Watson kept lead squarely in his sights

Bubba Watson wouldn’t go away in the 78th Masters Tournament.

He was in, tied for or near the lead after every round. Over the 72 holes, the most he trailed by was two shots.

A strong final-round front nine (3-under-par 33) and a solid second nine, combined with a fade by Jordan Spieth that started on the eighth hole, earned Watson his second green jacket.

For Watson, this was a more definitive victory at Augusta National Golf Club than his first one in 2012, when he pulled off a miraculous shot from deep in the pines on the 10th hole to win in sudden death.

In 2014, Watson trailed by a shot after an opening 3-under-par 69. He went up by three after a second-round 68, then dropped into a tie for the 54-hole lead with 74.

In the final round, Watson finished with 69 and won by three.

Watson played his final 11 holes in 2-under while Spieth was 3-over during that stretch and ended up shooting 72 and tying for second place.

Watson walked up the hill to the 18th green with victory in hand this time, leading by three shots after a shootout in the pines never materialized.
Of the 13 players within five shots of the lead entering the final round, Watson was the only one to shoot in the 60s.

In 2012, when Watson walked up the 18th fairway, he was tied for the lead.

“This one is a lot different,” he said after the victory. “The first one for me, it’s almost like I lucked into it. This one was a lot of hard work, dedication to get back here.”
“It’s overwhelming to win twice, to be with the great names (that have multiple Masters wins),” said Watson, the 17th player with more than one win at Augusta National.

In 2014, Watson had three rounds in the 60s and finished at 8-under 280, the highest winning score since Trevor Immelman’s 280 in 2008.

In 2012, Watson shot 278.

It was one of the quietest second nines on the final day in recent memory, which was fine with Watson.

“Nobody really caught fire,” he said.

Watson played the second nine in even-par 36 with a bogey on No. 10 and birdie on No. 13 to go with his 33 on the front.

“That was some incredible golf he played down the stretch to hold it together and make his pars,” said Spieth, who called Watson “a deserving Masters champion.”

Spieth, 20 at the time and bidding to become the youngest Masters champion and the first Masters rookie to win in 35 years, ended up tying for second place with Sweden’s Jonas Blixt (71), another Masters rookie. Blixt (70-71-71-71) broke par every day, and Spieth (71-70-70-72) never shot over par in a round.

Spieth birdied four of his first seven holes in the final round, calling it a “dream start at Augusta.”

But he didn’t make another birdie after No. 7, shooting 3-over on his final 11 holes, with bogeys on Nos. 8, 9 and 12.

“It’s a stinger,” Spieth said. “I had it in my hand and could have gone forward with it. I didn’t quite make the putts. That’s what it came down to. The only thing I’m thinking about is: ‘When do I get back next year?’ ”

It was a strong showing by the much-ballyhooed rookie class. Spieth and Blixt tied for second, and Jimmy Walker (70 in the final round) and Kevin Stadler (73) both tied for eighth place.

Spieth’s hot start was highlighted by a holed-out bunker shot on No. 4, and he took a two-shot lead over Watson after seven. By the time the two hit the second nine, Watson had picked up four shots on Spieth and was two shots ahead.

Watson birdied No. 8 and Spieth made bogey to even it up. Watson then birdied No. 9 and Spieth again made bogey, missing a short par putt.

“Nos. 8 and 9 were the turning points of the day,” Spieth said. “When I got to No. 10, I still thought I could get back into it.”

Spieth moved back to within a shot with a par save from a bunker on No. 10, which Watson bogeyed.

Watson went back up by two shots when he got up-and-down for par on the devilish par-3 12th hole, where Spieth scrambled to make bogey after hitting his tee shot in the water.

Watson put the hammer down with a 366-yard tee shot that hit a tree but still made it around the corner on the par-5 13th hole.

It set up a wedge to 35 feet, which Watson two-putted for birdie, making a 7-footer to go up by three shots on Spieth.

“That’s his day,” Spieth said.

They both parred the final five holes.