It was excruciating to watch.
No one could have predicted it.
Nationwide, nearly 10 million viewers sat watching as world No. 2 Jordan Spieth led the 2016 Masters by five strokes with just nine holes to go.
After rolling in four straight birdies to close out the front side on Sunday evening at Augusta National, it seemed obvious that the 22-year-old would don his second straight green jacket as the sun set on golf’s first major of the year.
It would have taken an extraordinary comeback or a colossal collapse to change the script. It ended up being a combination of both, but the latter proved to be more significant.
The final chapter began as Spieth bogeyed the 10th hole and Englishman Danny Willett birdied the 13th simultaneously. A two-shot swing put Spieth just three clear of the field.
Another two-shot swing left the lead at just one for the former University of Texas star with seven holes to play. His closest competitor had just four holes remaining.
Many thought it was just a small scare and nothing the well-established young gun couldn’t handle. But the many were left stunned.
I’ve never seen anything quite like it from the best player in the world. To be honest, I haven’t even seen it that often in recreational golf.
On the par-3 12th, Spieth knocked his tee shot into the water, well short of the protected green. It was not an uncommon result for the hole, but certainly still surprising given the circumstances.
The next shot, the second straight into the drink, stopped time.
The 68-yard chunk into Rae’s Creek will stand as the signature moment of one of the most significant collapses in the sport’s history. Spieth eventually made a seven on the hole, and another Willett birdie minutes later put the relative unknown out in front by four.
A bit later, Willett posted five-under for the tournament with Spieth just three back with four to play. It wasn’t quite over yet. A Spieth birdie on 15 made things that much more interesting, but a bogey on 17 ended any hope for his bid for an extraordinary comeback of his own. Willett was crowned the champion, outlasting Spieth by three strokes. The 28-year-old gained eight strokes in under two hours.
You have to feel for Spieth, but at the same time, you have to be ecstatic for Willett. He not only captured his first PGA Tour event, first major and first green jacket, but celebrated the birth of his first child, Zachariah, with his wife, Nicole, just days prior to the 2016 Masters.
In light of all this, for Spieth and for Willett, Ben Hogan reminds us that “the most important shot in golf is the next one.”
What happens next? We’ll have to see.
But the roads have certainly taken a sharp turn for both Spieth and Willet.
