2020 MASTERS PREVIEW

Some of the worst shots that THE UNLUCKY FIVE mattered in Masters history Jason Lusk Hoch had hit the green with his ap- Golfweek proach, and his first putt finished two USA TODAY NETWORK feet from the hole. Then, disaster — Hoch’s downhill par putt for the title There have been plenty of horrible never even grazed the hole. shots and famous fizzles at the Masters, Faldo went on to drain a 25-foot bird- but a handful of truly bad shots stand ie putt on the second playoff hole to seal out for coming at a most unfortunate the victory. Hoch never won a major, moment. Call these the Unlucky 5. and Faldo ended his career with six of These, of course, do not include all them. the bad rounds with the Masters on the line. For example, Greg Norman’s fam- Ben Hogan on No. 18 in 1946 ous collapse in 1996 isn’t included — it wasn’t so much one terrible, defining In the first Masters after World War shot as a steady leaking of all the air in II, Ben Hogan had a 12-foot birdie putt to his balloon. beat the unheralded Herman Keiser by a And the Unlucky 5 don’t include the shot for the green jacket. foursome of contenders who dumped But Hogan, who had not won any ma- balls into Rae’s Creek on the par-3 No. 12 jor at that point, ran his first putt three in 2019, as those were all single swings feet past the cup. Then, an even bigger that went awry but still left those play- miss: Hogan failed to hole the come- ers somewhat in contention as Tiger Jordan Spieth reacts after hitting his tee shot into the water on the 12th hole backer and handed Keiser — known as Woods charged to victory. during the final round of the 2016 Masters. GETTY IMAGES the Missouri Mortician for his comport- No, the shots that follow were truly ment — his only major championship. awful — both in execution and in timing Worst of all for Hogan, his short miss — and yes, No. 12 plays into this tale. For and finished his title defense (he had fourth place, two shots behind the 46- came after Keiser also had 3-jacked 18, most of us regular duffers, these shots — won in 2015) three shots behind Willett. year-old Nicklaus. leaving the door open. listed in no particular order — are Ballesteros wasn’t alone as a con- swings that might seem all too familiar. Seve Ballesteros on No. 15 in 1986 tender to hit an untimely bad shot in Arnold Palmer on No. 18 in 1961 that fourth round — Greg Norman Jordan Spieth on No. 12 in 2016 Having made eagle on No. 13, Seve shoved his approach on No. 18 into the Arnold Palmer needed a par to lock Ballesteros held a two-shot lead over crowd and made bogey to fall one shot up the green jacket with a one-shot vic- Leading by 5 at the turn, Jordan Jack Nicklaus as the Spaniard played short of Nicklaus. But Norman was not tory over Gary Player, who had parred 18 Spieth bogeyed Nos. 10 and 11 and went the par-5 15th. Ballesteros had plenty of yet a major winner, and Ballesteros from the right greenside bunker. Palm- to the tee of the 155-yard, par-3 12th with momentum, but Nicklaus had even seemingly had the tournament in his er’s ensuing terrible shot came from a three-shot lead over Danny Willett. more: The Golden Bear had just eagled grasp when he dumped that ball into the that same bunker. Then came one of the worst series of 15 in the group in front of Ballesteros, creek on No. 15. From the fairway, Palmer hit his ap- shots with the game on the line in Mas- and Nicklaus then stuck his approach proach shot into the bunker where Play- ters history. Spieth dumped his 9-iron shot on No. 16 to within three feet of the Scott Hoch on No. 10 in 1989 er had been. Palmer had to get up and tee shot into Rae’s Creek. Then came hole. down for the win, and a bogey would what might be an even worse shot: Still, Ballesteros was somewhat in Scott Hoch had already missed two have meant a tie. What followed was a Spieth took a drop way to the right of the charge. He faced a 198-yard second shot putts in regulation that would have won truly terrible shot. green, then pitched another ball into the from a downhill lie over the pond that the Masters, but they were hardly From a bad lie, the King chopped the creek. fronts the green, and he deliberated be- gimmes. Then, on the first playoff hole ball across the green, down a slope and It’s your call which shot was worse, tween a hard 5-iron or a soft 4-iron to against Nick Faldo, Hoch missed a short into the gallery on the other side of the the first ball in the water or the second. hopefully set up a birdie or better. He putt that nobody who saw it will ever putting surface. From there he putted But if he had managed to hit the green chose the latter, then pull-hooked the forget. onto the green 15 feet from the hole, then after taking his drop, he likely would shot into the drink. He went on to make Playing the downhill 10th, Faldo missed his bogey putt on the high side. have maintained his lead. bogey, which slammed the door on his dumped his approach shot into a green- Player became the first international Spieth ended up with a 7 on the hole momentum, and finished the event in side bunker and went on to make bogey. player to win the Masters.

The toughest and easiest three-hole stretches at Augusta Three players to watch at Augusta Augusta National Golf Club presents several great scoring opportunities on the back nine, but Masters contenders must survive the first three holes after the turn to reach those birdies.h Combined, Nos. 10, 11 and 12 make for the most difficult three-hole stretch on the famed Alister MacKenzie course. Historically, these three holes play a combined average of 0.88 Bryson over par — that means the best golfers in the world average the loss of nearly a full stroke to par over these three holes each DeChambeau round. h But, anyone who has safely navigated the brutal three-hole stretch of Nos. 10, 11 and 12 must be licking his Like it or not, the chops, because the easiest stretch of the course begins on No. 13 tee.h The three-hole stretch of Nos. 13, 14 and 15 is the question of how De- easiest at the course, presenting two birdie or even eagle opportunities on par 5s that consistently play under par. Chambeau will attack — Jason Lusk, Golfweek Augusta National is an enormous storyline. Will he deploy a 48-inch driver, as he’s hinted? Tiger Woods’ average driving distance of 323 yards at the 1997 Masters remains the single-week tournament record. This might be the year it’s finally topped. No. 10: Camellia No. 11: White Dogwood No. 12: Golden Bell The specifics: Par 4, 495 yards The specifics: Par 4, 505 yards The specifics: Par 3, 155 yards Collin Morikawa Historical scoring average: 4.31 (hard- Historical scoring average: 4.29 Historical scoring average: 3.28 est on the course in relation to par) (second hardest in relation to par) (fourth hardest on the course in Incredibly, 2020 will How it plays: With a drop of 116 feet How it plays: Pine trees were added to relation to par) be the first Masters from the tee to the lowest point in the the right side of the fairway in 2004, How it plays: The end of this difficult start of Morikawa’s fairway, the 10th plays away from the eliminating the traditional bailout area three-hole stretch has a simple rule for career, making the clubhouse and past the cabins to the that provided a better angle into the Masters competitors: Don’t go short reigning PGA Champi- left. Players who hit the fairway have an green guarded front-left by a pond and right. What’s not so simple: Frequently onship winner the first to win a major uneven, downhill stance, typically with back-right by a bunker. Like No. 10, this swirling winds often confuse players before making his debut at Augusta a mid-iron if the course is playing soft. hole plays downhill, this time 62 feet who believe they can control a short since Keegan Bradley in 2012. The last The green slopes dramatically from from tee to green, but downhill doesn’t iron to a pin on the right side of the player to win in his Masters debut was right to left and is guarded on the right mean it’s any easier because players green above Rae’s Creek. Tiger Woods Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979, but Morikawa is by a bunker. face another long approach from an was propelled to his dramatic victory in unlikely to be afraid of the moment. uneven lie even if they manage to hit 2019 after playing safely to the larger the fairway. part of the green well left of the hole. Justin Thomas The last five years, the player to lead the Masters in strokes gained ap- proach the green has finished first, first, second, third and first. That’s good news for Thomas, who arguably has been the best iron player in the world for more than a year. JT has ranked sixth or better on the PGA Tour No. 13: Azalea No. 14: Chinese Fir No. 15: Firethorn in strokes gained approach the green each of the last four The specifics: Par 5, 510 yards The specifics: Par 4, 440 yards The specifics: Par 5, 530 yards seasons and fin- Historical scoring average: 4.79 Historical scoring average: 4.18 Historical scoring average: 4.78 ished the recently (17th hardest in relation to par) (eighth hardest in relation to par) (18th hardest in relation to par) completed 2019- How it plays: The key to this dogleg How it plays: This relatively straight How it plays: This downhill par 5 2020 atop that left isn’t length alone, but the ability to hole plays some 30 feet uphill, and the invites long drives down the right list. shape a tee shot that curves into the toughest challenge is the green. It has side of the fairway, leaving most — Justin Ray, fairway and avoids the creek and trees a false front that repels weak iron shots players a long to mid-iron across a Golfweek on the left or pine straw and trees to and a ridge through the middle that pond that fronts the green. A tee the right. From more typical spots in funnels balls either left or right. Land shot to the left can force a player to the fairway, modern players are faced an approach on the proper side of the lay up because pine trees short of with a long to mid-iron over a tributary ridge, and the ball likely will track to- the green block an approach from that of Rae’s Creek to a severely undulating ward the hole. But land a ball on the side of the fairway. Many players hit green. When the pin is in the front, wrong side of the ridge in relation to their second shots over the back of the players can use a ridge in the green to any hole location, and the ball will green, leaving a difficult pitch to a funnel balls back to the hole with dis- sweep away from the flagstick, leaving green that runs toward the front and tance to spare over the creek. One of the player a tough two-putt back up the pond. Like No. 13, this is one of the the great risk-reward holes in golf. and over the ridge. best risk-reward par 5s in golf.