Yet amid all the understandable excitement that accompanied Tiger Woods’ 15th major triumph, it is perhaps easy to lose track of how the final round unfolded.
Omnisport runs through the thrills and spills of a remarkable final 18 holes at Augusta National.
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Molinari scrambles like a champion
Woods began the final round, which started earlier than usual due to the threat of storms in the afternoon, sharing second place with Tony Finau at 11 under, two behind leader Francesco Molinari.
Molinari’s advantage fluctuated over the first nine, briefly reaching three shots at one point, but it could have been wiped out altogether had the Italian not produced some sensational work around the greens, salvaging unlikely pars at the first, fifth and sixth.
He ultimately turned in a level-par 36, with Woods having closed to within one shot and Finau two behind alongside Brooks Koepka.
Water, Water everywhere
Molinari was two clear again when Woods bogeyed the 10th, but the drama was only just beginning.
After Koepka and Ian Poulter, playing in the penultimate group, each found water at the 12th, Molinari and Finau sensationally followed suit and each registered double bogeys.
Suddenly, Woods was tied for the lead with Molinari at 11 under, while Xander Schauffele had also reached the same number.
Everyone’s a (potential) winner
This was the point when things started to get silly. For around half an hour, it felt like anyone could win.
Patrick Cantlay, who had been two over through 36 holes before shooting 64 on day three, eagled the 15th to claim sole possession of the lead on 12 under. Yet before long, he had registered back-to-back bogeys and was out of the running.
By the time Woods and Molinari came up the 15th, they were two of five men sharing first place, along with Koepka, Schauffele and Dustin Johnson.
The two shots that cleared it all up
Within a few minutes, the picture was so much clearer.
Molinari amazingly found water again with a pitch to the 15th green, another double-bogey effectively ending his hopes as Woods made birdie at the same hole to claim the outright lead.
Any doubts over Tiger’s ability to close things out were removed with his next stroke, as a superb tee shot at 16 almost yielded a hole-in-one and enabled the crowd favorite to reach 14 under with another birdie.
He retained a two-shot cushion heading to the final tee and could afford the luxury of bogeying the 18th as a remarkable win was completed.
