England's Danny Willett was a shock winner of the 80th Masters, firing a bogey-free, five-under par 67 for a three-shot victory after a back-nine collapse by defending champion Jordan Spieth.
The 28-year-old Englishman, who shared 38th last year in his Masters debut, yesterday captured the green jacket symbolic of victory at Augusta National as well as a USD 1.8 million top prize from the USD 10 million purse.
"You can't really describe your emotions and feelings. Someone has got to win and today was my day," Willett said.
"I played great golf. It has been a fantastic week."
Willett, five down to Spieth with six holes to play, birdied the par-5 13th, par-4 14th and par-3 16th to charge into the clubhouse while the 22-year-old American endured a nightmare meltdown with bogeys at 10 and 11 and a quadruple bogey at the par-3 12th.
"I just put a couple of weak swings on it and suddenly I'm not leading anymore," said Spieth. "I'll be disappointed with that one.
"It was a very tough 30 minutes for me. I hope I never experience it again."
Willett finished 72 holes at five-under 283, with Spieth and English playing partner Lee Westwood sharing second on 286. Westwood, trying to win his first major title at age 42, shot 69 while Spieth, who defends his US Open title in June at Oakmont, fired a 73.
"Not right now, not in my face," a disappointed Spieth told a television cameraman as he walked off the 18th green.
Spieth, as defending champion, presented Willett with the green jacket that he looked to make his own for most of the week, leading after all three prior rounds.
"It was a very surreal day when I look back at the ebbs and flows," Willett said. "We kept gaining ground and Jordan kept pulling away. I was able to make a couple of good putts and here I am.
Willett was not even going to play the Masters because
his wife was due to give birth yesterday, but she gave birth last week and he was able to come down Magnolia Lane for his date with destiny.
"You talk about fate and everything else that goes with it -- it has ben a crazy week," Willett said.
World number 12 Willett took his first major crown in only his 12th major start, becoming only the second England golfer to win the Masters after Nick Faldo, the champion in 1989, 1990 and 1996.
Spieth, a wire-to-wire winner last year, remained on the course in the hunt and birdies and 13 and 15 pulled him two back with three holes to play. But Spieth missed a eight-foot birdie putt at 16 and a bogey at 17 sealed his fate.
- 'Lack of discipline' -
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World number two Spieth closed the front nine with four birdies in a row, curling in a 21-footer to reach the turn with a five-stroke lead over Willett.
Then came a back-nine horror show as humbling as anything Augusta National's famed Amen Corner has ever inflicted.
Spieth missed a 13-foot par putt at 10 after finding a greenside bunker and dropped a shot at 11 after finding trees to the right off the tee.
Disaster struck at 12 as Spieth plunked his tee shot and his third into Rae's Creek, his lead vanishing as the ball did in a splashdown to plunge him from the lead at five-under to one-under and three back.
"It's tough. It's really tough," Spieth said. "Just put a bad swing on it right at the wrong time. Just compounded mistakes. Just lack of discipline."
Even rivals felt sympathy.
