Reporting from AUGUSTA, Ga. — Take-aways from the 80th Masters …
Jordan Spieth is a fascinating psychological specimen.
To his everlasting credit and the joy of sportswriters everywhere, he doesn’t seem to have a pause button from his brain to his mouth. He feels what he says and says what he feels, and we should all hope that never changes.
He told reporters Saturday night that he would have a difficult time getting over the double-bogey six he made on his final hole of the third round, even though he still was leading the Masters for the seventh straight round.
“Probably go break something,” he admitted, with only enough of a smile that you thought he might not do it.
Spieth admitted Sunday evening, after he’d blown a five-shot lead on the back nine to lose to Danny Willett, that he actually said to caddie Michael Greller, “Buddy, it seems like we’re collapsing.”
That was the money quote, but what came after it was more interesting.
“I wanted to be brutally honest with the way I felt towards him,” Spieth said, “so that he could respond with what was necessary to get us to rebound. And we did. I rebounded.”
What Greller said, we have no idea. Maybe he didn’t say anything. Just nodded and listened. Maybe he produced the greatest one-minute pep talk in history.
Remarkably, Spieth did respond, making birdies on the back-nine par-fives — 13 and 15 — to give himself the chance to make two more birdies in the last three holes to possibly tie Willett. He didn’t do it — going par-bogey-par.
Willett shot 67 and beat Spieth and Lee Westwood by three shots.
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Danny Willett of England walks along the 15th hole during the final round of the Masters on Sunday at Augusta National Golf Club.
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Jordan Spieth gathers his thoughts on the 18th green before finishing the final round with a one-over 73.
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Jordan Spieth presents Danny Willett the winner’s green jacket Sunday evening at Augusta National Golf Club.
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Augusta National chairman William Porter Payne presents American Bryson DeChambeau with the trophy for being the top amateur at the Masters during the awards ceremony Sunday evening.
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Masters champion Danny Willett gives the thumbs-up sign to fans after the awards ceremony at Augusta National Golf Club.
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Jordan Spieth gets a pat on the back from caddie Michael Greller on the 18th hole after finishing second at the Masters.
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Jordan Spieth takes a second drop on the 12th hole after one of the two times his shots landed in Rae’s Creek while hitting approach shots there during the final round of the Masters tournament.
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Jordan Spieth plays his second shot on the 11th hole from the trees during the final round of the Masters on Sunday.
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Danny Willett reacts after making a putt at No. 14 on Sunday during the final round of the Masters.
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Hideki Matsuyama of Japan chips onto a green during the final round of the Masters on Sunday.
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Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland plays a shot out of the bunker during the final round of the Masters.
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Lee Westwood of England reacts after making an eagle on the 15th hole during the final round of the Masters.
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Jason Day of Australia reacts after playing a shot Sunday during the final round of the Masters.
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Patrons leave Augusta National Golf Club after the third round of the Masters.
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Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland plays a shot onto the 16th green during third round of the Masters.
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Bernhard Lange tips his cap to the crowd after putting out at No. 18 during the third round of the Masters on Saturday.
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Jordan Spieth walks out of the trees along the 18th fairway after hitting a recovery shot during the third round of the Masters.
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Jordan Spieth hits out of the rough along the 17th fairway Saturday during the third round of the Masters.
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Hideki Matsuyama of Japan plays his second shot on the 12th hole during the third round of the Masters.
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Rory McIlroy reacts to a missed birdie putt on the 17th green during the third round of the Masters.
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Sergio Garcia of Spain lines up a putt on the 13th green during the third round of the Masters.
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American Scott Piercy creates a splash of sand as he hits out of a bunker during the third round of the Masters.
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Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland plays his shot from the 17th tee during the first round of the 2016 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club.
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Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy hits out of a bunker on the 18th green during Round 1 of the 2016 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club.
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Ian Poulter, of England, reacts after missing a putt on the first hole during the second round of the 2016 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club.
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Danny Lee, of New Zealand, hits a drive on the second hole during the second round of the 2016 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club.
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Mike Weir of Canada hit out of a bunker on the second hole during the second round of the 2016 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club.
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Jason Day, of Australia, watches his drive on the second hole during the second round of the 2016 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club.
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Charl Schwartzel, of South Africa, hits out of a bunker on the fourth hole during the second round of the 2016 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club.
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Patrons walk along the first fairway before the start of play during the second round of the 2016 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club.
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A scorekeeper peers through a hole from behind a board during Round 1 of the 2016 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club.
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Martin Kaymer of Germany down the fairway on the fifteenth hole during the first round of the 2016 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club.
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Australia’s Steven Bowditch putts on 1st hole during Round 1 of the 80th Masters Golf Tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club in April. (DON EMMERT / AFP/Getty Images)
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Rickie Fowler hits out of the rough off the first fairway during the first round of the 80th Masters Golf Tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club.
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Jordan Spieth hits on the second fairway during the first round of the 80th Masters Golf Tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club.
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Victor Dubuisson of France and caddie Leonard Francois walk up the third fairway during the first round of the 80th Masters Golf Tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club.
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Amateur Bryson DeChambeau tees off on the third hole during the first round of the 80th Masters Golf Tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club.
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Jordan Spieth lines up a putt on the first hole during the first round of the 80th Masters Golf Tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club.
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A scorekeeper places numbers on a leaderboard during the first round of the 80th Masters Golf Tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club.
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Jack Nicklaus waves before hitting a ceremonial first tee shot before the first round of the 80th Masters Golf Tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club.
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Steven Bowditch of Australia celebrates after chipping in a birdie on the first hole during the first round of the 80th Masters Golf Tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club.
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Lee Westwood of England chips on the second hole during the first round of the 80th Masters Golf Tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club.
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A sign bearing the names of the honorary starters Gary Player of South Africa, Jack Nicklaus of the U.S. and Arnold Palmer of the U.S. before they ceremonially open the first round of the 80th Masters Golf Tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club.
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Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player together on the first tee at the ceremonially opening of the first round of the 2016 Masters Tournament.
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Patrons wait for the gates to open near the first fairway before the start of the 80th Masters Golf Tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club.
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Patrons file onto the course after the gates are opened near the first fairway before the start of the 80th Masters Golf Tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club.
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Spectators line a fairway to watch the first round of the 80th Masters Golf Tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club.
(David J. Phillip / Associated Press) Spieth shows bulldog resilience, but also an indecision and lack of confidence at times that makes him appear as not a dominant pro athlete and more what he really is — a 22-year-old still finding himself.
Greller is a former grade-school teacher, and at times it seems as if he’s just trying to get Spieth to stay in his seat and look at the board.
He plays the role of brother, mentor and psychologist. He takes in Spieth’s constant chatter and processes it as best he can. For one shot Sunday, Spieth could be heard on the microphone seeking assurance about a club selection. Greller gave him a strong “yes.” Spieth responded to the effect, “You really think so?”
It’s comical, really, the banter and the psychological game that goes on between them. Spieth uses “we” all of the time, and it sounds great when things are going peachy, less so when they’re not.
What Sunday proved is that Spieth has a lot still to learn about handling his thoughts and emotions, but he seems to understand that better than anybody.
‘B-minus game’
That Spieth was leading the Masters after three rounds said a lot about how great his short game is, because he struggled badly with his driver and irons.
His back-nine collapse Sunday was marked by four poor swings: the approach at 10 that went into the right greenside bunker; the drive near the trees at 11 that didn’t allow him a clear shot to the green; and the tee shot and woefully chunked third shot at 12.
It is well-documented that the most telling statistic for success at Augusta National is greens reached in regulation, and Spieth hit only 60% of them for the week. The average for the field was 59%, so he was no better than the middle of the pack.
Willett tied for sixth in the field, hitting 66% of the greens.
“Listen,” Spieth said. “I had my B-minus game tee to green, and I made up for it around the greens with my putter. Ultimately, you just have to have your ‘A’ game every single part, and I just didn’t have those iron swings, as it showed on the back nine.”
Willett has game
Willett, who went to college in the United States at Jacksonville State, is far from a household name in America because he’s never played full time on the PGA Tour since turning pro in 2008. But he had more than shown he possessed a strong game to win a major.
He was the world’s No. 1-ranked amateur and played in the Walker Cup before going pro. He’d won four times on the European Tour and finished second to Rory McIlroy last year in the tour’s Race to Dubai.
This season, he already had captured the Dubai Desert Classic and finished third in the WGC event at Doral.
Willett played in his first Masters last year because a late-season charge got him to 50th in the world — the last automatic qualifying spot.
Known for a strong work ethic, Willett said Sunday night he believed he arrived at being the Masters winner by facing those parts of his game that needed polishing. He works with coaches Pete Cowen and Mike Walker.
“Every time you go to the range, you’re not getting there to get a pat on the back and tell you how good you’re doing,” he said. “You go there to try to try to get better, to try to get that half, that 1% better. … Actually trying to accomplish that perfection makes you uncomfortable.
“Today was one of them where I feel like I’ve done enough work and hit enough balls under their supervision; each shot that I was faced with, I just went through the same process and tried to remind myself of golf shots that I hit on the driving range when you’re in practice.
“Fortunately enough, we came through.”
Ratings drop
Maybe viewers figured Spieth was going to win the Masters so easily that they tuned out.
Sunday’s final round on CBS earned an 8.5 overnight rating, down 12% from Spieth’s win last year (9.6). It was up 9% from Bubba Watson’s win in 2014, but the 8.5 is the fourth-lowest for final-round coverage in the last two decades (dating to 1996), ahead of only 2014, 2012 (8.1) and 2004 (7.3).
tod.leonard@sduniontribune.com
