The Winners and Losers of the Masters

“It feels like I’ve come full circle. My dad was here in ’97 and now I’m the dad with my two kids.”

Fourteen years after he last put on the coveted jacket, 11 years after his previous major win and just mere months after he conceded that he might not play golf again, but he did it.

The win at the Masters seems like a fairy tale ending, but this is just the beginning.

Tiger Wood’s win is one for this decade, it’s not an ordinary Major triumph for the most celebrated golfer on the planet – it’s a win for the sport of golf.

Just a few years ago, he could not even bend over to tie his own shoelaces. Now, standing taller than ever, with the name of the sport of his back and the world back beneath his feet.

At the 2017 Presidents Cup, when asked if there could be a scenario in which he never plays professionally again, Woods replied: “Definitely. I don’t know what my future holds for me. The pain’s gone, but I don’t know what my golfing body is going to be like.”

After his win at the Tour Championship and a second place finish at the PGA Championship in 2018, a day like this was bound to happen soon.

Woods is the ultimate winner for the week, however, there are others not as fortunate as him. Below are the winners and losers of the event.

Winners:

Everyone that congratulated Tiger Woods and recognized what he meant to the sport and as a global icon.

One from the best golfer on the planet.

Whoa! Way to feel the flow, @TigerWoods! Huge congrats!
Love,
Happy Gilmore

— Adam Sandler (@AdamSandler) April 14, 2019

🔵🔴 Fan of the week
🙌 Congratulations @tigerwoods! ⛳ pic.twitter.com/4ffTYQr3xl

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) April 15, 2019

Greatest comeback story in sports! Congrats @TigerWoods Let me hold one of those 5 jackets one time!

— Stephen Curry (@StephenCurry30) April 14, 2019

I am literally in tears watching @TigerWoods this is Greatness like no other. Knowing all you have been through physically to come back and do what you just did today? Wow Congrats a million times! I am so inspired thank you buddy.

— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) April 14, 2019

Congratulations, Tiger! To come back and win the Masters after all the highs and lows is a testament to excellence, grit, and determination.

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) April 14, 2019

and the most important of them all, the one Woods is chasing.

A big “well done” from me to @TigerWoods! I am so happy for him and for the game of golf. This is just fantastic!!! 👏🏼@TheMasters

— Jack Nicklaus (@jacknicklaus) April 14, 2019

Xander Schauffele

The 25-year-old started the week with a 73 but shot round-two’s lowest 65 to make the cut. The four-time winner of the PGA Tour scored -12 total on the Par 5’s as evident in my previous post on scoring at Augusta. He proved that he can win on the property by posting a total of 21 birdies throughout the week, Woods had 22.

His second placed finish boosts his Majors record to four top-10’s in eight appearances, with three of them in the top-5.

“It was really cool coming down the stretch, all the historic holes, Amen Corner, 15, 16, Tiger making the roars. I was trying to push myself, but I feel like I got a very full, fully filled Masters experience here in my second year.” he said during the post tournament interview.

Dustin Johnson

The current world number two showed that he is still one of the best with a solid performance all around. With only five bogeys for the week on his score card, he ties Francesco Molinari with the least amount of holes played over par. The second-placed finish means Johnson has come in at top-10 for his past four visits to Augusta (T6, T4, T10, T2), except from 2017 where he withdrew from his flight (of stairs).

Johnson’s Par-5’s finished at -12 for the week and he hit 70% of his greens. His quiet and late surge after starting the day five strokes behind was surprisingly not a huge topic at the range. He finished with four birdies on his last five holes to give him a short share of the lead before Woods pulled away from the pack.

The silent finish is enough to remind all of us how dominant he can be during the absence of Woods.

Patrick Cantlay

Honestly, nobody knew how he did it.

Cantlay’s first two days were over par (73, 73) and was on the brink of missing the cut.

He shot the tournament-low 64 on Saturday blemish free, with eight birdies and a subsequent 4-under-par 68 on Sunday for his best Major finish; T9.

Justin Thomas and Bryson DeChambeau

Because both of them had hole in ones. For DeChambeau, it was his first ever.

LOSERS:

The Rules of Golf or Zach Johnson

When the new rules of golf were introduced, all people were talking about were putting with the pin in, or dropping the ball from knee height. This rule change has to be the most important of all.

We have all been Zach Johnson at least once in our lives, right? Watch from the 20 second mark.

Francesco Molinari

It hurts for me to say this about the affable Italian but his implosion on the back-nine handed Woods the victory.

Molinari had two days of perfect golf, Friday and Saturday – where he shot 11 birdies and never dropped a single shot.

With a two-shot lead with seven holes to go, the world number seven dumped his tee shot into the water after kicking off the bank. That double-bogey dropped him to 11-under and tied for the lead.

He again dunks the ball into the water on the 15th after clipping the tree, essentially ending his day. By the time he birdied the 17th, it was too late to recover.

Rory McIlroy

Despite having three eagles on his score card, the Ulsterman was mistake-prone throughout the week and played 7-over-par on the Par 4s.

McIlroy never seemed to catch a break, his birdies were often followed by bogeys. To think he was the favorite heading into Augusta, he should have performed better.

Brooks Koepka

My pick of the week played some spectacular golf over the tournament. The Major Machine was agonizingly close to winning his four major of his career.

His bogey-free 6-under-par round one led the first round. He hit a commendable 73% of his greens in regulation and played -13 for his Par-5s.

But in my previous article, I stated that Koepka had an issue with Par-3s and it affected him significantly for this round. He was 3-over for the week on Par-3s and the double-bogey on the 12th essentially erased his chances of winning despite the eagle-3 that followed on the next hole.

His weakness in Par-3s seized his opportunity to joins the ranks of 4-time Major winners under the age of 30.

Justin Rose

World number one, bogeyed the last two holes to miss the cut by one. First time missing the cut at the Masters. Need I say more?