In terms of the modern golf majors, there have been few bigger collapses than what happened with Jordan Spieth at the 2016 Masters.
Spieth was the defending champion and looked to be cruising to another green jacket after three rounds.
Spieth was a shot clear and then enhanced that advantage on the opening nine holes of round four as he birdied six, seven, eight and nine to open up a five shot lead.
However, disaster struck for Spieth down the back nine. He made bogey on 10 and 11 before absolutely crumbling on the dreaded par three 12th. Spieth made a quad bogey after finding the water twice and allowed the field to bunch up.
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Among those behind him was eventual winner Danny Willett. The Englishman wasn’t fancied at all before the tournament but he kept his cool as Spieth and others crumbled.
And looking back at Willett’s famous win, it’s interesting to read just what went through his mind as he saw Spieth fading away.
What Danny Willett said about Jordan Spieth’s collapse at the 2016 Masters
With Willett not among the latest starters in round four, the Englishman found himself with the advantage of being able to set the clubhouse score.
Spieth needed late birdies and ultimately, failed to land them, leaving Willett to win by three after overturning a five-shot deficit over nine holes.
Indeed, at the time, Willett admitted he was very much aware of Spieth’s situation.
“Yeah, obviously looked at the board, I actually heard everyone, you know, grunting and moaning or whatever they do to the scoreboard when the scores go up. He obviously had a terrible run, 10, 11, 12, which basically put it right back in anyone’s hands. And fortunately enough, I was able to seize the opportunities and knock it in close on 16 and take a two or three shot over Westy,” Willett revealed at the time.
“So yeah, you know, again, I come back to I’ve been fantastic mentally this week going through my processes, realizing that each shot is its own separate thing and trying to just go through with the correct process and pull the shot off. Luckily we dropped on some really good numbers today.
“This golf course is tough enough if you’re trying to hit shots in between to firm greens, but luckily we dropped in some good numbers down the stretch which allowed us to be really aggressive and hit them shots.”
Why Danny Willett was able to cope with the pressure as Jordan Spieth faltered
Willett’s win at Augusta remains one of the biggest underdog stories in Masters history really.
For Spieth, the pain was obvious as he then had to sit through and hand over the green jacket to Willett.
For Willett, of course, it was his career high and effectively set him for life.
However, one of the most surprising aspects of the final round was how Spieth collapsed and Willett was able to keep his cool. Indeed, that’s something that Willett admitted at the time was a key factor for his entire week.
“We’ve been good mentally this week. Been going through good processes. This golf course can jump up and bite you whenever. Even today, it was relatively flat calm compared to the last few days, but there was just enough there to flicker around to cause a few problems,” Willett continued.
“You never feel comfortable on this golf course until you finish and sign the card and posted a number. So yeah, we knew we still had a job to do. At the time we were still only 4‑under par and he had only dropped back to one, so there’s still plenty of holes for him to catch up and keep chasing.
So it was really timely birdie on 16, and then again to make contact up 17 and 18 with what goes on and to hit such a nice chip that I did on 17, yeah, it’s just them things.
“You practice, that’s what you do, endless hours chipping, putting, hitting shots, imagining hitting shots at certain golf courses at certain times. And fortunately enough today, I’ve been able to relive some of those dreams and some of those practice sessions.”
Looking back now, it’s clear why Willett managed to get the win but for Spieth, it will always be one of those tournaments that got away from him.
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