Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Masters Sunday Wrap-up: Say hello to Charl Schwartzel

After every round this week, we here at Devil Ball will give you a quick recap of the day, with our thoughts on some of the best, and worst, performances of the day. Follow us on Facebook for Masters reactions, and on Twitter for all the golf news the rest of the season. Now, onto Sunday's final round ...

Round of the Day: Is there any question? The round on Sunday at Augusta National belonged to Charl Schwartzel, the champion, who posted a 6-under 66 to win by two shots. Schwartzel had a chip-in and a hole-out over his first three holes, and then birdied his final four holes to claim the green jacket. It was a beautiful round of golf for a rather unknown, and another Masters champion for South Africa.

Biggest Surprise: While it would obviously be easy to say Schwartzel is the biggest surprise, the play of Adam Scott over the last two days was incredible, and something nobody really expected. Scott shot matching rounds of 67 on the weekend, and was extremely clutch on the way in, expecting that 12-under would most likely make a playoff. Sadly for Scott, Schwartzel played a bit better, but Scott showed everyone that he can win a major championship, no matter what we thought in the past.

Biggest Disappointment: When you have a four-shot lead heading into the final round of a major, and finish tied for 15th, you're going to win this award, no matter how much it hurts to talk about it. Rory McIlroy couldn't have been in a better position to win his first major, and it seemed almost destiny that he do it at this age, just like Tiger Woods did in 1997, but he never could get anything going, and then fell apart on the back nine, posting a nasty 8-over 80.

What Can We Take From this Week: The 2011 Masters is over, so we might as well look back on it and see what we learned. First, winning a major at a young age is extremely difficult, and it isn't talked about enough. Second, Tiger Woods might be back to a point, but he isn't back, and he won't be until he can make the clutch putts he has to make. His misses on 12 and 15 weren't the stuff we are used to seeing from Woods, and the talent pool is too large now for him to get away with that stuff. Finally, there is a large number of golfers now that can win majors if they bring it for the week. Ten years ago it seemed that only a host of people could win, but as we've seen with Charl, Trevor Immelman, Ben Curtis and Lucas Glover, if you are on your game during a major week, you're as good as anyone out there. A really fun week from Augusta National, and a great start to the 2011 majors.

Kate Groombridge Dania Ramirez Lucy Liu LeAnn Rimes Adrianne Curry

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