There's Got To Be a Morning After

I suspect that we'll be diving into our kit bag of psychological experts before we're finished with this one....

Let's start with the most overwrought headline thus far:

Jordan Spieth's collapse at the Masters the most shocking in golf history

Here'we'll defer to George Santayana, who informed that those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it.  OK, not really, but they're doomed to write really silly headlines....But this piece does capture the awkwardness of the green jacket ceremony:

This is always a difficult exercise for a reigning champ who had failed to defend his title,

this ritual that starts with a Butler Cabin passing of the jacket to the new winner on CBS, and then more of the same for the fans and cameramen waiting near the putting green.

But there never has been a more brutal exchange than this Spieth-Willett handoff, and there might never be again. 

Billy Payne, club chairman, expressed his undying gratitude to Spieth for being "such a splendid champion this year." Soon enough, Spieth was conducting a group interview near the clubhouse, and conducting himself like the old pro and old soul this 22-year-old has always been while explaining the inexplicable at the 12th hole.

Arnie had to do the same when he kicked away the '61 Masters, and he was a lot closer to the finish line there.  By the way, most stunning collapse in golf history is a very competitive category, and Van de Velde and Norman (the latter deserving of a lifetime achievement award) have been mentioned frequently.  I'd be inclined to perhaps go with Arnie in the '66 U.S. Open, up seven with nine to play without a drop of water to avoid.  But then there's the Slammer, needing a par to win on the final hole of the 1939 U.S. Open... well, it ended badly.

The Tour Confidential gang was asked to opine on Spieth's collapse, and the usually sensible Mike Bamberger offered this:

Michael Bamberger: Oh, I don't consider it a meltdown at all. I consider it a single-swing brain cramp, and one he will recover from without delay, even though he'll never pass that way again.

Hmmm....I'd think that Mike wouls have heard of the duck test, to wit:

If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck.

Applying this rigorous piece of abductive reasoning to our current set of facts, the second-ranked player in the world and defending champion makes the Sunday turn with a 5-shot lead and proceeds to give back six shots over the ensuing three holes, I think we can safely label it a collapse.  I'm sorry Mike, but the decision of the judges is final...

I do think Jeff Ritter is correct here, though:

Jeff Ritter: Right, Josh. Norman's collapse is his own unique brand of pain, because he'd never won (and never would win) his own green jacket. Spieth can draw on his experience as a Masters winner to help get him through this. He'll no doubt win another one. You can't say the same for Norman or Sneed...or maybe even Rory.

Gotta be easier to take with one in the bank.... This was the next query to the panel:

2. Spieth went bogey-bogey-quad to start the back nine, and he admitted he and caddie Michael Greller might have made a strategic error with how they approached the 12th hole. What's the biggest takeaway from this shocking ending? 

Marksbury: You can't blame a player for finding the water on No. 12; it happens all the time. The real shocker was the superchunk that followed. Where did that come from? And then, hitting the fifth shot over the green into the bunker ... I'm still scratching my head on that one. Was he overly worried about protecting his lead after leaking some oil on Nos. 10 and 11? Maybe. I guess my biggest takeaway is that Jordan is human after all.

Ritter: Spieth said afterward that he didn't feel comfortable with the spot of his penalty drop, so that was a second mental error. No doubt his head was spinning wildly in those moments, but still … his chunky pitch shot barely reached the water. Still can't believe it.

As you folks are no doubt tired of hearing, I've developed some concerns over the young man's decision-making processes... and let me further add that when a player and caddie make a mistake, it's always the fault of the player.  But that said, where is the "Esteemed" Michael Greller as this is spinning out of control?  We've all been there and it's like you've been sucker-punched in the gut, but you have to regroup and get your head on straight before playing the next shot....

I haven't read those comments directly so I don't exactly know the point he's making, but he had several choices of where to drop.  He was still in decent shape after the first mistake, with both par-5's ahead of him..... he needed to get out of there at that point with no worse than a five, and now we hear that he didn't like the yardage and wasn't committed.

So, all that talk of the high Golf-IQ and the intensely analytical work with Greller on the course?  I think Popeye captured it best when he sagely opined that, "I Yam What I Yam."

Ryan Lavner files this most interesting report on Spith's warm-up on Sunday:

As range sessions go, this one was inauspicious. Spieth’s longtime swing coach,

Cameron McCormick, had decided on his own to fly in from Dallas. The 22-year-old was leading the Masters for the seventh consecutive round, but his sloppy finish Saturday, when he dropped three shots on the last two holes, had shaken his confidence. Up by four at one point, he entered the final day only one clear of Smylie Kaufman, a Masters rookie, and 11 players, including Danny Willett, were within five. 

Spieth, McCormick and caddie Michael Greller arrived more than three hours before the final tee time Sunday, their normal routine on major weekends with so much time to kill. But it was clear early on that something was awry, with Spieth grumbling about the plane of his swing and the crispness of his contact and the shots that drifted to the right.

You'll want to read the whole thing, which is quite fascinating, not least of which was that he went out and posted a front-nine 32.  The bomb might have been ticking, but it was on a delayed fuse...

Rex Hoggard is also worth a visit as he compares this to the Norman Bequests:

It was only fitting that the last time the iconic pines were witness to such a collapse it was also an Englishman who emerged to fill the void. 

In 1996, Norman went out in 2 over and finally disintegrated when he played Nos. 10-12 in bogey, bogey, double bogey to lose to Nick Faldo. 

Given what transpired on that same stretch of turf on Sunday, even the Shark must have cringed watching Jordan Spieth’s implosion.

That it's an Englishman that benefited is quite coincidental, as he's of course only the second of that genus species to win a Green Jacket.  And the first made quite living off the gifts of others, having won his prior Masters based largely on the largess of Raymond Floyd and Scott Hoch as in.... well you know how to finish that simile.

The estimable Jaime Diaz found the proceedings eerily similar to another Palmer hiccup, this time in 1959.... I take his point as the 12 hole was the swing factor, but Jaime doesn't look old enough that he should remember it that well.  Palmer, like Norman, deserves a lifetime achievement award in the category, he also won frequently enough that it didn't define his career.

Back to the Confidentialistas for this intriguing question:

5. The wind and unusually chilly weather were the talk of the tournament the first three days. Was Augusta National set up too tough for the conditions? 

Bamberger: Way too hard. The tournament was in serious danger of being a snooze. The coats have almost lost their way.

Van Sickle: Was it too hard? No. Was it hard? Yes. The targets for landing shots on these greens so you can make birdies are the size of car hoods. Ridiculously small. In the wind and with the greens really firm, hitting them is like trying to pitch pennies into a thimble. I expected softer, easier scoring conditions on Sunday to bring back the roars but that didn't happen. It was still tough, which makes me think that yeah, maybe the Masters czars were a bit ticked off by last year's record scoring and Spieth briefly getting to -19.

Mike, can I suggest a little more fiber in your diet, because you seem to have lost your bearings.  I think the wisdom of Forest Gump can help.  A Masters, he once told us, is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you'll get....

This was, in my humble opinion, a great Masters, with great leaderboards and exceptional shot-making.  The featured ending will inevitably leave some folks unsatisfied, but isn't that the nature of our game?  They won't be making a documentary called "2016" I'll grant you, but the lore of the wee 12th hole will continue to grow.  

And while I've always had mixed feelings about the 16th hole, those three Sunday aces will help its lore as well.  Including, of course, this one that you've never seen the likes of before:

But if you really want to feel the excitement, imagine if you had thought to use the SAP button on your TV and heard the call in Spanish.  Unfortunately, I can't embed the bideo but just trust me and listen to it here, and then tell me that golf isn't exciting.