LIV’s Brooks Koepka wins PGA Championship for 5th major title

LIV’s Brooks Koepka wins PGA Championship for 5th major title

 

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — In the final round of the 105th PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club on Sunday, Brooks Koepka seemed determined to step on the gas early.

He had three straight birdies in the first four holes to open up a 4-shot lead over Norway’s Viktor Hovland and Canada’s Corey Conners. Then he held on when Hovland and Scottie Scheffler, two of the best players in the world, made their moves on the back nine.

Koepka carded a 3-under 67 in the final round Sunday and was 9 under over 72 holes to win the Wanamaker Trophy for the third time, beating Scheffler and Hovland by 2 strokes.

“To look back to where we were two years ago, I’m so happy right now,” Koepka said. “This is just the coolest thing.”

Koepka had warned us: Whatever was going on between his ears heading into Sunday at the Masters in April would never be muttered in his mind again. Koepka had a 2-shot lead heading into the final round at Augusta National Golf Club. He shot 3-over 75 in the final 18 holes and lost to Spain’s Jon Rahm by 4 strokes.

Even Koepka, one of the most confident golfers in the world, acknowledged this week that he choked while trying to win his first green jacket.

“I promise I won’t show up like [the Masters] tomorrow,” Koepka said Saturday. “I won’t have that thought process. It’ll be completely different and we’ll see where it puts me.”

Hovland had stayed within striking distance of Koepka until the par-4 16th hole, where he hit his drive into a fairway bunker. His second shot became embedded into the bunker’s face, leading to a double-bogey and ending his chances. Koepka had a birdie on the hole to take a 4-shot lead.

It is a historic victory for Koepka and the LIV Golf League, the Saudi Arabian-financed circuit that reportedly paid him $100 million in guaranteed earnings to lure him away from the PGA Tour in June. Koepka is the first LIV Golf League player to win a major championship.

“He’s been knocking on the door a lot and he’s been playing some really good golf,” said Phil Mickelson, another LIV Golf League captain. “And I think we’re all kind of expecting that to happen. … He’s been working really hard and it’s good to see him playing well.”

Over four days at one of the most difficult golf courses in the world, Koepka reaffirmed his position as perhaps the best major championship player of his era. He claimed his third PGA Championship title — he also won at Bellerive Country Club outside St. Louis in 2018 and Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, New York, the next year. He becomes only the third player to win the PGA Championship at least three times after it became a stroke-play event in 1958; Jack Nicklaus (five) and Tiger Woods (four) were the others.

Koepka, 33, also won the U.S. Open in back-to-back years, at Erin Hills in Wisconsin in 2017 and at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in New York in 2018. According to Justin Ray of the Twenty First Group, he becomes only the seventh player since 1950 to win five majors before age 34: Woods, Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Seve Ballesteros, Gary Player and Tom Watson also did it.

“I’m not even sure I dream of it as a kid, that I’d win that many,” Koepka said.

From 2015 through 2018, Koepka had a final-round scoring average of 68.9 in the majors. Nobody was better on golf’s biggest stages.

Koepka hasn’t said it, but we can assume that he believed he played too conservatively in the final round of the Masters. He came out firing at Oak Hill Country Club’s pins Sunday after rain from the day before softened the greens.

Koepka made par on the first hole and then carded three straight birdies to grab a 4-shot lead. According to ESPN Stats & Information, Koepka was the first 54-hole leader at a major in the past 20 years to start 3 under or better in his first four holes of the final round.

With the pin only 3 feet off the front and right on the par-4 second, Koepka hit his approach shot to 4½ feet. On the par-3 third, his tee shot stopped four feet from the hole, despite a stiff crosswind. He sank a 9-footer for birdie on the fourth. Koepka was cruising.

“When he gets in contention, he’s like a shark when there’s blood in the water,” Rahm said during CBS Sports’ broadcast Sunday.

Then, just like that, Koepka lost all of his momentum. After Hovland posted consecutive birdies on Nos. 4 and 5 and cut his deficit to 2 strokes, Koepka made his first big mistake. On the par-4, 481-yard sixth hole, he sliced his drive far to the right. His ball crossed over a native area and ended up in the deep rough left of the seventh fairway. Koepka was forced to take a drop and knocked his third shot onto the green. Hovland had a nice up-and-down out of a greenside bunker to save par on No. 6 and cut Koepka’s lead to 1 shot.

Koepka extended his lead to 2 strokes with another birdie on the par-4 10th. Koepka and Hovland traded blows on the back nine. Koepka added birdies on Nos. 12 and 14. Hovland had back-to-back birdies on Nos. 13 and 14. Then Hovland made the big mistake on No. 16.

It was redemption for Koepka, who acknowledged at the Masters that he might not have jumped to LIV Golf if his body had been in better shape a year ago. At the time, he was still recovering from a dislocated right knee. Koepka said he fell at home and tried to pop his kneecap back into place. In the process, he shattered his kneecap and ruptured his medial patellofemoral ligament.

“You know, my leg was sideways and out,” Koepka said at the time. “My foot was turned out, and when I snapped it back in because the kneecap had already shattered, it went in pretty good. It went in a lot easier.”

During the Netflix series “Full Swing,” Koepka seemed bruised and battered, wondering aloud if he could compete with the likes of Scheffler and other young stars any longer.

“I’ll be honest with you, I can’t compete with these guys, week in, week out,” Koepka said during a dinner at the 2022 Masters, where he missed the cut. “A guy like Scottie, he can shoot 63 every day. I don’t know.”

After posting a second consecutive 4-under 66 on Saturday, Koepka acknowledged that he “came back too soon and played for too long” and developed bad habits.

Koepka is healthy now and he’s performing like one of the best golfers in the world again. On Sunday, he might have earned the biggest victory in LIV Golf’s brief history.

SOURCE: ESPN

 

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England’s Matt Fitzpatrick Wins 2022 U.S. Open

England’s Matt Fitzpatrick wins 2022 U.S. Open by 1 stroke for first major title

BROOKLINE, Mass. — Matt Fitzpatrick of England is a champion again at The Country Club, this time with the grandest of trophies.

A U.S. Amateur champion in 2013. The U.S. Open champion Sunday.

In a three-way battle at Brookline that came down to the wire, Fitzpatrick seized control with a great break and an even better shot on the 15th hole for a two-shot swing. He was even more clutch from a fairway bunker on the 18th that set up par for a 2-under 68.

Victory was not secure until Will Zalatoris, who showed amazing fight back from every mistake, dropped to his knees when his 15-foot birdie putt on the 18th just slid by the left side of the cup. Zalatoris was a runner-up in the second straight major.

Masters champion Scottie Scheffler never recovered from back-to-back bogeys to start the back nine. He had a 25-foot birdie chance on the 18th that just missed and left him one behind.

Fitzpatrick hit 17 greens in regulation. He is the second player from England over the past 50 years to win the U.S. Open, joining Justin Rose in 2013. At 27, Fitzpatrick is also the youngest player from England to win a major since Tony Jacklin at the 1970 U.S. Open.

Sunday marked Fitzpatrick’s first career major victory and also his first career PGA Tour victory, the first player since Graeme McDowell in 2010 to earn his first tour win at the U.S. Open.

Fitzpatrick also became the 13th male golfer overall to win both the U.S. Amateur and the U.S. Open in their career. He is the second man to win a U.S. Amateur and U.S. Open on the same course, joining Jack Nicklaus who turned the trick at Pebble Beach. Juli Inkster won the U.S. Women’s Amateur and U.S. Women’s Open at Prairie Dunes.

Along with the $3.15 million in prize money, Fitzpatrick had that gold Jack Nicklaus medal draped around his neck.

Fitzpatrick, who briefly played at Northwestern before turning pro, won for the eighth time worldwide, and this was his first in America — at least a tournament everyone knows about.

Fitzpatrick said he won the member-member at The Bear’s Club in Florida at the start of the year, the course Nicklaus built.

“He gave me a bit of abuse at the start of the year. He said, ‘Finally. Congratulations for winning in the States,'” Fitzpatrick said.

And then slightly lifting the trophy, Fitzpatrick sent a fun message to Nicklaus: “Jack, I won a second time.”

SOURCE: ESPN

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Justin Thomas Wins Second PGA Championship

Justin Thomas outlasts Will Zalatoris in 3-hole playoff to win second PGA Championship

TULSA, Okla. — Justin Thomas has won his second PGA Championship, rallying from seven shots back on Sunday to force a playoff with Will Zalatoris, then beating him with two birdies and a par in their three-hole aggregate at Southern Hills.

Thomas added a second Wanamaker Trophy to the one he captured in 2017 at Quail Hollow in the first playoff at the PGA Championship since 2011, when Keegan Bradley defeated Jason Dufner at Atlanta Athletic Club.

Thomas began the tournament with back-to-back 67s, despite getting the poor side of the draw. He shot 74 on Saturday to go backward, but he made a back-nine charge on Sunday and birdied the 17th. He closed with a 67 and finished at 5-under 275 over 72 holes.

Thomas closed at 14-1 to win the PGA Championship at Caesars Sportsbook. His odds were as long as 28-1 entering Sunday’s final round.

Zalatoris, who began the day three back of Mito Pereira, finished a roller-coaster round of 71 to match Thomas.

Pereira threw away a one-shot lead on the 18th with a tee shot into the water. He made double bogey to miss the playoff by a shot alongside Cameron Young.

There had not been a playoff in a major since the 2017 Masters, when Sergio Garcia beat Justin Rose. The 19 straight majors without a playoff was the longest streak in major championship history.

 

SOURCE: ESPN

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Masters 2022 – Scottie Scheffler wins the green jacket

Masters 2022 — ‘I don’t think I’m ready for this’ but Scottie Scheffler has a green jacket to show he was

 

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Fifteen minutes after Scottie Scheffler won the Masters, a golf cart rushed him to the back door of Butler Cabin. The only sounds came from a drone circling overhead and a few birds. His green jacket waited inside. He looked dazed. Of course he did. In the past 57 days, he won four tournaments, including a major, and changed everything about his life. He can’t ever go back to the way things used to be.

He’s 25 years old. This season he’s made $10 million. Inside the cabin he slipped that jacket on for the first time — taking it off so he could repeat the ceremony in front of a crowd waiting for him around the 18th green — and after finishing an interview, he came back outside. He still looked a little dazed and enjoyed a few long seconds of silence until he came back into view of the patrons, who started cheering and clapping.

“I don’t really know what to say …,” he said.

He broke down and cried this morning — “like a baby,” in his words –feeling just overwhelmed with the moment: One round of golf to win the Masters, and the tornado which can take over a life after something like that. He’s seen it hit people he knows, like Jordan Spieth. He turned to his wife in tears.

“I don’t think I’m ready for this,” he told her.

She made him a big breakfast and tried to calm him down. She said she loved him whether he won or lost by 10. They talked about their shared faith. He got to the course and began to prepare.

“Gosh, it was a long morning,” he said. “It was long. My stomach has been hurting for two days straight.”

Back in Texas, at the Royal Oaks Country Club, the members and staff prepared, too.

“It’s the calm before the storm,” head pro Dean Larsson told me Sunday morning.

Scheffler started playing there as a kid, after his parents took out a loan to join, all with the goal of following club members like Justin Leonard onto the PGA Tour.

“What’s really special,” Royal Oaks club president Todd Moen said, “[is] because Scottie grew up here, everybody has gotten to know him.”

His dream was to be a professional.

“I wore pants when I was a kid at Royal Oaks,” he said, “because I wanted to play golf on the PGA Tour.”

As a boy he wore those polo shirts and khakis to school, dressing like a touring pro. His classmates laughed.

“Rightfully so,” he said Sunday night, laughing, too.

As a schoolboy golf legend in his home state, he played in college at Texas. On Saturday afternoon, Longhorns golf coach John Fields answered his phone in an airport, taking his current team out to California for an event. He chose the tournament because it was designed by Alister MacKenzie, who also designed a little track called Augusta National. Fields wanted to prepare his guys for the biggest stages. Scheffler won that same tournament when he was a student. Fields watched the Masters on his phone as he waited at his gate. He’s almost part of the Scheffler family at this point. Five years ago, Scheffler played in the U.S. Open at Erin Hills. He walked down the fairway next to Brooks Koepka, with his coach and father trailing behind. Scheffler’s dad turned to Fields.

“Do you think he’s gonna be out here one day?” he asked.

It’s funny now, but Scheffler’s dad really didn’t know. Fields did. He’d seen the real thing before — he coached Spieth, for instance — and he explained to his friend that the young man ahead of them was not only going to make the tour but build a career on it.

That prophecy has come true in the past 57 days.

On Super Bowl Sunday, Scheffler won his first tour event at the WM Phoenix Open. Back at the club, Moen bought a round of drinks for the 19th-hole crowd and raised a glass to Scheffler and to the club. Everyone roared. These were his people. Then Scheffler kept winning, at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play. He rocketed up the world golf rankings to No. 1. At Royal Oaks between victories, he still worked with the kids on the range, coming up with chipping and putting games, often going as long as an hour. Before leaving home to come to Georgia, he played a round with three members. Then he packed for the Masters. He couldn’t believe it. When his first invitation came in the mail, he teared up. These past 57 days, he’s been a young man living in a dreamscape.

“I don’t think anything has sunk in at the moment,” he said. “My head is still kind of spinning.”

He arrived in Augusta beneath the radar a bit, even with all his success. All eyes were on Tiger Woods, who was returning to competitive golf only 14 months after a car wreck nearly cost him his leg. Scheffler wasn’t even a year old when Woods won for the first time here.

“His YouTube clips are such an inspiration for me,” Scheffler said. “I remember watching the highlights of him winning in ’97, kind of running away with it, and he never really broke his concentration.”

Now Scheffler wears Tiger brand golf shoes and shirts, and uses his irons, although he’s probably got his own line of all three coming soon. He outplayed the legend on Thursday. On Friday, as Tiger’s surgically repaired knee began to fail him, Scheffler took the lead. He kept it Saturday and after his long night and fraught, tearful morning, he went out Sunday afternoon to defend it.

His toughest competition came from Rory McIlroy, who tied a final-round Masters record with a scorching 64. He birdied 18 and his roar echoed across the course. Rory had the biggest roars of the afternoon. Truth be told, the atmosphere on Sunday was muted. As Scheffler made his way home through the back nine, there were open spaces on the ropes which are often five and six deep for these coronation marches. More than a few people hoped for some sort of collapse to give McIlroy a shot at the career grand slam.

Scheffler didn’t fold.

Back at Royal Oaks, the 19th hole turned standing room only. When Scheffler chipped in on No. 3, the biggest shot of his life, the clubhouse erupted. A man ran around the room giving out high fives. Hole by hole, the room leaned in during the tense moments, feet digging into the red and yellow carpets. Guys drank from white Styrofoam cups.

When he birdied 14 and sealed the victory, grown men hugged and rubbed each other’s heads like school kids. They knew Scheffler as a child, and now he was going to win the same tournament as Ben Hogan, and Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods. A chant broke out in the room, calling for shots.

“Fireball! Fireball! Fireball!”

SOURCE: ESPN

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All The Big Lessons This Masters Taught Us

 

The Masters came upon us quickly in 2021, with the previous installment having just ended only five months earlier and without another major championship between them. Dustin Johnson’s time with the green jacket was short, and Hideki Matsuyama lifted up a nation in winning this one.

Here are things we learned over the course of another week at Augusta National.

1. Firmer, faster is better

For the first time in several years, Augusta National offered up the kind of conditions that are favored for major championships. The fairways were running fast, the greens were firm and quick. Both gave the players fits.

While it is fair to say that the greens might have bordered on the edge during the opening round on Thursday, the resulting difficulty led to a far more compelling tournament. Players were on edge, and that’s part of the examination in a major.

Just when it appeared Matsuyama had the tournament firmly in his grasp, he blasted his approach over the green and into the water at the par-5 15th. That would not have happened at the very soft Masters in November. He also made bogey at the 16th, three-putting the green from long distance.

Each day offered an opportunity for someone to shoot a low score. Justin Rose had 65 on Thursday. Matsuyama matched that on Saturday. On Sunday, Jon Rahm, too far back to contend, posted 66. Such conditions require an abundance of precision in order to prevail.

2. More roars, more needed

It was nice to have spectators back at Augusta National after only a smattering of members and guests were allowed in November. At times, there were large pockets of masked gatherings throughout the property. You could hear the cheering at Amen Corner from the clubhouse. Just not enough of it. And not loud enough.

Part of the Masters’ allure is the packed grandstands — there were no structures again, just like in November — as well as rows deep of patrons trying to get a glimpse of the action. The pandemic circumstances necessitated the limited attendance. The hope is it’ll be back to normal in 2022.

3. As the game grows around the world

The Masters and Augusta National are understandably proud of their efforts to grow the game around the world with two amateur events, including the Asia-Pacific Amateur, which began in 2009. Matsuyama won the tournament twice as an amateur, thereby earning a spot in the Masters, which he played for the first time 10 years ago. On Sunday, he became the seventh player to win low-amateur honors at the tournament and go on to win the green jacket. The Masters folks will use his win as a way to help encourage players in Asia and in Latin America — where the Latin America Amateur Championship is played — to take up the game and dream of Matsuyama’s exploits.

4. DeChambeau’s mental work

When Bryson DeChambeau said last fall that he thought Augusta National would play to a par of 67 for him, he clearly did not expect to be finishing in a tie for 46th. He had tied for 34th in the fall. DeChambeau seemed to get on track with a second-round 67, but he opened with 76 and then added 75 and 75 on Saturday and Sunday. His length might be an asset, but he needs a lot more to get competitive here.

“I don’t think you can ever figure this place out,” he said. “There’s so many things going on around here. The wind makes it diabolical. It’s flying around through these trees and bouncing off the trees and making it feel into the wind when it should be downwind, and vice versa. I don’t think you’ll ever be able to figure it out, but I’ve just got to be more comfortable.”

5. Spieth is back

We already knew this. But a strong performance that he even said was far from his best was another indication of the progress Jordan Spieth has made this year. A week after winning the Valero Texas Open, Spieth tied for third at the Masters despite never really being able to keep much momentum going and having a triple bogey on Thursday.

“I wish that I had the control of my swing that I hope is coming or I think is coming soon because it would have made things a little easier this week, and I did strike the ball really well,” said Spieth, who led the field in greens in regulation with 56 out of 72. “I hit a lot of fairways. I put myself in position to hit a lot of greens, and distance control is a strength of mine with iron play. I did a good job of that.

“So all in all, I’ve made a lot of good progress, but I feel like that road ahead is still significant for me. So I’ve got at least a couple weeks off right now where I’ll rest for a while and then regroup and see if I can get — off weeks are where you can make maybe 5% differences.”

6. Schauffele has more lessons to learn

Xander Schauffele said as much after tying for second at the 2019 Masters, a stroke behind Tiger Woods. Undoubtedly it was the same Sunday as he somehow hit it in the water at the 16th hole after making things interesting with four consecutive birdies.

“It’s another lesson to put in the memory bank,” he said. “[In] 2019, I had a rookie hiccup moment of, ‘Oh my goodness, I’m leading the Masters.’ This year I was chasing. I’m playing better than I was in 2019, and I made a mistake on shot selection and wind.”

The triple-bogey 6 was the first triple Schauffele has ever made in any major championship round.

7. Koepka needs more time to heal

You have to give Brooks Koepka credit for making an effort to play the Masters just three weeks after knee surgery. But it never seemed like a good idea. The way he walked around one of the most undulating courses showed the strain he put on his right knee. Koepka missed the cut, and will now likely be off for several weeks to make sure the knee gets better. He probably would have been better off skipping this event, something that is easy to see now.

8. A Rory reset is needed

The thought here had been that Rory McIlroy was not that far off. That bringing in Pete Cowen to help him before the Masters might be a quick fix to help straighten out his game, and that the lower expectations might mean an easy path to contention at the only major he has failed to win. Nope.

McIlroy struggled again and has now missed the cut at the Players Championship and the Masters. It was a disappointing showing for one of the game’s most popular players. It will be interesting to see if he can find his form in time for the PGA Championship next month at Kiawah, where he won the tournament in 2012.

9. Zalatoris doesn’t have status

Consider this: Despite tying for sixth at the U.S. Open and finishing second at the Masters, Will Zalatoris is not a member of the PGA Tour. He is a special temporary member due to his success over the past six months and is assured of earning his PGA Tour card for the 2021-22 season. But as it stands, he is not eligible for the FedEx Cup playoffs. You need to be a full member of the PGA Tour for that. Right now, the only way to accomplish that is by winning a tournament. Given his recent form, that appears inevitable.

10. The Masters always delivers

Well, we didn’t really learn that. It has seemingly always been the case. But Zalatoris summed it up nicely and referenced Tiger Woods in the process.

“Everybody watches. Everybody remembers,” he said. “I was laughing with my parents [Saturday] night talking about how I could give you a memory of every single hole. I mentioned that I’ve seen guys for years when the pin is back left on 10, guys missing that putt low. Examples like that.

“But I think has a lot to do with Tiger, a lot of kids getting into the game and a lot of kids watching his success here — especially he won in ’97 and he won in 2019. He’s our trendsetter for the game. I think that’s part of the reason why so many kids come out early, is we saw him be fearless at a young age. So we come out and play fearless. And then on top of that, we were interested in watching the tournament year in, year out.

“And I think that’s something the Masters does so incredibly well is you can watch every single shot of every single player. Even [Sunday] morning I’m sitting around watching guys play the golf course to see how holes are playing. But I think a lot of that has to do with Tiger.”

SOURCE: ESPN

Bob Harig ESPN Senior Writer

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Homes at Foxfire – M/I Homes Development

M/I Homes plans subdivision on Foxfire Golf Course

Jim Weiker

The Columbus Dispatch

The proposed layout of M/I Homes development on former Foxfire Golf Course, with Rt. 104 on the east, or right side of this image.

M/I Homes is again hitting the links.

For the third time in five years, the Columbus-based homebuilder is turning a golf course into a subdivision.

M/I Homes has bought the former Foxfire Golf Course in Commercial Point with plans to build 416 homes on the 154-acre site. Homeowners in the community, to be called the Homes at Foxfire, will have access to the adjacent Players Club at Foxfire golf course, including its pool, clubhouse and playground.

This is the third time M/I Homes has converted a golf course into a community, following its acquisition of Minerva Lake Golf Club (now M/I’s Village of Minerva Park) and the Riviera Golf Club (now Riviera Regency).

“The pros of working in golf courses is they have really nice topography, landscaping; they’re very open. You can work with the natural beauty and features of the ground,” said Josh Barkan, vice president of land for the Columbus division of M/I Homes. “The other nice thing about Minerva and Riviera and Foxfire is their proximity to services.”

M/I Home's Foxfire community will include its Smart Series of homes similar to those shown here.

M/I plans to offer seven of its “Smart Series” of homes in Foxfire — four two-story models, from 1,800 to 2,600 square feet and three ranch models ranging from 1,600 to 1,900 square feet, said David Balcerzak, vice president of sales and marketing for M/I’s Columbus Division.

“We think we’ll see some empty-nester buyer interest in that area,” Balcerzak said, explaining the ranch plans.

Prices haven’t been set, but Balcerzak said homes are expected to start in the low- to mid-$300,000s.

M/I Home's Foxfire community will include its Smart Series of homes similar to those shown here.

M/I has broken ground on the project, which is in the Teays Valley school district, and hopes to have a model in place by the first of the year with the goal of opening the community in May.

Golf courses have struggled in recent years to attract members, who have more options and less time than they might have during golf’s heyday. In the past few years, several central Ohio courses have been sold or closed.

jweiker@dispatch.com

@JimWeiker

M/I Homes plans to build 416 homes on the site of the former Foxfire golf course.

 

 

 

 

SOURCE: Dispatch

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Dustin Johnson wins the Masters with lowest score in tournament history

Dustin Johnson wins the Masters with lowest score in tournament history

AUGUSTA, Ga. — In this one-of-a-kind Masters that had no fans and no roars, Dustin Johnson made sure it had no drama.

And when he polished off his five-shot victory Sunday with the lowest score in tournament history, he had no words. Only tears.

Looking smart in the Masters green jacket he dreamed his whole life of winning, Johnson spoke to a small gathering on the putting green in absence of the official ceremony, but only briefly. In control of every aspect of his game on a course that never allows anyone to relax, he couldn’t speak when it was over. Instead, he turned to wipe his eyes.

“I’ve never had this much trouble gathering myself,” Johnson finally said. “On the golf course, I’m pretty good at it.”

No one was better. Not even close.

Johnson overcame a nervous start that conjured memories of past majors he failed to finish off, and then delivered a commanding performance that added his own touch to a Masters unlike any other. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was the first played in November. It was the first without ropes and without roars because patrons were not allowed — only one guest for each player, coaches, Augusta National members and officials.

Leading by two shots heading into Amen Corner, the world’s No. 1 player got through the 12th hole — where Tiger Woods earlier hit three balls in Rae’s Creek and made 10 — and then ran off three straight birdies to pull away from Cameron Smith and Sungjae Im, the only players who had a chance.

Johnson closed with a 4-under 68 and finished at 20-under 268, breaking by two shots the record set by Woods in 1997 and matched by Jordan Spieth in 2015. He had only four bogeys in 72 holes, another record, this one held by Jack Nicklaus and Jimmy Demaret. He missed only 12 greens all week, a record last set by Woods. All that mattered was that green jacket.

Nothing ever comes easily for Johnson in the majors. Nothing looked so natural as seeing Woods, the defending champion, help him into that size 42 long in Butler Cabin.

“Having Tiger put it on was awesome. You wouldn’t want it any other way,” Johnson said.

And then he smiled before adding, “But any guy could put it on me and I’d be just fine.”

His five-shot victory was the largest at the Masters since Woods won by 12 in 1997. All that was missing were the roars from a crowd for any of his pivotal putts early and his birdie putts on the back nine that put it away. It wasn’t the loneliest walk up the hill to the 18th green. About 250 people offered warm applause, and partner Paulina Gretzky rushed onto the green to celebrate with Johnson and his brother, caddie Austin Johnson.

Johnson now has two majors to go along with his 25 victories worldwide, a combination that validates him as one of the greats of his generation. Gone are the doubts that he could hold a lead in the major on the final day. Four times he had gone into the final round with at least a share of the lead without winning.

Johnson had questions, too. His only major was the U.S. Open at Oakmont in 2016 when he rallied from four shots behind.

“I’m sure a lot of you all think … there were doubts in my mind, just because I had been there. I’m in this position a lot of times,” Johnson said. “When am I going to have the lead and finishing off a major? It definitely proved that I can do it.”

There were some nervous moments early.

Johnson’s four-shot lead was reduced to one after five holes, and then he quickly restored control with an 8-iron to 6 feet on the top shelf on the right corner of the green at the par-3 sixth for birdie. That restored his lead to three shots when Im missed a 3-foot par putt.

Smith was the only one who was closer than two the rest of the way. He got quite the consolation. He became the first player in Masters history to post all four rounds in the 60s, and all it got him was a silver medal.

“I thought I’d have a decent shot if I got to Dustin’s original score at the start of the day, 16 under,” Smith said. “I knew I had to put the pressure on early. Got out of the gates pretty good, and DJ was just too good at the end.”

Johnson became the 12th Masters champion never to trail after any round, and his closing 68 broke another record held by Woods — it was his 11th consecutive subpar round at Augusta National.

No one had a better finish than Woods, but only after the five-time Masters champion posted the highest score of his career on the 12th hole. He finished with five birdies over the last six holes to salvage a 76.

The betting favorite and biggest basher in golf, Bryson DeChambeau, couldn’t even beat 63-year-old Bernhard Langer, who shot 71 and wound up one shot ahead of the U.S. Open champion.

These were only sideshows on a quiet Sunday at Augusta National. Johnson, the first No. 1 player in the world to win the Masters since Woods in 2002, was the main event. But even a record score, and the widest margin of victory since 1997, didn’t mean it was easy.

This is Johnson, after all, who for all his talent has dealt with more than his share of misfortune, not all his own doing.

“I knew it wasn’t going to be easy,” he said.

After the big turning point at No. 6, and his nifty par save from a bunker on the seventh, Johnson didn’t bother looking at a leaderboard until his brother asked if he knew where he stood on the 18th green. Johnson knew only that he was in control and it was up to everyone else to catch him.

“I took what the course gave me and hit the shots I felt I could hit,” he said.

And so ended the Masters in November, so strange in so many ways. No roars from Amen Corner. Soft conditions — not only from rain that delayed the start, but an autumn date that affected the grass — led to record scoring. The average score for the week was 71.75, the lowest ever, breaking the record from last year.

Gone were the white and pink blooms of azaleas and dogwoods, replaced by autumn hues of brown and gold. The Masters, though, in any month is defined by green. And the jacket fit Johnson well.

SOURCE: ESPN

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