Winners and losers from the 2014 Masters
This past weekend saw a lot of great story lines and we are here to give you the good and the bad of it. Here are our winners and losers from the past week in golf.
Winners
Bubba Watson â€" Not only did he win his second Masters in three years, but he did it by absolutely dominating Augusta National. This guy sees golf shots that most others can't even think of (check his drive on the 13th on Sunday), and he's able to work the ball so well at Augusta National that it seems from here on out he should be one of the favorites when the tour gets to Georgia each season. Bubba's second Masters win just shows that while he can get in his own way at times on the golf course, he is as talented as anyone on the PGA Tour, and when the putts are dropping, he can win any tournament on any golf course in the world (especially Augusta National).
Jordan Spieth â€" The 20-year-old didn't win on Sunday, but his play all week gained him a ton of fans and allowed the world to see what the golfing public has been enjoying for the past 13 months. Spieth is years ahead of his age, and while he did seem to get frustrated on the back nine on Sunday, I took it more as a competitor trying so hard to win and not a young kid getting upset with himself when things weren't going his way. Spieth is going to win a major, and soon, so make sure to pencil his name in when figuring out your picks at Pinehurst.
Jonas Blixt â€" The 29-year-old Swede has won on the PGA Tour each of the last two seasons, and his play in the last two major championships show he's not just ready to contend, but ready to win one of these sooner than later (he finished fourth alone at the PGA). Blixt said after his round that he loved the environment, didn't get overly nervous and is ready to be there again, the words you want to hear from a guy after his first real shot at a major championship.
Bernhard Langer â€" The fanfare followed Fred Couples around all weekend at Augusta National, but it was a 56-year-old Langer who was able to post a Sunday 69 to jump into the top-10, the first time he's done that at the Masters in 10 years. Langer still can play some really, really impressive golf, and his birdie-birdie-par-birdie finish on Sunday at Augusta showed why he's won this tournament two times.
Masters.com â€" Still the best viewing experience of any of the major championships in golf, and it seemed this year above all the others that the featured groups each day were players we actually wanted to watch. The Masters online coverage still cannot be touched, and it just seems to improve each year as this tournament continues to embrace a new generation.
Losers
Matt Kuchar â€" It's hard to hate on a guy that finished T-5, but Kuchar is too talented to be happy with top-10 finishes at this point. This is the second straight week that Kuchar struggled on a Sunday, and the trend is becoming an issue for the 35-year-old. Nobody outside the final group was pushing Watson or Spieth all day long, and if Kuchar could have just made a couple of birdies on the back nine, it might have changed the way this tournament ended. Instead, it was a bogey-bogey finish for the No. 6 player in the world who departs another major championship a bit disappointed.
Adam Scott â€" A year ago he was dropping putt after putt to win a first green jacket for Australia, but it seemed right when he got into the conversation at this Masters, the putter went cold and he faded down the leaderboard. Scott's third round 76 was really, really ugly, and just when it seemed like he might make a late push on Sunday after three consecutive birdies to close out his front nine, it was an even-par 36 to close out his bid for a second straight green jacket.
Patrick Reed â€" It's easy to pile on a guy that got caught up in his own words, but this was a huge week for Reed after he admitted he thinks he's a top-five player in the world, and right when he got on the leaderboard at the Masters things started to fall apart. Reed closed out his Thursday round with three straight bogeys, opened up his second round with four straight bogeys and just when it seemed he could still make a charge to make the cut, he made three straight bogeys again on Friday to post a second round 79 and miss the cut by a mile.
Phil Mickelson â€" Healthy or not, if you miss your first cut at Augusta National since 1997, you're going to land in the losers, no matter how hard he battled at the end of his Friday round. Phil is a staple at this event, a guy that always seems to finish in the top-10 no matter how he's hitting it or putting, so for him to completely miss the weekend says a lot about his current golf game and a lot about his potential to not just win the U.S. Open in June, but compete at it.
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