Jordan Spieth's Choke Biggest Ever, But Don't Forget Danny Willett's Story

by Julian Spivey
None of us could believe our eyes when we sat their watching with our mouths fully agape on Sunday (April 10) as Jordan Spieth completely collapsed while in full control of the 2016 Masters Tournament and well on his way to back-to-back Masters titles at only 22-years old.
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Spieth let the hidden demons of the early portion of Augusta’s back nine get to him as he blew a five stroke lead in just three holes and quickly found himself three strokes behind the lead after a “Tin Cup”-esque performance on the par-3 12th hole saw him drop two consecutive shots in the drink and end up with a quadruple bogey. This quad bogey followed back-to-back bogeys on holes 10 and 11 after Spieth birdied the final four holes on the front nine to take a commanding, seemingly insurmountable lead to the back nine.

Many during the telecast and on social media quickly invoked the collapse of Greg Norman 20 years ago at the 1996 Masters, typically hailed as the biggest choke in tournament and even major golf history, when he took a six stroke lead into the final round and wound up losing the tournament to Nick Faldo, the only Englishman to win the Masters (he won it three times). That is until Danny Willett, a Brit, found himself in the lead out of nowhere while he played the 15th hole after Spieth’s meltdown. Willett played a flawless round of golf without a making a single bogey and went from even-par to a tournament winning 5-under on the day. Spieth tried to regain control of his game and make a run with six holes remaining after his horrid 12th hole, but he would end up finishing runner-up in the tournament for the second time in three years. His average finish at the Masters is a ridiculous 1.7.

People were comparing Spieth’s collapse to that of Norman’s 20 years before. While Norman had a six stroke lead entering the final round and Spieth only had a one-stroke lead going into Sunday I can’t help but believe that Spieth’s choke is actually worse than Norman’s. You see Norman blew much of his lead that day on the first nine holes and took only a two-stroke lead into the back nine. Spieth took a five shot lead into the back nine. Two strokes in a major golf tournament doesn’t seem like that much, but five should honestly be insurmountable. The fact that Spieth essentially gave his tournament away on a single hole also adds to the biggest choke factor.

People on social media Sunday were somewhat overkill in their feelings for Spieth’s loss. We should feel bad for him. He just suffered one of the most devastating and heartbreaking moments we’ve ever seen in a major golf tournament, but he handled it like a champ in the post event interviews and through the tradition of the past year’s winner putting the green jacket on the newest winner, which he did so with a truly heart-wrenching look on his face. But, Spieth is a 22-year old who’s already the best golfer in America and one of the two or three best in the world. This is going to hurt him for a while, but he’ll be back at the top of his game soon, I’m certain.

And there’s always a bright side to every story. Champion Danny Willett, who many in America seemingly didn’t know before Sunday despite the fact he entered the tournament ranked 12th in the world rankings, wasn’t even planning on competing in the Masters this year despite being eligible. His wife Nicole was supposed to give birth to the couple’s son on April 10, the final day of the Masters, but when she gave birth 10 days early it freed Willett up to play the event. So, Willett owes his career moment to his wife and son, Zachariah, as much as he does to Spieth and Golden Bell (the name given to the 12th hole at Augusta).

Spieth’s collapse was heartbreaking and likely the biggest the game has ever seen and many commentators are saying it’s what this year’s Masters will be most known for years in the future. That’s likely, but the story of how Willett got to the tournament and then won it is also something we shouldn’t forget. 

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