2012

Bubba Watson produced an amazing shot from the trees to defeat Louis Oosthuizen at the second extra hole.

American Bubba Watson produced one of the great Masters shots to land his first major title after winning a play-off against Louis Oosthuizen at the second extra hole. Starting the day three shots off the lead, the left-hander shot a closing 68 to earn a play-off against the 2010 Open champion. At the first play-off hole both men missed birdie putts on the 18th green but after pulling his drive at the next, the 10th, Watson conjured an up an amazing hooked wedge from the trees to secure the Green Jacket with an unlikely par. Watson had seemed out of contention before making four straight birdies from the 13th to draw level with Oosthuizen. The South African had led since the second hole when he became just the fourth man in Masters history to make an albatross, his two at the par five catapulting him to the top of the leaderboard. He stayed there throughout the afternoon but his failure to get up and down from the front of the green at the second play-off hole ultimately cost him a second major title. Overnight leader Peter Hanson started with three fives and never really recovered. Three-time winner Phil Mickelson opened his challenge steadily with three pars but his hopes were fatally derailed by a six at the short fourth - his second triple bogey of the week. Nobody has ever won a Green Jacket with one triple bogey on his card and Mickelson could not change that, although he battled bravely to shoot a level par 72 and finish in four-way tie for third alongside Hanson, Lee Westwood and Matt Kuchar. Westwood birdied the last for a 68 and would have won comfortably had he found any form at all with the putter. It was the Englishman's sixth top three finish in his last 10 majors, but still he has not won one in 56 attempts. Mickelson had crashed from one behind to four back on the third after hitting the grandstand on the left with his tee shot and rebounding into the undergrowth. Rejecting the idea of going back to the tee, he then had two right-handed hacks and found a bunker. Getting up and down from there at least limited the damage to three dropped shots, but after seven holes Mickelson was still searching for his first birdie of the day. Oosthuizen had bogeyed the same hole and parred his way to the turn, but then failed to get up and down from a greenside bunker at the 10th and the challengers were gathering behind him. He birdied the long 13th, and was joined on nine under when Kuchar eagled the 15th from only three feet. Kuchar followed that with a bogey, though, and instead, even with Oosthuizen adding another birdie at the 15th, it was his playing partner Watson who became joint leader after four successive birdies. Both men made par at the final two holes then after Oosthuizen missed from 15 feet when they played 18 again, Watson failed to convert from eight feet. Oosthuizen looked to have the advantage on the next when his tee shot was marginally less wayward than Watson's. But left with 240 yards to the green he came up 10 yards short and somehow Watson managed to carve a wedge 50 yards left-to-right through the trees to 12 feet. Perhaps unnerved by that, Oosthuizen's chip was clumsy and he did not lose his turn, with his par putt from the back fringe just shaving the right edge of the hole. Watson had two putts for the title and he took them to complete another memorable Masters Sunday. WINNING WAYS As he did for most of the season, Bubba was able to hit greens despite missing fairways. The left-hander was fourth in greens in regulation for the week (73.6%) and, when he did miss them, his short game was sharp too. He was 15th in the Scrambling stats, getting up and down over twice as often as he did the previous year (52% compared to 25%). Overall his tally of 19 birdies was just one off the tournament high of 20 by Peter Hanson and Lee Westwood while he kept the big numbers off his card too. Bubba avoided any double bogeys or worse and kept his score moving forwards with regular birdies at the par fives.