Round 4 review: Jordan Spieth makes Sunday charge at Masters

THE WINNER

Jon Rahm began the day trailing by four shots. By the time he walked up the 18th green, some 30 holes later, it was his winning margin.

A week defined by weather conditions that demanded patience and perseverance ..., Rahm exuded it throughout a marathon Sunday that saw contenders threaten but inevitably falter all around him. The only constant: Rahm, who finished 12-under to claim his first Masters and second major championship.

Slow but inevitable, Rahm’s rise up the leaderboard felt plenty familiar given the world No. 1’s recent play. Already a three-time winner on the PGA TOUR this season, Rahm carried himself all day like the result of a fourth win was a foregone conclusion.

At the very least, the first putt he made Sunday morning – a 9-footer for birdie on the seventh hole of his third round to cut Brooks Koepka’s lead to two – indicated it’d be quite the pursuit.

When the duo of Rahm and Koepka walked back up the 7th hole more than six hours later in the final pairing of the final round, the lead was Rahm’s. One he never gave back.

Four birdies and a bogey made up Rahm’s 3-under 69. When he needed to stay within striking distance early, he did. He was 2-under through his first eight holes, picking up birdies on the par-4 third and the par-5 eighth. Koepka played the same stretch in 2-over. As did Hovland, who started just a shot behind Rahm.

That was the story. Even when Rahm faltered with a bogey on the ninth, he was quick to stabilize when everyone else around him couldn’t. Rahm was the only player in the last four groups to play an under-par final round. The Spaniard made par on Nos. 10, 11 and 12, then clinched with a pair of championship-worthy birdies on 13 and 14.

Playing the last leg of Amen Corner, Rahm took on the danger off the tee. Instead of his normal left-to-right shot shape, Rahm roped a draw around the corner, safely in the left side of the fairway next to Rae’s Creek. He left his approach to the par-5 left of the green but got up and in for a quick birdie. Then on 14, after a squirrely drive found the right rough, Rahm peeled a cut around the trees that landed on the top left of the green and fed back down to within four feet for birdie. He made nothing but pars coming in, including the 18th after hitting his drive only 193 yards as it bounced off a tree and into the fairway. His third shot from 68 yards nestled close, within four feet, to secure Rahm’s win.

STORYLINES

Bennett finishes top-20 as amateur: Texas A&M fifth-year senior Sam Bennett received a standing ovation as he approached the 18th green in Sunday’s final round at the Masters.

Tears welled up in his eyes as he departed the green and walked toward the scoring area. He fist-bumped fans, even stopped for a couple handshakes. He didn’t want the moment to end.

Bennett finished the week 2 under, good for a T16 finish in his Masters debut and the accompanying low amateur honors. He’s the first amateur to finish top-20 at the Masters since Ryan Moore in 2005.

“I haven’t had kids yet,” Bennett said, “so that walk up 18 was definitely the coolest experience of my life.”

As he readies to turn professional later this spring, he’ll turn his attention to the pursuit of a TOUR card – he’s No. 6 on the PGA TOUR University Ranking and well positioned to earn Korn Ferry Tour status via the pathway program.

However his career unfolds, though, his week will go down in Masters lore. He began the week with a 32 on the first nine Thursday, matching the low first nine by an amateur at the Masters. His first-round 68 was the first bogey-free round by an amateur at Augusta National since 1965, and he ultimately played his way into a spot in the final group of the third round – alongside major champions Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka, where he held his own in grueling Saturday conditions.

Bennett earned his Masters invitation via a victory at last summer’s U.S. Amateur. He certainly validated his invitation this week – and then some.

“I didn’t play how I wanted to this weekend, but this experience playing the weekend at Augusta is definitely going to help me be the golfer I want to be,” Bennett said. “And to be able to play the Sunday pins was just incredible.

“If you had told me I was going to be here when I was a kid, I would have thought you were crazy … Playing the Masters on Sunday, that's what every golfer dreams of. I was just happy to be able to do that.”

Spieth makes Sunday charge: Spieth makes Sunday charge: It’s become as much of a tradition as pimento cheese and egg salad sandwiches: Jordan Spieth making a second-nine run on Sunday at the Masters.

The 2015 champion once again made an unlikely bid to claim his second green jacket, posting a front-nine 33 and adding birdies on 10 and 14 to get within striking distance. He kept the pedal down with birdies on 15 and 17, but an untimely bogey on 18 dashed his chances.

He finished 7-under for the tournament, one back of the clubhouse lead.

It’s not the first time the par-4 18th has given Spieth fits down the stretch of a potential comeback. He fired a final-round 64 at the 2018 Masters but bogeyed the last hole to finish solo third, two shots back of winner Patrick Reed. Then in 2021, Spieth carded a second-nine 33, but again bogeyed 18 to finish T3, three shots back of Hideki Matsuyama.

He trailed Jon Rahm by two shots standing on the 18th tee Sunday. A wayward drive into the left trees forced Spieth short of the green with his second shot and he was unable to get up and down for par. The result?

Still, it was a remarkable final-round 66 for Spieth, who began the round 10 shots off the lead. Early birdies on the first and second holes quickly got his round going. Spieth played the difficult stretch of Nos. 4-6 in 1 over, before rattling off three straight birdies beginning on the eighth hole. Spieth hit his approach to the par-4 ninth hole to 5 feet and made birdie. He drained a 21-foot birdie putt on 10 and kept his round on the rails with a miraculous pitch from long and left of 11 green to within a foot.

Right of the fairway on 14, Spieth’s approach landed on back left of the green and trundled back down the slope to within 4 feet and another birdie. On the par-5 15th, Spieth hit the green in two and two-putted for his eighth birdie of the day. He struck a 169-yard approach to 11 feet at the par-4 17th and drained the uphill birdie putt, punctuated by a fist pump with caddie Michael Greller.

Woods withdraws: Tiger Woods withdrew from the Masters on Sunday morning, unable to resume the third round due to reaggravating his plantar fasciitis.

Woods made the cut on the number at 3-over 147, matching Fred Couples and Gary Player with 23 consecutive made cuts at the Masters, most all-time. Woods, 47, completed his second round in heavy rains Saturday morning and played his first seven holes of the third round in 6 over before play was suspended for the day due to unrelenting rains.

“I am disappointed to have to WD this morning due to reaggravating my plantar fasciitis,” Woods tweeted on Sunday morning. “Thank you to the fans and to the Masters who have shown me so much love and support. Good luck to the players today!”

Woods has been transparent regarding his struggles in walking a golf course for four consecutive days, and his leg and foot ailments prove particularly cumbersome across the hills of Augusta National. Woods made the cut in 2022 with scores of 71-74 but stumbled to weekend rounds of 78-78. This week, he couldn’t quite go 72 holes.

The five-time green jacket winner said before the tournament that cold weather on the weekend hampered him at last year’s Masters, and Mother Nature did him no favors this time, either. The high Saturday was 48 degrees.

Woods has completed four rounds in just two of the five tournaments he’s played since his surprise return at Augusta National last year. He finished 47th in the 2022 Masters, his first tournament in 17 months, and was T45 at The Genesis Invitational, which he hosts, earlier this year.

This is the second time in the past year that his body has forced him to withdraw from a major after making the cut. Woods shot a second-round 69 to make the cut at last year’s PGA Championship but withdrew after shooting 10 shots higher in the third round.

Henley’s career-best major showing: There’s something about Augusta, and the ever-present loblolly pines, that gets Russell Henley’s juices flowing.

The Georgia native moved into contention with a front-nine 31 in the final round of last year’s Masters, and although he fell back on the final nine, the experience made him hungry to again be part of the back-nine conversation on Masters Sunday – when the tournament starts, as they say.

Mission accomplished this week. Henley was a constant presence on the front page of the leaderboard down the stretch, ultimately finishing tied for fourth at 7 under. By virtue of his top-12 finish, the University of Georgia alum secures a spot in next year’s Masters.

It’s also his first top-10 finish in 33 career major starts, but he has finished top-25 in four of seven appearances at Augusta National. He’s comfortable in the setting and in his home state.

Henley also joined in celebrating the Masters career of 1987 winner Larry Mize, making the week even more special. Mize, an Augusta native, made his final Masters appearance this week. Henley was on hand Saturday morning to watch Mize conclude his second round and bid farewell to the patrons.

“Living in Columbus (Georgia) the last four years, he's been just like a mentor and father figure for me,” said Henley of Mize. “Just anything that goes on in my life outside of golf or golf, he's been there to chat with me about it. He's just an amazing guy and somebody I look up to a lot.”

He’ll be back at Augusta next year, looking to join Mize with a green jacket.

Notables

Scottie Scheffler: The world No. 1 will lament struggles on the greens this week as he came short of defending his 2022 Masters title. Scheffler’s premier ball-striking led him to a respectable finish nonetheless; he went 68-75-71-70 for a 4-under total at Augusta National, good for a top-15 finish. Scheffler was inside the top five throughout the week in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee, per Data Golf, but in the bottom five in Strokes Gained: Putting. “The first two days, I putted just awful,” Scheffler said. “It was one of those weird situations where my good ones weren't going in and then my bad ones definitely weren't going in … I definitely putted much better this weekend, which gives me some confidence moving forward that I can kind of dig it out of the dirt a little bit.”

Sahith Theegala: After missing his tee shot left on the par-3 16th Sunday, Theegala couldn’t help but think back to Tiger Woods’ iconic chip-in from a similar position in 2005, en route to a playoff victory over Chris DiMarco. The patrons even called out to “do it for Tiger.” The first-time Masters participant did just that, judging the slope perfectly as the ball funneled toward the hole and dropped for birdie. Theegala carded 5-under 67 after beginning the round at even-par, on track to finish top-12 and secure a spot in next year’s Masters. “That would be really, really cool to know that I have it on the schedule for next year,” Theegala said. “That was a really, really cool back nine, to say the least.”

Phil Mickelson: The three-time Masters winner carded a final-round, 7-under 65 to post 8-under total, the low score in the clubhouse through the early finishers. Mickelson played with Jordan Spieth in the final round, and the duo combined for 17 birdies. Mickelson, 52, is on track to become the oldest player to finish top-five at the Masters.

BY THE NUMBERS

4: The number of Spaniards who have won the Masters. Rahm joins Seve Ballesteros (1980, 1983), José María Olazábal (1994, 1999) and Sergio Garcia (2017).

5: Top-10 finishes at the Masters by Jon Rahm. He has never finished worse than T27 in his seven appearances.

6: The number of rounds Jordan Spieth has shot 66 or better in his Masters career. Only Tiger Woods (8) has more.

8: Total eagles on the lengthened par-5 13th this year. Much was made about whether the new tee box would lead to fewer fireworks but there were more eagles than in 2022 (6) and the same amount (8) in 2021.