Seeing Tiger Woods fight through the dying of the light was heroic and Bubba Watson wears the green jacket with pride… but slow players have made themselves unwatchable – Masters hits and misses
- Tiger Woods delivered a week for the ages at the Masters and had been heroic
- There isn’t a Masters champion who wears the green jacket like Bubba Watson
- Patrons also demonstrated their love for the sport again when following players
- But host of players, including Xander Schauffele, made themselves unwatchable
Tiger Woods was able to complete a memorable professional comeback by finishing the Masters and receiving acclaim for his efforts.
Elsewhere at Augusta, Bubba Watson played a stunning shot on the 18th hole on Friday, while the patrons in attendance showed their love for the sport again.
There were also brief moments that marred the showpiece, with some players now making themselves unwatchable because of their slow speed and spitting.
Here, Sportsmail’s DEREK LAWRENSON reveals his hits and misses…
Tiger Woods was heroic when fighting through pain and the dying of the light at the Masters
HITS
Tiger Woods
I’ve been lucky enough to witness all 82 of Tiger’s majors as a professional and I’d definitely place this one in the top five or six. It was awesome watching him swat everyone aside when he was in his prime — but seeing him fight through the pain and the dying of the light was just plain heroic.
Bubba Watson
Has there ever been a Masters champion who wears the green jacket with quite as much pride? He turned up at all the pre-event festivities for the kids suitably dressed. And have you seen the shot he played on the 18th hole on Friday? Just YouTube it. It’s even better than his banana wedge to win in 2012.
Bubba Watson (above) pulled off a stunning shot on the 18th hole on Friday to catch the eye
The Patrons
Sure, they made it impossible to get a dinner reservation down Washington Road but it was good to have them back in full attendance. No sport is as hard to watch as golf as you walk miles and miss loads of the action, but their love for the occasion and reverence for their surroundings was plain.
Billy Foster
The veteran caddie has been coming even longer than I have and he still takes no prisoners. His response to his employer Matt Fitzpatrick after the Sheffield man wondered whether to go for the green at the 13th made me laugh out loud. ‘I’ve told you the shot. Get on with it,’ he said. Fitz did, too.
MISSES
Slow Play
Fair play to whoever came up with AimPoint, the complex method of reading putts adopted by so many. But they get zero thanks for their contribution to speeding up the game. Just watch Xander Schauffele, for example. Actually, don’t bother. He takes so long he has made himself unwatchable.
Players like Xander Schauffele have made themselves unwatchable due to their slow speeds
Spitting
Another old chestnut that nobody does anything about. Imagine if someone in your group at your club started gobbing by the side of every green? You’d report them or never play with them again. Why do Americans — and it is always Americans — do it? And doing it at Augusta, of all places, well words fail.
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