[Phil McDade]

It was great stuff if you think about it. Watson applied the knockout punch on the 13th. Spieth couldn't answer. Blixt the same. Sometimes one guy dominates. This time, it happened to be the guy in front. Nobody else in the last 11 groups broke 70, while he scored 69. Reminded me of the 1991 PGA at Crooked Stick, where another big hitter, John Daly, started the day in the lead and stayed there when he had the best round of the last 16-odd players.

Tim:

All the fun stuff in the last round happened on the front nine -- thus the query of this thread! Speith's early birdies, Watson matching Speith's 2s at holes #4 and #6, the two-shot swing on 8, then another on 9 -- all with the kind of birdies-with-good-shots/bogeys-with-loose-play that historically has been more characteristic of Augusta's back nine. While Bubba's drive on 13 may have been the shot of the tournament (has anyone ever played from that spot on Augusta's 13th fairway at the Masters? I kind of  doubt it....), it didn't really do much other than set him up for a boring two-putt par birdie (anyone hitting gap wedges into par 5s for a second shot is playing a different par than anyone else) that extended his lead. Jiminez was the only player who showed much of a pulse on the back nine, and by the time he got his game going he was 7 off the lead.

Maybe the back nine -- to play off Ran's thread -- is more subject to hard scoring under F&F, windy conditions experience at Augusta this year.

Phil, I'm sure many people have played from that spot on 13. Their third shot, but still ...

Matthew: That's why I qualified it with in the Masters. I honestly don't recall anyone laying up to that spot -- usually those laying up are further to the right.

[Matthew Sander]

When was the last time we saw a back nine on Sunday at Augusta this dull? Zach Johnson's come-from-behind win in 2007 was better drama.

The front nine sure was fun ; proves this thesis?

Hi Phil,

Actually, I think your first statement in the above quote works to disprove your thesis. Asking for the last time we saw a dull finish implies there have been several good ones lately. In fact, there has been some downright great back-nine drama in recent years. Scott/Cabrera, Cabrera/Perry/Campbell, Schwartzels reign of terror*, etc.

*I remember that finish being so weird. Schwartzel was near the lead all day, but it seemed Scott took control and would win the tournament. All of a sudden, bam, 4 birdies in a row and it was over - South African meats and sausages at the Champions Dinner.

[Ryan Coles]

What windy conditions?

Well, the wind clearly had an impact on play Thursday, and it seemed to be pretty decent today -- not Open Championship wind, but a decent wind. Bubba clearly missed a shot early on the front nine due to his mis-calculation of how the wind would impact the flight of his ball.

Kostis made an interesting comment today during the broadcast -- he said the ice storm (that brought down Ike's tree) had resulted in less-uniform, more precarious wind patterns that made conditions more unpredictable.

Come on Phil, you can't describe 5-10 mph as windy conditions. It was a beautiful sunny day with a slight breeze.

[Adam Lawrence]

Hmm, there is a contradiction here, it seems to me. For sure the added length and the tighter fairways are adding difficulty and making charges less likely, but what really makes the golf course hard is when the greens are firm and the players struggle to control their balls on landing. Yet this is what makes the course's strategy come alive - it makes angles and positioning important. If you want birdies, put more water on the greens. But don't complain about a lack of strategy on a hit and stick golf course.

[Sean_A]

Hmm, there is a contradiction here, it seems to me. For sure the added length and the tighter fairways are adding difficulty and making charges less likely, but what really makes the golf course hard is when the greens are firm and the players struggle to control their balls on landing. Yet this is what makes the course's strategy come alive - it makes angles and positioning important. If you want birdies, put more water on the greens. But don't complain about a lack of strategy on a hit and stick golf course.

I agree Adam.  We may get more ooohs and ahhhs if pins are more tucked with softer greens, but I think we are seeing Augusta do what it is designed to do. Guys have room to swing and recovery opportunities.  While I am very sure the old guard never expected the green speeds we see today, as a counterbalance to smashmouth golf it works pretty well at Augusta. Its not like Bubba tore it up, but he definitely took some outrageous lines off the tee to maximize his style of smashmouth golf. 

Ciao

Ciao

[Phil McDade]

Um, did anyone make a charge on the back nine on Sunday this year?

These guys at Augusta National can finesse this course down to the last inch of detail -- as Tom Doak noted in another thread, they have every green at the course mapped out to the foot, so they know exactly what they are doing with pin placements. No organization running any tournament these days puts more thought (whether you think those are good thoughts or not is another thing...) into set-up than Augusta.

For whatever reason, this year's set-up and conditions produced a dull back nine -- hinted at in the results from the first two days linked to earlier in this thread.

[Jason Thurman]

Joost Luiten made a pretty good charge this year. He was just too far back for it to amount to much.

As others have mentioned, Charl Schwarzel made four straight birdies to win a few years ago. Watson also made four straight on the back nine in his 2012 win. One or two years without a charge among the contenders doesn't mean that it will never happen again.

[Jud_T]

Given that Bubba birdied 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 on Friday, I'd say the back nine charge is alive and well. 

[Phil McDade]

Joost Luiten made a pretty good charge this year. He was just too far back for it to amount to much.

As others have mentioned, Charl Schwarzel made four straight birdies to win a few years ago. Watson also made four straight on the back nine in his 2012 win. One or two years without a charge among the contenders doesn't mean that it will never happen again.

Much easier conditions (and presumably set-up) in 2011 and 2012.

[David Kelly]

Sometimes there just isn't any drama to be had at a particular golf tournament.  This was like the 2002 or 1999 Masters when nobody really mounted any kind of a charge and Woods and Olazabal just won with steady rounds.

I think Watson also benefited from the fact that there was nobody anywhere near him on the leader board who had ever won a major before and which allowed him to shoot even par on the back while extending his lead.

[Brent Hutto]

It seems to me an unsurprising outcome.

My foursome was discussing it while playing on Sunday morning. The consensus was that one of the two leaders would shoot "two or three under" while the others in in the final three groups would shoot around even par.

And everybody pretty much seemed to think Bubba would win unless he had some sort of unexpected meltdown (to the extent ANYTHING could be called unexpected with Bubba).

There's a reason one of the guys in the final pairing usually wins. It's just how things work at the Masters nowadays.

[Mike Hendren]

For whatever reason, this year's set-up and conditions produced a dull back nine -- hinted at in the results from the first two days linked to earlier in this thread.

The only chargers left in the world of sports play football in San Diego.  Don't blame the horse.  Blame the jockeys.

Bogey

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