Augusta, Ga. — Jordan Spieth joked Saturday that Augusta National officials couldn’t “Jordan proof” the course because he doesn’t hit it straight enough off the tee.
It’s a moot point now. Spieth did himself in Sunday, dropping from contention after six holes and hitting the water with his tee shot on No. 12, a moment of déjà vu from last year’s final round.
Spieth limped in with a three-over 75 and tied for 11th place, but the 2015 champion was somehow upbeat after what transpired.
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“I’m not going to beat myself up whatsoever,” he said. “I shot 75 but, boy, I felt great over the ball.”
Huh?
“Out here, distance control is so key,” he said. “I was two yards into the rough so many times, and it makes a huge difference on controlling the distance out of the rough. It’s a coin flip. Is it going to jump or come out spinning? And I missed those coin flips all five times, I guess.”
Top amateur
Stewart Hagestad, a Newport Beach kid who ended up in New York as a financial analyst, was the low amateur in the tournament. He not only won that honor but was the first Mid-Am champion to even make the cut.
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He shot 74-73-74-73 for a final score of six over.
Walking up the 18th fairway, Hagestad was told by his caddie that he had a three-stroke lead for low amateur.
“I had chills from about 75 yards out and to have everyone here to support me, what an honor,” Hagestad said. “This is absolutely why you play the game and why you practice. It’s a really, really special week for me and I’m sure the emotions will hit me here at some point.”
He said he thinks he’ll start graduate school at USC on July 24.
“Most likely,” he said. “Unless anything crazy happens between now and then.”
Veteran perspective
Ernie Els was playing in his 23rd Masters — not playing particularly well, but he did last all four rounds. After opening with a 72 and 75, he played 83 and 78 on the weekend. The 47-year-old with four major wins, but never the Masters, looked back fondly.
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“The negative is just that my play was atrocious and that’s the hard part to take,” Els said. “But if I look back at the 23, 24 years here,how many professional golfers get the chance to play the Masters 23 times?
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Sergio Garcia of Spain celebrates after winning the Masters golf tournament in a playoff on Sunday at Augusta National Golf Club.
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Sergio Garcia is greeted by fiancee Angela Akins after winning the Masters in a playoff.
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Justin Rose, left, congratulates Sergio Garcia on the 18th green after Garcia won the Masters on the first playoff hole.
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Danny Willett, left, the 2016 Masters champion, congratulates Sergio Garciaduring the green jacket ceremony at Augusta National Golf Club.
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Sergio Garcia get help putting on the Masters champion’s green jacket by 2016 winner Danny Willett.
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Sergio Garcia admires the winner’s trophy during the awards ceremony following his victory at the Masters.
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Sergio Garcia reacts after making an eagle putt in front of Justin Rose at No. 15e during the final round of the Master.
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Justin Rose and Sergio Garcia walk over the Hogan Bridge at No. 12 with their caddies Mark Fulcher and Glen Murray during the final round of the Masters tournament.
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Justin Rose of England reacts to a putt for birdie on the sixth hole during the final round of the Masters.
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Rickie Fowler reacts after a drive on the fourth hole during the final round of the Masters tournament.
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Sergio Garcia of Spain hits a drive on the fourth hole during the final round of the Masters.
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Justin Rose of England plays his shot from the third tee during the final round of the Masters.
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Paul Casey of England plays his second shot on the first hole during the final round of the Masters tournament.
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Jordan Spieth plays his third shot from a bunker at No. 10 during the final round of the Masters tournament.
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Adam Scott of Australia hits his tee shot at No. 4 during the final round of the Masters.
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Jimmy Walker reacts to his missed birdie putt on the sixth hole during the final round of the Masters tournament.
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Sergio Garcia hits from a bunker alongside the seventh green during the final round of the Masters tournament.
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Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland lets go of his club on the follow through of his tee shot at No. 4 during the final round of the Masters tournament.
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Justin Rose hits his tee shot at No. 2 during the final round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club.
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Rickie Fowler lines up his putt with caddie Joseph Skovron at No. 8 during the third round of the Masters tournament on Saturday at Augusta National Golf Club.
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Sergio Garcia celebrates after making a birdie putt at No. 6 during the third round of the Masters tournament.
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Charley Hoffman hits his tee shot at No. 4 during the third round of the Masters tournament.
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Jon Rahm reacts after missing his birdie putt on the 17th hole during the third round of the Masters.
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Jordan Spieth hits his tee shot on the 12th hole during the third round of the Masters tournament.
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Justin Rose makes his club selection at the second tee box during the third round of the 2017 Masters
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Sergio Garcia reacts to a missed putt at No. 12 during the third round of the Masters tournament.
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Ryan Moore plays a shot from a greenside bunker at No. 10 during the third round of the Masters.
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Fred Couples olines up a putt on the 16th green during the third round of the Masters.
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Will McGirt watches his bunker shot roll toward the hole on the 17th green during the third round of the Masters.
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Sergio Garcia pitches a shot onto the 13th green during the third round of the Masters tournament.
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Jason Day on the second tee during the third round of the 2017 Masters tournament.
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Phil Mickelson plays his second shot from a bunker at the 12th hole during the third round of the Masters.
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Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland and Jon Rahm of Spain walk over the Hogan Bridge at No. 12 at Augusta National Golf Club during the second round.
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Jason Day of Australia plays a shot from a greenside bunker at the 16th hole during the second round of the Masters.
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Matt Kuchar and caddie John Wood head toward the second green, where the flagstick is bowed by the wind, during the second round of the Masters.
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Fans get a close-up view of Charley Hoffman hitting an approach shot during the second round of the Masters tournament.
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Spain’s Rafa Cabrera Bello looks at his ball in the pine straw at the 14th hole during the second round of the Masters tournament.
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Si Woo Kim of South Korea plays his third shot at No. 15 during the second round of the Masters tournament at Augusta National Golf Club.
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Fred Couples reacts to his birdie putt on the 13th hole during the second round of the Masters.
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Rickie Fowler plays his tee shot at No. 12 during the second round of the Masters tournament.
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Charley Hoffman hits a drive on the 18th hole during the first round for the Masters golf tournament.
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Will McGirt hits a drive on the eighth hole during the second round of the Masters golf tournament.
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Charley Hoffman looks at his approach on the 15th hole during the first round for the Masters golf tournament .
(Charlie Riedel / Associated Press)
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Justin Rose of England plays his second shot on the 17th hole during the second round of the Masters tournament.
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Charley Hoffman hits a tee shot on the 15th hole during the first round of the Masters tournament on Thursday at Augusta National Golf Club. Hoffman shot a 65 to take a four-shot lead.
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Pat Perez reacts after missing a putt at No. 16 during the first round of the Masters golf tournament on Thursday.
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Augusta National Golf Club Chairman Billy Payne, right, leads a moment of silence for Arnold Palmer at the start of the Masters Tournament on Thursday.
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Jason Day plays his shot from the third tee during the first round of the 2017 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club.
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Dustin Johnson walks off after announcing his withdrawal during the first round of the 2017 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club.
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Thomas Pieters of Belgium hits a shot through the trees at the 17th hole during the first round of the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club.
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Caddie Jamie Lane lines up a putt on the second green during the first round of the 2017 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club.
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Brendan Steele walks up the second fairway during the first round of the Masters golf tournament on Thursday.
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American Dustin Johnson walks out of the Augusta National clubhouse after withdrawing from the Masters golf tournament because of a back injury before his afternoon tee time Thursday.
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“And having the chance to win it a couple times was special and this tournament is not just for me. I’ve won a lot of events around the world, but this one just eluded me and that’s fine.”
In the hole
Until Matt Kuchar’s hole in one on 16, Russell Henley might have had the shot of the tournament on the fifth hole. From 185 yards his approach shot didn’t hit the green, it flew right into the hole for an eagle. It moved him into the red numbers at one under.
The force with which the ball entered the hole damaged the dirt part at the top of the hole. Two groups played through before officials repaired the hole.
John Cherwa is a special contributor to the Los Angeles Times. He started at The Times in 1980 and left in 1995 to be sports editor of the Chicago Tribune and Tribune Co. sports coordinator in 2002. He rejoined The Times in 2009 and left his post as deputy sports editor late in 2017. Currently, his major coverage area is horse racing, where he can be found at big races at Santa Anita, the Triple Crown series and Breeders’ Cup. He also can be found at the Olympics, having just finished the Tokyo and Beijing double, marking his 11th Olympics. Cherwa also contributes general interest stories from Florida.
