Patrick Reed Held On To Win The Masters Despite Charges From Jordan Spieth And Rickie Fowler

The Masters appeared headed for a replay of Patrick Reed and Rory McIlroy’s intense and incredible Ryder Cup showdown from 2016 as the two found themselves in the final pairing at Augusta National on Sunday. Instead, McIlroy turned in another disappointing final round at the Masters and it became a matter of scoreboard watching for Reed as Jordan Spieth ran out and posted an incredible 64.

Spieth flirted with the course record of 63 and, for a moment, it appeared he was destined to smash that record as he stared down an eagle putt on the 13th hole to move to 8-under on the day. Had he made that short eagle putt, he may have taken home the green jacket for a second time and his shot from the pine straw would’ve gone down in Masters lore like that of Phil Mickelson.

Another birdie from Spieth on the 16th hole pulled him within one of Reed, applying more pressure and letting the roars cascade around the pines at Augusta after his 33-foot birdie putt cruised into the cup.

Reed, meanwhile, plodded along making timely birdies on the back nine to fend off Spieth’s charge, even though it was a struggle at times for him. After a bogey on 11 and Spieth’s birdie on 13 it appeared as though the momentum had flipped totally in Spieth’s direction, but Reed calmed the nerves and poured in a long birdie putt on 12 to give him that two-shot cushion once again.

Rickie Fowler didn’t look dangerous early, going 1-over through seven holes, but he turned it on late thanks to some strong putting to charge back up the leaderboard.

Fowler went on to post a 5-under 67 after a birdie on 18 to make Reed think as he stood over a long putt on 17 and heading into the 18th.

Elsewhere, there were plenty of red numbers being posted as the leaderboard below the top few saw plenty of shuffling. Among those that climbed up into the top 12 was Charley Hoffman, who posted a 67 on Sunday, punctuated by a hole-in-one on the 16th.

In the end, Reed didn’t need the fireworks others produced on Sunday thanks to what he did over Friday and Saturday at Augusta National, and it was a string of solid pars over the final three holes that produced a first-time major champion. A string of two-putts on 16, 17, and 18 — in increasingly impressive fashion — gave Reed the win and the green jacket.

Here is how the final leaderboard shook out:

1. Patrick Reed (-15)
2. Rickie Fowler (-14)
3. Jordan Spieth (-13)
4. Jon Rahm (-11)
T5. Cameron Smith (-9)
T5. Bubba Watson (-9)
T5. Henrik Stenson (-9)
T5. Rory McIlroy (-9)