Two weekends ago, my favorite four days in all of sports finally came back aron: Masters Week. The 79th Masters Tournament was definitely one for the ages, with 21-year-old Jordan Spieth taking the title by four strokes with a total score of 270, 18 strokes under par, tying the all-time record at Augusta National. Spieth becomes the second youngest man to ever don the Green Jacket, trailing only Tiger Woods who was five months younger during his 1997 victory.
While Spieth is garnering most of the publicity (as well he should), here are some other Masters players that might not get as much attention as they should.
Tiger Woods made his return to competitive golf for this weekend's tournament after a two-month hiatus to work on his swing and finally get fully healthy. His return did not go the way he planned, as he finished the weekend with a 283, good enough for five under par and a T-17 finish.
Rory McIlory, fresh off victories at The Open Championship and The PGA Championship in 2014, Rory looked to finally shake the meltdown on the back nine in 2011, leading to him firing a Final Round 80 in which he had the lead when making the turn. Rory played well, even firing the low round on Sunday with a 66, but finished six shots behind Spieth with a total score of 276, good enough for 12 under par.
Bubba Watson, the defending Masters champion, had the worst weekend out of all the headliners. Bubba finished with a total of 289, good enough for one stroke over par. Bubba came into the weekend at two under par, but all but fell apart on the weekend, shooting a +3.
Ben Crenshaw, at the ripe young age of 66, said goodbye to Augusta National this weekend. Crenshaw was a two-time Masters champion, winning the tournament in 1984 and 1995. The Masters tournament has always been especially accommodating to its past champions, so they welcome Crenshaw to compete for as long as he would like to, however he decided to hang up his clubs when it comes to major championships. The Masters crowd, which is always described as the best in golf, was great, giving Crenshaw a lengthy standing ovation on the 18th green on Friday as he finished up his round.
But, at the end of the day, all the headlines will be about Spieth, and for good reason. Spieth had a record-breaking weekend, at one point achieving the lowest cumulative score ever reached at Augusta National, reaching 19 strokes under par at one point on Sunday. After shooting a 64 on Thursday, Spieth never looked back, becoming the fifth wire-to-wire winner, and the first since Raymond Floyd in 1976.
All in all, it was another great weekend at Augusta National.
