This morning saw the final round of the 2011 US Masters kick off at Augusta, with all eyes on overnight leader Rory McIlroy.
McIlroy came in to the final round at 12 under, 4 shots clear of a tight knit chasing pack, that included Choi, Day, Cabrera and Schwartzel, all tied on 8 under. Adam Scott and Tiger Woods were also placed in the top ten, ready to make a move.
With 18 holes to play, 4 shots would hopefully give you a comfortable margin. If you can finish the final round with a solid 70, someone in the chasing pack would need to shoot 66 to force a play-off, which should give you a reasonable amount of confidence heading in. Unfortunately for McIlroy, today would not be his day. After suffering a horrible back nine, McIlroy finished 4 Under, 8 shots short of South African Schwartzel who took out the green jacket.
Pressure is a funny thing. It can get to the best of us. My immediate thoughts after this mornings play was to compare McIlroy’s final round with the great disaster that was Greg Norman’s final round in the 1996 Masters. Norman came into the 4th day leading by 6, before shooting a 78 to lose to Nick Faldo. This has regularly been rated as one of the best ‘chokes’ of all time.
In 1956, Ken Venturi also shot 80 in his final round, to lose by 1. And in 2005, A. Dawson, leading with one hole to go, put 2 consecutive drives out of bounds on the 18th, to faulter at the final hurdle. These are some of the biggest golfing disasters that come to mind.
Today, McIlroy shot an 80, which included a triple bogey on the 10th, a bogey on the 11th and a double bogey on the 12th – this is going to challenge for the title.
Unfortunately for McIlroy, Schwartzel had a good day in the office, shooting a 66, which only makes his final round look all the worse. Not only did Schwartzel take out the title, but finished a full 8 shots clear of McIlroy.
McIlroy is 21, and will have a big future in the sport. Hopefully he can put this disaster behind him, and learn from the experience.
Whats the greatest ‘choke’ you’ve ever seen?
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