Augusta Masters, the disappointed: Garcia, Rose, DeChambeau

While Rory McIlroy daringly finds his victory number two and celebrates, someone packs a bit of bitterness. Being on the field at the Masters is an accomplishment for many of the 91 players who had the honor last Thursday. For some the goal is higher, very high, because they know they can wear that green jacket. Everyone wants to enjoy the experience to the fullest and take what comes, they say on the eve. But once in the race, the Augusta challenge is intriguing, rewarding (little) and punishing a lot. There are those who can’t handle the tension, like Sergio Garcia, who returns temporarily from the LIV exhibition golf thanks to the victory here in 2017 and on Sunday, after the errant drive on hole two he destroys the driver against the fridge near the tee. Anger, frustration and angry gestures are not uncommon for the Spaniard, who is rebuked by the organization. But it’s one thing to lose control, it’s another to experience profound disappointment with how things went, with a sudden collapse or a slow collapse hole after hole, with a tournament slipping out of your hands when it seemed already won or with a great comeback that wasn’t enough.

roses, three times second

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That’s right. The biggest disappointment by far is that of Justin Rosethree times second in twenty Masters played, behind Jordan Spieth (2015), in the playoff with Sergio Garcia (2017) and again with Rory last year, when he made an incredible comeback in the final round with ten birdies for a 66 and for the top spot. It happened again. Starting fifth on Sunday at -8 and three strokes behind the leaders, after nine holes and five birdies, he is the first up on the leaderboard, at -12. And it still is after the 10th. An extraordinary quality of play and magical shots, like the one on the 7th from the woods, where he doesn’t see the hole or even the green but ends up a hair’s breadth from the flag; and again at the 13th (par 5) a second shot that grazes the hole and puts him in position for the eagle (it will instead be three putts). There is no player who continues to deserve the green jacket more than him.

the others

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What can we say about how bitter Americans can be Cameron Young and Sam Burns. The first starts on par with Rory, the second joins them immediately afterwards. With three at -11, a match still to be written. Young holds the lead until the 8th, but will find no more inspiration in the final and then ends up third in a group. For Burns it’s a slow loss of power, with some flashes when it’s too late (he’ll be seventh in the standings). Anyone who doesn’t go home happy at all is certainly happy Bryson DeChambeau (in his tenth Masters), who already last year, in the team leading the final lap, started off great but then had to succumb to the excessive power of Rory McIlroy. There were high expectations for him, but it couldn’t have ended any worse. A bad first round in 76 shots, then ups and downs in the second to reach eighteen, two shots short of the cut. But it ends up in the woods, then in a bunker where it doesn’t come out, then just outside the green to close in 7, lose three shots and leave Augusta before time.

reed

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He leaves dissatisfied Partick Reeda green jacket in the wardrobe in 2018 and this season started with two victories in a row in the Emirates. Third in Augusta after the first lap (-3), second the next day (-6), he starts Sunday five shots behind the leaders, he could do it, but he has to leave his hopes in the ditch of 13 where he loses three shots. And what about Fred Couples at his 41st Masters? He was number one in the world when he won it in 1992 and he holds the record for the oldest to have passed the cut at 63 years, six months and five days. Precisely for this reason it hurts to have stopped before the weekend: three balls in the water between 15 and 16 in the first round ultimately cost him five shots too many to play on Sunday. Sin!