Michaux: Birdies and bogeys from 2015 Masters

It was a Masters performance few saw coming – wildly spectacular beyond anyone’s expectations.

Not Jordan Spieth. You could sense his green jacket moment hurtling toward us from a year away.

I’m talking Tiger Woods. As T17s go, his was both wild and spectacular.

Woods arrived at Augusta National as a massive question mark after injuries, swing changes and a crisis of confidence left him seemingly under-prepared and overextended. He left with just a little bit of his old swagger back.

This was a Tiger Woods we’d never really seen before at Augusta. He was acknowledging fans with smiles and fist bumps in practice rounds. He displayed a human side with his children and girlfriend in a rare showing at the Par-3 Contest. And he was eager to publicly show off the work he’d done on rebuilding his short game in private.

Sure, there were bumps along the way. He was as errant as ever off the tees. He never really adjusted to the pace of the greens. He hit the “big ball” twice before the little ball, letting his club fly both times and once claiming he’d “popped a bone” back in after wincing in obvious pain.

In spite of it all, Woods went out Sunday in one of the last three groups. He lashed at shots with a healthy abandon. He did what he used to do, turning potential homeward-bound 77s into week-saving 73s. And he had moments of his unmistakable brilliance.

His presence – especially playing with Sergio Garcia and Rory McIlroy on the weekend – enhanced the Masters as much as Spieth’s inspiring performance.

Let’s not get carried away and say Tiger’s “back.” He’s got a lot of work to do refining his swing and needs to play more consistently. But if you’re investing in futures, there’s only a handful of guys like McIlroy, Spieth, Dustin Johnson and Patrick Reed who I’d buy more stock in over the next five or six years.

Overall, there were more relative winners than usual and a few losers at the 79th Masters:

BIRDIE: Jordan Spieth. You can’t say enough about this 21-year-old’s record-setting performance and the grace in which he accomplished it. He grabbed the tournament by the throat with a Thursday 64 and never let go. Even his post-tournament scorecard recitation was a work of art. Ink him among the Masters favorites for the next 20 years.

BIRDIE: Rory McIlroy. Despite a somber demeanor much of the week and ultimately postponing completion of his career slam, there was way more positive than negative in the Northern Irishman’s career-high fourth-place finish. Four consecutive rounds under par show he’s solving the Augusta riddle, especially his 15-under over the last 45 holes. Clean up that front-nine 40 on Friday and he’ll get that jacket eventually.

BOGEY: Jim Furyk. The only top-10 player in the world who didn’t make the cut.

BIRDIE: Phil Mickelson. He may be closing in on 45, but Lefty still finds that fountain of youth when he turns the nose of his car onto Magnolia Lane. He could break Jack Nicklaus’ age record for a winner as soon as 2017. For now, he completed his career runner-up slam.

BIRDIE: Hideki Matsuyama. His 66 tied McIlroy for the Sunday low and his solo fifth has his sights set higher. “I would really like to become a Masters champion one day,” he said. He’s still only 23.

BIRDIE: Bubba Watson. His four rounds in the 70s and T38 weren’t memorable, but he set a class standard for reigning champs by simply showing up in his jacket for the Drive, Chip and Putt, honorary tee shots and Ben Crenshaw’s farewell all the way through Spieth’s finishing putt and jacket presentation. Bravo.

BOGEY: Aussies. Jason Day (T28) and Adam Scott (T38) were disappointing non-contenders and Marc Leishman had to sadly withdraw to tend to his wife’s health.

BIRDIE: Justin Rose. Made a serious weekend charge to claim co-runner-up and earned his first place in the final pairing of a major. Only five previous times has the Masters winner had a lower score than his 14-under total.

BOGEY: J.B. Holmes. As hot as he was coming in with a pair of seconds and a win the week before in Houston, missing the cut was a huge letdown for a power hitter like him.

BIRDIE: Ben Crenshaw. Forget the 91 on Thursday and the 32-over par total. Gentle Ben may have bowed out too late, but he did it with his inimitable grace and his magic rubbed off on a Texas icon for a new generation.

BIRDIE: Carl Jackson. Even though he wasn’t able to caddie for the 54th time, he was rarely more present at the Masters. It didn’t end with getting the key to the city or his tearful curtain call and hug with Crenshaw. Spieth and his caddie, Michael Greller, leaned on Jackson’s advice until the sweet end.

BIRDIE: Brits. Five of the six Englishman in the field (not Luke Donald) made the cut, including three in the top six with Paul Casey and Ian Poulter joining Rose up high. All three Northern Irish entries made the weekend including Darren Clarke. Scotland went 0-3 and Wales 1-1 in the cut market.

BIRDIE: Dustin Johnson. Career-best T6 at Augusta included a record three eagles in Friday’s round. Still too many unforced errors, including three double bogeys, but he’s trending the right way.

BOGEY: Amateurs. Seven of them were in the field and none of them made the cut to earn the silver medal at a combined 67-over par. The only highlight was Corey Conners’ second-round 69. Unfortunately he shot 80 in the first round.

BIRDIE: Hunter Mahan. In case you didn’t notice, he quietly went 11-under over the last three rounds to finish T9. Only Mickelson (-12) and McIlroy (-11) did as well or better.

PAR: UGA. Four of the six Georgia boys made the cut, with Russell Henley leading the way at 21st. It was awfully cool that double heart transplant recipient Erik Compton made the weekend and finished 51st.

BIRDIE: Ernie Els. The 45-year-old faded on the weekend, but he’s made his peace with his fate and is relishing whatever time he has left at Augusta (at least two more starts pending).

BIRDIE: Charley Hoffman. It was only his second Masters, and he acquitted himself well until hitting a wall Sunday. First top-10 in a major guarantees his return next year.

BOGEY: Brandt Snedeker. He worked so hard to earn his way into the field and didn’t break par in an event he’s twice before been in the final Sunday pairing. It’s possible he wants to win the Masters too much for his own good.

PAR: First-timers. Eight of 14 professional rookies made the cut, led by the tournament’s first Austrian entry, Bernd Wiesberger at T22.

BIRDIE: Fred Ridley. Former USGA chief has come a long way from his protecting par days. Despite tools at his disposal to manipulate conditions, the Competition Committee chairman let a softer course and attack pins ride so that players could dictate scores and not the course. It made for the most eagles and more fun.

BIRDIE: CBS. A year after drawing the fewest weekend viewers since 1957, ratings improved 23 percent on Sunday and 48 percent on Saturday thanks to Spieth’s historic effort and a popular cast of leaders including Mickelson, Woods and McIlroy. Nearly 18 million watched the last half hour.

BIRDIE: Ike’s Tree. It made a comeback in the form of a striking cross section for the Eisenhower Presidential Library and its genetic revival for future generations to possibly contend with on the 17th hole or elsewhere.