The breezes through the Georgia pines on yet another beautiful day could not presage the drama that was to unfold in the latter stages of the 2012 Masters. The early starters tried to improve their position, although it could not affect the final outcome in any way. Tiger Woods continued to flounder, dropping a couple of shots to par, in a lacklustre performance. He is a great player but being virtually lonely and funless when you are playing a game, no matter at what level, is not easily consistent with winning any more.
Bo Van Pelt carded the record equaling low round of the tournament of eight under 64, with two eagles, one of which was a hole in one on the par-3 16th. Similar, but less spectacular, was Adam Scott shooting a seven under in just the twelve closing holes, including a hole in one on the 16th, to ratchet up into the top ten from relative anonymity in this tournament. If he had done this last year (2011) he would have won the Green Jacket with ease. And one must not forget the extraordinary game and promise of Patrick Cantlay, the silver cup winning low amateur, who scored a quadruple bogey, a double bogey and a bogey and then achieved a par round!
However, the albotross, or double eagle, scored by Louis Oosthuizen on just the second hole to bolt into a two shot lead at -10 set a different edge to the tournament. A low rumble building up in the audience that had expected his second shot to settle near the pin for an easy tap in eagle (I mean, nobody expects an albotross!) exploded into an almighty roar when the ball showed different intentions and scurried into the hole.
The most famous of the four albotrosses in the Masters was by Gene Sarazen in 1935 (the shot heard around the world) who went on to win in a 36-hole play off. The 2012 edition of the albotross launched Oosthuizen into a lead by two and a possible victory. The hubbub had to settle down to enable Oosthuizen’s playing partner, Bubba Watson, to finish the hole, which he did with a birdie. A terrific battle of nerves with Oosthuizen perhaps “defending” his lead too much ensued with him making no advance on his -10 for the rest of the round. Caution cost him to drop a shot on the par — three 4th and his head was surely spinning as earlier he was trying to catch the leader and now he could feel the others snapping at his heels.
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When Phil Mickelson, the most formidable of those challenging his new lead, tripled the 4th, the rest of the leader board was much relieved. Mickelson’s ball had bounded into the bushes where no ball had ever been before. At Augusta National there is no rough. The only hazards are the first cut, the second cut, the giant pines and a profusion of their fallen needles below, water, sand, dangerous landing zones on the greens, unreadable winds, mud balls and one’s own mind. Trying to exit at least cost, “Lefty” right-handed a shot that moved just a few inches and another swipe squirted the ball out of line resulting in the triple 6. Mickelson could now only wait for Augusta National to take its toll on the new first-time leader while he had to try to destroy the second 9 as he had on Saturday. In the end, his spirited charge could not undo the earlier damage owing to a few missed opportunities to birdie/eagle. An early birdie on the second 9 would have put intense additional pressure on both Oosthuizen and Watson playing just one hole in front; it just was not meant to be this year.
By this time, the battle was truly joined. Padraig Harrington made a charge but was stopped at the 9th hole. Hanson, reeling under the pressure of losing the overnight lead, regained his confidence but his charge came just a little late. Matt Kuchar caught the leaders with an eagle on the 15th but gave it back on the par-three 16th and could not regain momentum. Lee Westwood made a great late charge but he ran out of holes and, it has to be said, that his putting let him down. The drying out of the course on Saturday and Sunday made the greens a tad faster and the breaks were subtly different.
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Oosthuizen’s steadiness was fraying with visions of the Green Jacket in his mind. He scrambled to make a birdie or a par when Watson was often sitting for birdie or eagle. Tied for the lead, Watson smashed his drive into the pines on the 17th but Oosthuizen jammed his right hand and his drive headed into the pines on the right where he got a lucky bounce but lost huge distance. Watson’s high draw soared over the pines and landed softly on the green some 40 feet away and his putt for birdie lipped the cup, and Oosthuizen, who had found the green side bunker with his second, had a great par save to stay the co-leader.
When, on the first play-off hole, Oosthuizen narrowly missed his 12-foot birdie putt, the screech of agony from the South African next to me said it all. Sensing victory, when Watson hooked his ball into the woods on the 10th, Oosthuizen became too defensive again, going down from a driver to a three wood when he was basically driving well. The rest is history.
Watson won the Masters with a fantastic shot that even Oosthuizen says that he would never make. All the commentaries and many professionals say the same. Watson has never taken any lesson. His golf is played with his “natural” swing, the one he was born with (a La Bagger Vance!) and not a sculpted one. His attitude is “inspired” by the opportunity presented by wherever his ball may lie to mentally “create” the shots that have amazed the rest of the golfing world, and then to “stitch” the “idea” into execution in one smooth, swift, sweet flow of passion. That imagining, that “power of dreams” was on full display in Watson's performance. His game is naturally in a physical/mental/spiritual equilibrium which others may only mechanically strive to achieve. Like when Tiger did his miracles and enhanced the world of golf, Watson’s success and method might cause another revolution. Let’s see.
The curtains are drawn over another fantastic Masters tournament that dished out yet another dramatic finale the likes of which may be difficult to match. Until next year!
Siddharth Shriram is chairman, Honda Siel Cars India, and co-chairman, Usha International