Willett final round simply masterful

AUGUSTA, Ga. - This Masters might always be remembered as the one Jordan Spieth gave away. That won't be fair to Danny Willett.

A surging English golfer hitting his prime at 28, Willett entered the final round at even-par and recorded a bogey-free 5-under that overtook Spieth, the defending champion, for a three-shot win.

Spieth's horrific start on the back nine in a quest for a third major title might always overshadow Willett's crisp play in winning his first. Spieth had birdied the last four holes on the front nine and took a five-shot lead onto the 10th tee. He found the bunker with his second shot at 10 and made bogey. He couldn't recover from a wayward tee shot on 11 and bogeyed again.

Disaster struck when Spieth hit two shots into the water on the par-3 12th hole for a quadruple-bogey seven. Suddenly, Spieth's five-shot lead was a four-shot deficit. Birdies at 13 and 15 gave a glimmer of hope, but a missed birdie putt at 16 and a bogey at 17 sealed Willett's win, the first for a European since Jose Maria Olazabal in 1999 and the first for an Englishman since Nick Faldo in 1996.

"I just feel fortunate that I was in the position that I was to pounce on the opportunity to accomplish it," said Willett, who was playing in just his second Masters. "If I had been 5-over par, then it wouldn't have mattered what Jordan had done."

Spieth, who also won the U.S. Open in 2015, the FedEx Cup Championship and was the Player of the Year, sought to join Jack Nicklaus (1965-66), Faldo (1989-90) and Tiger Woods (2001-02) as a repeat winner. Even after bogeys to start the back-nine he figured victory was within reach.

"I knew the lead was five with nine holes to play, and I knew that those two bogeys weren't going to hurt me," Spieth said. "But I didn't take that extra-deep breath and really focus on my line on 12. Instead, I went up and I just put a quick swing on it."

Willett's swing and putting stroke stayed smooth all afternoon as he capitalized on an unlikely benefit from last year. Willett earned entry to the 2015 Masters due to a quirk in the Official World Golf Ranking system, which moved him into the top 50 during a week he was idle. He finished 38th in 2015 but gained crucial experience.

The birth of his son, Zach, two weeks ago kept him from scouting the course and nearly kept him from playing at all. He would not have come had his wife Nicole still been pregnant. She was due Sunday, but delivered 12 days early. Instead of heading to Augusta to do normal prep work he sped home from the WGC Match Play in Austin, Texas, two weeks ago to check on his new family.

"I was just at home making sure she was all right, changing nappies, making bottles, doing everything normal that a dad with a new son does, making sure that everything at home was fine so that I could come here with a clear mind," said Willett. "Fortunately, I had done my homework last year."

Willett shared low-round honors with Paul Casey, a fellow Englishman who tied for fourth at 1-under, and Matthew Fitzpatrick, a 21-year-old Englishman playing in his first Masters as a professional who finished at even-par and tied for seventh.

Spieth's 1-over 73 was the only over-par score among the top eight finishers. Augusta National played brutally difficult on Friday and Saturday, which were the worst scoring rounds since 2007, but Sunday's benign conditions cut scores by more than two strokes. Despite the harsh conditions, Spieth, who is just 22, led after each of the first three rounds; in fact, with his wire-to-wire finish in 2015 that tied the record score of 18-under, Spieth set a record for consecutive rounds led.

Willett ended that Sunday.

Bernhard Langer, 58, began the day tied for third at 1-under but finished 7-over, tied for 24th. Langer has dominated the Champions Tour the past two seasons and sought to become the oldest major winner in history (Julius Boros, 48, 1968 PGA Championship) . . . Brash, innovative amateur Bryson DeChambeau, 22, finished at 5-over and took low amateur honors . . . Danny Willett, Lee Westwood (2-under, tied for second,) Paul Casey, Matthew Fitzpatrick and Justin Rose (1-over, tied for 10th) - all from England - occupied five of the top-12 spots . . . World No. 1 Jason Day and No. 3 Rory McIlroy each finished the tournament 1-over.

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