18 April 10, 2022The Sunday Times 2GSGolf The Masters
ended up travelling too much and
playing too much in obscure places
around the world.”
By the time he returned to Augusta
in 2017, he said, “I knew I was playing
shit.” When he won the Masters, his
world ranking was top ten; two years
later, he had dropped by 400.
Yet this has been the Masters where
Willett has come closest to matching
his bravura week in 2016. For fleeting
moments on Friday morning, his
name was back atop the leaderboard.
And then yesterday, when one chal-
lenger after another fell away, Willett
managed to dig in.
He did not make it look easy, but heT
hey say that experience and
knowledge is all on this
course. Know the Augusta
National and you have a
chance. If the former cham-
pions on this course were
anything to go by though,
yesterday was the day when
the value of experience nose-dived.
This Masters has a runaway leader,
Scottie Scheffler, who had only played
twice before in this event, yet he
seems equal to and understanding of
every challenge and undulation that
presents itself.
The chasing pack, however, was
teeming with former champions, but
none of them could get close. Adam
Scott, the 2013 winner, had an 8-over,
the worst score of the day and finished
bottom of the pile. Bubba Watson had
a 5-over round.
At the other end, Hideki Matsuy-
ama, the defending champion, looked
well placed to set off in Scheffler’s pur-
suit, but having stood on the first tee
just five shots behind him, he bogeyed
the first and a rot set in that left him,
after seven holes, already 11 behind.
Matsuyama is certainly not alone in
struggling with the defence of his
Green Jacket.
After his emotional victory in 2017,
Sergio Garcia utterly failed to
reproduce the magic.
He missed the cut that year and
every year thereafter until now — 2022
is his first since his victory to remain
in action for the final two days. Even
then, though, he remains a peripheralThe Green Jacket weighs heavy
figure. The real action is taking place
way out his reach.
Maybe no one has suffered as much
as Danny Willett who followed his
2016 Green Jacket with three missed
cuts in succession.
The joy of Willett’s victory literally
overwhelmed him, as he would later
acknowledge. After his victory, he
said, “Suddenly, I had a lot of eyes on
me. I was too concerned with what
people thought. It was uncomforta-
ble. I was watched more in practice
and, because of an underlying injury, I
was struggling a lot.
“Things piled up. It was over-
whelming. There’s no denying that. IOwen Slot AugustaWillett
followed
his 2016
win with
three
missed
cuts in
successiondid look very much as though he knew
how to extricate himself from trouble.
He needed big saves on six and seven.
On six he chipped right and long of the
pin and then watched in admiration
as the ball rolled back to an easy par-
putt. Then on seven he had to hole a
25-footer to stay level for the day.
Only he and Charl Schwartzel, the
2011 champion, looked remotely
equipped to make a fight of it.
Clearly, the Green Jacket carries a
weight. Only three winners have ever
executed a successful defence of their
title and they are all giants of the game
— Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger
Woods. Since the year 2000, of the
first 15 Masters winners, only Woods
and Jordan Spieth have finished top
ten the following year.
Yet not even Woods could bring his
knowledge and experience to make
an impact here yesterday. He wanted
to use this round to get himself in a
position to make a Sunday charge. He
could not get close.
As another figure made his way
down the fairway slope to the second
green, a whispered conversation
struck up in the gallery: Is that Patrick
Reed? It might be. No, it can’t be. If it
is, he’s lost weight. Yes, that’s him.
That is Reed, the 2018 champion.
His parents live here in Augusta. He
himself went to Augusta State Univer-
sity. Yet is that him? Do we even recog-
nise him?
The fact is that Reed has disap-
peared somewhat from view. In 2018,
when he won his green jacket, he was
ranked 11th. He seemed destined to be
a big noise, yet the volume has slowly
descended, pretty much since the day
of his victory.
He did little to alter the situation
yesterday. He, too, was in touch,
maybe poised to make a charge. Yet
he finished one over for the day, four
over par and out of the contest.
Winning the Masters is one thing.
Coming back for more is a different
challenge altogether.‘Suddenly, I had a lot
of eyes on me. I was
too concerned withwhat people thought,
it was uncomfortable’
ANDREW REDINGTON/GETTY IMAGES
Danny Willett’s long
road back to the top
after a Masters success
is just one of many
among former winners