Schwartzel’s Masters class
SOUTH AFRICA’S Charl Schwartzel became the Masters champion last night following a day of incredible twists and turns at Augusta
Schwartzel, 26, made an astonishing start to his round and then surpassed that with a stunning four-birdie finish.
Four behind Rory McIlroy overnight, Schwartzel chipped in on one, pitched in for eagle at the third and then came from behind over the closing stretch to beat Australians Adam Scott and Jason Day by two strokes.
“It was such an exciting day,” he said after receiving the coveted green jacket. “There were so many roars and the atmosphere was incredible. Playing with KJ was a calming influence for me.
“We have the same game and we just go about our business. That kept me as calm as I could be phenomenal day.
“I was getting a bit tight at the end with Jason and Adam making birdies, I knew I needed to do something and thankfully I did.”
While it was a tale of joy for Schwartzel, it was a very different story for Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy who saw his challenge for a maiden Major victory unravel spectacularly.
The 21-year-old had led the field at the end of the first three rounds but saw his four-stroke lead vanish before he had completed even two holes. His tale of woe continued around the turn three putting at 10 and 11 before going on to make a triple bogey at 12.
Afterwards a dejected McIlroy said: “I hit a poor tee shot on 10 and sort of unravelled from there. I’m very disappointed at the minute and I’m sure I will be for the next few days, but I’ve got to take the positives – I was leading for 63 holes.
“I will have plenty more chances I know and hopefully it will build a bit of character in me as well.
“I can’t really put my finger on why it all went so wrong, but I lost a lot of confidence with my putting stroke around the turn.”
FINAL LEADERBOARD | THE MASTERS
-14 Charl Schwartzel (South Africa)
-12 Jason Day (Australia)
-12 Adam Scott (Australia)
-10 Tiger Woods (USA)
-10 Geoff Ogilvy (Australia)
– 10 Luke Donald (England)
Selected Others
-5 Lee Westwood (England)
-5 Ross Fisher (England)
-4 Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland)
-3 Martin Laird (Scotland)