The Masters concluded in Augusta today, and it was a very entertaining last round. The day saw eight different people have at least a share of the lead at some point during the final round.
The biggest story of the day was the epic collapse by Rory McIlroy. He had held the lead or a share of the lead after each of the first three rounds and he entered today -12 with a four stroke lead. Despite the great golf he was playing and the commanding lead he had, the big question was whether this 21 year old would be able to withstand the pressure of the herald Masters? The answer was undoubtedly a no.
He shot +6 over the 10-12 holes and eliminated himself from the competition. Very early you had the feeling it was not going to be his day, he bogeyed the first hole and was lucky to save par on the second. For the round, he tied the worst score ever during the final round of the Masters with +8, 80.
The collapse was hard to watch at times – on his triple bogey 10th, his second shot was from a driveway, then he landed in the rough, then he hit a tree and missed a putt.
I blame the collapse on the pressure coupled with his inexperience. On the positive side, if he can put this in the past (which I think he can), this will only help his game. The experience he gained this weekend will go along way and he should be able to win a Masters before his career ends.
Carl Schwartzel ended up winning the Masters by birdying the last four holes to end with a -14.
[Photo Credits: McIlroy – ImageWorldBlog.blogspot.com, McIlroy Score – screenshot from Masters.com]