4/09/2012

Harrington Happy with Sunday



On Sunday Padraig Harrington briefly threatened before his challenge ended with a double-bogey six on the last as he finished in a tie for eighth on four under par.

"It's never nice to finish the way I finished," conceded the three-time major winner.

"I can't believe how quick the green was for what should have been a flat putt but I'm pleased with the way I played.

"You'll struggle to see anyone have the number of short birdie putts I had, I just didn't hit them. I definitely felt like I had a chance all the way to the 18th."

“I hit it very close every day,” he said. 

“I haven't seen any of the golf, but I'd be surprised if people had as many short putts as I had for birdie today. I putted well, I just didn't hole them - I wasn't reading them right. 

“It was a good day all the way - I played well, hit it well. 

“I take a lot of positives out of the way I played today. I've won three Majors, but that's the most comfortable I've felt through 18 holes in the last round of a Major, and I was in a nice place mentally all day. I putted well all week, chipped well. I did a lot of good things this week.”


McDowell Makes Augusta Peace


Graeme McDowell saved his best for last as he ended his Masters Tournament adventure with a four under par 68, and believes he is now ready to challenge at Augusta National in the future.

The former US Open Champion from Northern Ireland had six birdies and two bogeys at Augusta National as he ended the week two under par, climbing into the top 20 as a result.

“I guess it probably reminds me that I need to be more patient with myself,” said The Ryder Cup hero, who left himself too much ground to make up with an opening 75.

“I came off the golf course here on Thursday and I probably could have done with ten minutes just to try and let the steam, the fog clear because I just bogeyed the last couple of holes.

“I had played so negatively, and that frustrates me. That frustrates me when I play that negative because I don't give myself a chance to play. I had no chance with the attitude that I had that day. 

“I guess I get disappointed with myself more when my attitude is wrong, so I reset that attitude and came out on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and was a little bit better. It was nice to play better on the days when I'm on, and nice to finish with a career low 68 here at Augusta.” 

The 32 year old is hoping to put his experience from the week to good effect in the future.

“I'd love this tournament to be starting tomorrow,” he added. “I'd love this tournament to be starting tomorrow because I fancy my chances. 

“The golf course as wet as it was on Thursday and Friday was not the golf course for me. I am just not driving it long enough, not shaping it from right to left well enough, and I was able to handle a little bit more these firmer fairways.

“I'm looking forward to many more Augustas, many more Masters championships, and like I said, I'd love to put that Green Jacket on my back. But that was another couple of rounds towards achieving that goal sometime.”


Lefty Watson Wins Masters


American Bubba Watson is the Masters champion after winning a play-off against Louis Oosthuizen at the second extra hole.

Watson started the day three shots off the lead and shot a closing 68 to earn a play-off against the 2010 Open champion.

Both men missed birdie putts on the 18th green at the first play-off hole, but a par at the 10th was good enough to earn the left-hander a Green Jacket.

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 catapaulting 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 almost 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.


The Two-Mac's End Masters



Graeme McDowell ended his Masters on a positive note as he fired a 68 to finish on two under par at Augusta.

McDowell, playing with Rory McIlroy, recovered from an opening bogey to card six birdies in his first sub-70 round of the week.

With the leaders approaching the turn, that left the 2010 US Open champion just outside the top 10.

After his disappointing 77 on Saturday, McIlroy's struggles continued as he fired a closing 76 to finish five over.

After his opening bogey, McDowell birdied the second before dropping another shot at the sixth.

However, the Northern Irishman then birdied the seventh and eighth to go to the turn in 35 and further birdies came at the 12th, 15th and 16th.

McIlroy started the day one over and his struggles at the opening hole continued with another bogey.

Further shots went at the fifth and seventh before a birdie on nine left him out in 38.

Last year's US Open champion suffered a double bogey at the 11th and dropped a further shot on 14 before late birdies on 15 and 17.