You already know the result. In the end, Bubba had a three shot lead as he walked down the 18th on the final day (he surely was not thinking of Jean Van de Velde who, most famously, lost The Open with a similar lead on the 18th) to thunderous applause befitting a true champion; he made no mistake. Tears flowed from this emotional Masters champion (twice in three years) and who is now the only 54 hole leader ever to win the Masters.
He fended off a spirited challenge from young Jordan Spieth who led by two for awhile before some inexperience on this course that frankly requires a lot of experience, caused a four shot swing in Bubba's favour (essentially returning the favour that Bubba had done him on day three) and he never looked back. On the back nine there were not many birdies and certainly none by Jordan; the flights ahead of them did not have the frequency of appreciative roars that would indicate that a serious challenge was in the offing and so Bubba was untroubled by pressure as he only needed to make pars to get the job done. If Jiminez, often described as "the most interesting man in golf today" had repeated Saturday's performance, which he had looked to be doing early on, there would have been cigar ashes on his new Green Jacket! Jimenez, the only one of the six over 50 years of age players making the cut who was not a past Masters champion, finished in sole fourth position.
By midday, the morning coolness had been overtaken by excessive heat which was occasionally eased by intermittent 5-10 mph breezes. Looking out from the great oak tree (where I was to meet Lesley to show her the press facility) across the horizon one realises that the Augusta National golf course sits comfortably in a very large, shallow, geological basin. Studded with various flora, as far as the eye can see, in this course, the tall loblolly pines standing 100 feet high seem to form a sort of cathedral of the forest if, standing under a cluster of them, one were to look directly up at the blue sky. The pictures of sunlight filtering through the jealous spiny pine needles guarding their treasures of cones, appear as exquisite stained glass windows. The beauty is that there are such "Cathedrals" every few metres on this course.
By this time, the potential contenders were seriously practicing on the vast practice facility in front of a 100 meter stretch of spectator seating. One saw, within touching distance, Westwood, Jiminez (in his Castilian black trousers, purple shirt and ever present cigar), Scott (looking a little anxious), the colour coordinated Ricky Fowler, Rose, Spieth, Blixt and of course Bubba, among others. Bubba, somehow, seemed quiet and remote and a little edgy and when he later ceded a two shot advantage to Spieth, one felt that he was on a downward slide and that it was all over bar the shouting. However, this course giveth and this course taketh away, and vice-versa, and that is what came to pass.
Everybody likes Bubba but they also wanted to see Jordan win. There were huge collective groans of disappointment when the result of the ninth hole first and then the 12th hole became apparent from the continuously changing leader board. The spectators know that there is a great future out there for this mature, beyond his years, young man.
Matt Kuchar looked like making a charge as he caught up with the leaders at -6 after the third hole. Then, a remarkably uncharacteristic four putt on the par 3 fourth hole, put him out of the running. Matt often puts himself in a winning position and then does not quite close the deal. This has happened to him repeatedly and he has to overcome this drawback. He knows very well what it means to win the Masters. It means everything. All other performances, creditable or not, matter little as they end up being mere foot notes in the statistics.
The traditional drama fare was served up alright on the final day although it did not have the spice of playoff victories as in the last two championships. Youth and age were well juxtaposed and mixed eternal hope with nostalgia in appropriate measure, with the icing on the cake being Bubba Watson, a very worthy winner.
The author is chairman of Mawana Sugars Ltd and co-chairman of Usha International Ltd
