The 82nd Masters had all the makings of a shoot-out at the start of play today. Patrick Reed and Rory McIlroy, 24th and 7th in the world respectively and memorable Ryder Cup foes had separated themselves from the pack at Augusta National.
But a funny thing happened on the way to Butler Cabin. Rory struggled to find his game and Reed played a workmanlike round, unlike his spectacular previous rounds and hung on to claim his first major championship.
Reed had fashioned his three stroke lead by feasting on the par fives and if he had any similar success in this final round the day was sure to be his. But strange things happen during final rounds at the majors, especially at The Masters.
Things got off to an inauspicious start for Captain America as he has been labeled for his Ryder Cup heroics when he pulled his drive on the first hole wide left and nestled against a tree in the pine needles. McIlroy did far worse with his opening drive as he lost it right of right but miraculously salvaged a par. The best Reed could manage with an aborted swing was a bogey five and McIlroy was suddenly one shot closer.
When McIlroy bested Reed on the second hole with a birdie he was one shot out of the lead and the game was on. But Reed steadied himself with a birdie on the third hole while McIlroy bogeyed and it was then that we saw McIroy’s game slip away.
McIlroy’s bread and butter is solid driving – long, straight, solid driving but his driver was pushing right all day and he had to settle for punch outs and recovery shots to the fairway on too many holes to make a sustained charge at Reed. McIlroy’s first nine (3 bogeys, 2 birdies) was marred by an ugly bogey on the par five eighth hole and you could see the wind leave his sails. He knew he had lost his game and struggled to a two over par 74 putting no pressure on Reed on the second nine.
But that doesn’t mean there was no one challenging Reed for that green jacket. The charge came form an unlikely but not unfamiliar golfer. 
Jordan Spieth has been very successful at The Masters. With a win, two seconds and a tie for eleventh in his short career here, despite his 2016 debacle, Spieth plays Augusta like it’s his backyard.
Playing four groups behind Reed, Spieth got off to a hot start, two opening birdies, and then went from hot to sizzling with five birdies and a first nine of 31. His second nine went to white hot as the birdies came fast and furious at twelve, thirteen and fourteen and fifteen.
He was threatening the course record (63) and with the roars filling the air he was putting pressure on Reed whose game wasn’t at his best but who was scrambling so very well.
Spieth’s needed an eagle to shake the ground at Augusta and his best chance came at thirteen after a great shot from the pine needles left him below the hole looking at an uphill putt for a three. His eagle attempt drifted by and a birdie, while good wasn’t what he really needed to pull even with Reed at that point.
Reed meanwhile was playing par golf, following each bogey with a birdie and doing just enough to stay barely ahead on his second nine. After a bogey on eleven he putted in from off the green on the treacherous twelfth for a birdie. Reed wasn’t without a bit of luck today as his approach to thirteen was mishit, came up short and stuck to the bank mere feet away from rolling into Rae’s Creek. He salvaged a par five but he had no par five mastery as he could only manage even par across them today.
He then stiffed his approach on fourteen and sank the short birdie putt to get to fifteen under par for the tournament.
About this time, Spieth birdied fifteen and then sank an unlikely long birdie putt on sixteen to get to 
fourteen under par. But he knew Reed had more holes left to birdie and he counted on a birdie at the last to put the pressure on Reed. When he pulled his drive into the lefthand trees on eighteen leaving his ball short of the fairway a birdie was not in the cards. His bogey finished off a great and historic 64 and tied the lowest final round score at Augusta but his charge was too short.
But Reed’s job wasn’t done as Rickie Fowler was making his charge at Capt. America. Fowler waited until his eighth hole to card his first birdie and then he went to work making birds on six of his last eleven holes with a statement three at eighteen to cut Reed’s lead to one and force him to close well. Except for an early bogey on the fifth hole Fowler may have forced a playoff.
Reed showed no signs of nerves over the last three holes as he two putted for par on sixteen and made an impressive up and down by putting from off the green on seventeen and two putting from seventy five feet. After a solid drive short of the bunker on eighteen he hit the green and needed a three foot putt for the win. He drained it, center of the cup and thrust his arms in a victorious double fist pump.
Reed’s final round 71 wasn’t a round to behold but he got the job done. He showed nerves early on 
but steadied himself enough to make some impressive shots and recovered well from his poor shots. He won this tournament on Friday and Saturday when he went 66-67, ate up the par fives and earned his three shot lead.
Spieth’s and Fowler’s runs were courageous and memorable but when you start nine and five shots back that’s too big a task for a Sunday at The Masters.
We like our Masters Champions to win their green jackets and that is what Reed did today. Valiant charges by his challengers made it interesting but Reed held on despite shooting his highest round of the week. It takes four good rounds to win…and be a champion at The Masters and that’s just what he did.
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