Masters Sunday is always highly anticipated, and this particular Sunday produced some spectacular moments. Peter Hanson and Phil Mickelson made up the final pairing, but those two were upstaged by Watson and Oosthuizen. On the second hole, Oosthuizen hit a beautiful iron onto the front of the green of the par five, and then watched as it rolled 90 or so feet into the cup for a double eagle 2. This was the first ever double eagle on this hole in Masters history as well as the first ever double eagle in Louie's career. The roar was unprecedented and put the South African in the early lead at 10-under. He stayed pretty steady throughout the day, making clutch par putts when he needed them the most. As the day went on, Phil Mickelson basically shot himself out of it on the par-3 fourth, where he made a messy triple bogey after taking two right-handed swings from the woods. He charged back nicely, but couldn't make an eagle on the back nine to get him up to the lead. Peter Hanson didn't play horribly, but he simply couldn't make many birdies.
Matt Kuchar and Lee Westwood made noise as well. Kuchar eagled the 15th hole with an immaculate approach, and this got him into a tie for the lead. However, a poor iron into 16 gave him a bogey and he could not close the gap on the final two holes. Westwood had many opportunities to make big putts, but he could never quite do it. He finished at 8-under as well. I think he hit the ball best of anyone all week, but his putting once again let him down in some big moments. Ian Poulter surged up the leaderboard on Sunday, but he would have needed to go very low to catch the leaders.
This brings us to Watson and Oosthuizen and their epic duel. Watson strung together four straight birdies on the back to tie him with Louie at 10-under, and both men came to 18 tied at that total. Oosthuizen hit a good iron shot into the green, but it did not funnel down to the hole and left him with a devilishly fast putt that would be good to two-putt. Watson had a relatively flat, 15-footer ahead of him. Oosthuizen ran his about five feet past, and Watson missed his putt. Oosthuizen sank the comebacker to force the playoff, starting the real drama.
Both players were in perfect position off the tee on the first playoff hole (18), and Louie hit his to about 15 feet while Watson ended up just eight or so feet away. Oosthuizen hit a good putt, but it did not fall. Watson had his to win The Masters, but it broke the opposite way of what he thought it would. The men would move to a second playoff hole, the 495-yard par-4 tenth hole.
Watson teed off first, and he went way right into the trees, just as he had done earlier in the day. Oosthuizen, seemingly having the advantage, took 3-wood off the tee, but he also went right, with his ball caroming off the trees and getting a break with a bounce into the right rough.
Oosthuizen had 233 yards to the flag, a long way back despite the lucky break. He came up just short of the green, and this set the stage for Bubba Watson to pull off the unthinkable from 156 yards. He hit a 40-yard hook shot with his gap wedge from 156 yards, the ball came out perfectly, and sailed onto the green, side spinning and stopping about 10 feet from the hole. This shot was incredible and to any golf but Bubba, not even attemptable. His creativity and ability to hit any shot in the book gave him the most memorable shot of The Masters, even more memorable than Oosthuizen's double eagle.
Oosthuizen failed to get up-and-down for par despite hitting a great putt, and Watson easily two-putted for an emotional victory and his first major. He broke down while hugging his family, and the emotions spilled over into the congratulations he received from his family and friends. He and his wife recently adopted a boy, and Bubba was just happy to be able to go back and play with his boy. This feel-good story shows just how great the game of golf is. Watson's ability to hit the ball a mile, be amazingly creative with working shots, and his touch around the greens make him a worthy Masters champion.
Personally, I was pulling for Bubba in this playoff. Oosthuizen is already a major winner and played great, but I wanted to see the big lefty get the job done and cement his place in Masters lore. It was quite an amazing win, and it also proved that drama in golf doesn't necessarily have to revolve around Tiger. As much as I love Tiger the golfer, it was still thrilling to see such a wonderful finish to the greatest golf tournament in the world. It proves that The Masters is truly a tradition unlike any other.
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