers get used to losing – they do it all the time, even if they are good.

McIlroy will get over this and will win a major. Boss of the Moss is backing him to go close around Royal St George’s at The Open in July. Links golf is where he can find his redemption.

Five things we learnt on day 1 of The Masters

Rory McIlroy is the man to beat

I know, I know – it seems obvious, but you couldn’t fail but be impressed with the Ulsterman’s opening Masters round.

The scorecard read 65 but it could’ve been so much better, with a couple of golden birdie chances shaving the hole.

He now needs to back it up with a solid second round and not capitulate like he did when leading The Open at St Andrews last year. That seems unlikely with the Augusta weather unlikely to be offering any advantage to early or late starters today. McIlroy himself has also talked candidly about learning from that experience.

If he putts like he did yesterday all week he will be hard to catch.

Carlos Quirós is a big threat

We shouldn’t be surprised that Quirós has come good at Augusta so far this week – when you can bomb drives to 340 yards and leave yourself a six iron into a par five you are always gonna be a threat around here.

He has talked about not understanding the Augusta greens in the past, but he seems to have learnt fast.

Luke Donald still looks the form man

An odd thing to say after such a disappointing start – he was +3 through 13 holes – but Donald showed why he came into this Masters as the form man.

A birdie-eagle-birdie run through 14, 15 and 16 saw him get into red figures, with his beautiful putt at 15 for eagle, in particular, a sign of things to come.

Phil Mickelson is the new Seve

We kind of knew that already, of course, but Mickelson’s first round suggested his Champions Dinner in honour of Seve earlier this week had inspired him to play like the great Spaniard.

Wayward off the tee on numerous occasions, he frequently left himself in all sorts of awkward spots. But, as he showed last year, he loves it when his back is against the wall and his ball is against a tree. Time and again he made par when he had no right to, and his -2 round was the stuff of champions.

Sergio is back

Fresh from a sabbatical of football and little else, it was great to see Sergio back on a golf course doing what he does best.

The long game looked as good as ever, but the putting heebie-jeebies were prevalent as he snagged a couple of putts not much longer than four feet. 

A win this week for him this week would be incredible, but looks unlikely – he will need to hole many putts to do that. Instead, just enjoy having the charismatic Spaniard back where he belongs.

Why can’t we criticise Tiger?

Another major, another Tiger debate rages.

This time Ian Poulter is getting it in the neck for claiming that Tiger won’t finish in the top five at Augusta this week. Why is he being chastised for that? He’s only saying what the rest of us are thinking.

In reality, he was in fact asked whether he thought Tiger would finish in the top five and he simply answered ‘no’. It’s not like he made the comment off his own back. Then he would have looked a little silly.

Of course Poults has always had a tendency to tie himself in knots of hyperbole – the quote a few years back about being the best in the world bar Tiger raised eyebrows then and still rumbles on in the background – especially so now.

Tiger’s response clearly nodded at that comment when asked about Poulter’s latest one – ‘well, Poulter’s always right, isn’t he?’

Even so, instead of being on Poults case, we should be applauding him. In a sport that can often be laden with monotonous, placid answers to press questions, the likes of Poulter et al shoot from the hip and most fans love that.

And why is it so frowned upon to criticise Tiger? In only March this year we had a host of tut-tutting and frowning when Rory McIlroy dared to suggest that Tiger had lost his aura. Not forgetting the storm between the same two before last year’s Ryder Cup.

In a sport driven by sponsors across the business spectrum, it is understandable that golfers tread carefully – often too carefully – when answering press questions. But surely a bit of straight-talking and honesty is a good thing, right? It makes it interesting.

It’s a shame that both McIlroy and Poulter now feel they have had their fingers burnt. Poulter has now gone on record (his Twitter feed to be exact) saying that he won’t be so candid with the press in future. That is a shame.

Instead I’ll have to say it for them. I don’t think Tiger will finish in the top five either. There, I said it.

Masters tips: Bubba Watson, the American underdog

Not to be confused with the character from Forrest Gump, Watson is much more than an unusual name.

Many this side of the pond will have came across him for the first time last autumn – first, as he lost out to Martin Kaymer at the USPGA Championship in a play-off, and second in the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor.

Admittedly, his Augusta record is nothing to write home about – T20th in 2008 and 42nd in 2009 being his best finishes – but this fudges the fact that he has a game made for Augusta.

As Mike Weir and Phil Mickelson have already shown, left-handers love it round Augusta and Watson should be no different.

His big strength is his length off the tee courtesy of a booming swing that is all his own making. In fact, he was amongst the three longest drivers in 14 of his 22 PGA events last season. And he is just as deadly with a driver in his hand on a fairway, as this early contender for shot of the year at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions shows.

He has form. He won the Farmers Insurance Open earlier this year, seeing off a certain Phil Mickelson into the runners-up spot. That and his fourth at the WGC-Accenture Matchplay – coupled with his Ryder Cup and USPGA exploits – means he now has that all-important experience of the business end of tournaments.

The crowd will also be on his side – and not just because he is American. Watson was a player at the local University of Georgia in 2000 and 2001, meaning he should get some very vocal support.

The one question mark that lurks is around his short game. Nick Faldo has gone on record as saying that only the best putters win the Masters. I guess he would say that having won it three times himself, but he has a point.

For me, there have been signs that Watson’s short game is close to matching his long game. Boss of the moss thinks this could be his time to shine.

Masters tips: Lee Westwood, the Englishman

Picking an Englishman capable of being the first to adorn the green jacket since Nick Faldo’s demolition of Greg Norman in 1996 is tough.

Not tough as in ‘where are they’. But tough as in there are too many. We have already bestowed the virtues of Luke Donald’s red-hot form in a separate post (he was excluded from this post on the basis of being Boss of the Moss’s form pick). But who else is there?

Justin Rose has started the year in encouraging form and has proven himself around Augusta. It’s a long way from last year, when he missed out altogether with a string of bad results culminating in a missed cut at the Arnold Palmer Invitational which ultimately gave him the Masters weekend off.

This year it’s all so different. This time he has made it, and with some good form to back it up. The irony won’t be lost on many that his most impressive result this year came at, you guessed it, the Arnold Palmer Invitational where he finished a creditable third courtesy of a final round 68.

What about Ian Poulter? He certainly divides opinion, but discount him at your peril. The start of his year hasn’t been great, compounded by a hayfever diagnosis that reads of every form of pollen bar one. Surely not ideal for such a sumptuous course as Augusta.

But he has form around Augusta, having led the tournament last year. Whether he can reproduce his best form when not pumped up by a large crowd (see any Ryder Cup he has played in and the 2008 Open for proof of that) remains a doubt. But he is a demon with a putter – one of the best in the field, in fact – and that could be a key.

Although the virtues of Rose and Poulter are impressive, Boss of the Moss’s pick is, perhaps inevitably, Lee Westwood. Given his rather shaky form so far this year you may be wondering why. Well, here’s why.

He has a solid Augusta record, with a best-ever finish last year of second. In fact, his final -13 score would have been enough to have won 17 of the last 20 Masters. And it would have last year had Phil Mickelson not done this.

He should have won the Open at Turnberry in 2009 when his long game deserted him when he needed it most. To say he choked is rubbish, as anyone who saw his second shot from the fairway bunker on the final hole will testify. It was gutsy, the execution under pressure incredible. 

Despite these set-backs there remains an heir of a man who knows he is going to break through on the biggest stage of all and Boss of the Moss is backing him to do just that this year.

He has the game. He has the bottle. He has the temperament. This is his time.