I wrote this blog in readiness for the 2025 Masters. I genuinely thought that if I included Rory’s 2011 meltdown in my list, it would act as a good-luck charm for him. I can, therefore, count myself personally responsible for his dramatic victory, and perhaps even for his 2026 follow-up. Reading the story of his 2011 misadventure is so much more enjoyable knowing that he finally redeemed himself … and how!
If you have more of a taste for triumph and victory, you can read five equally great stories in my companion blog https://bestandworst.net/the-worst-of-the-masters/
5. Hoch as in choke – Scott Hoch, 1989
“that’s just 24 inches away from a green coat … and that’s a career in one putt” – CBS commentary, 1989
At the age of 27 Nick Faldo was dissatisfied. A natural talent, he had already won multiple times on the European tour and had topped the money list in 1983. He felt, though, that his game was not strong enough to win at the very highest level. So, to some surprise around the golfing world, he decided he needed to completely rebuild his swing, working with a little known South African coach, David Leadbetter.
The results at first were not promising, but Faldo was utterly determined to persist, and after a couple of years his swing changes were embedded and his form started to recover… in spades. In 1987 he captured his first Open Championship, then in 1988 he finished in the top four in three of the Majors.
The Englishman was one of the favourites for the 1989 Masters, despite a modest record in his previous appearances. A solid start saw him tied for the lead after two rounds, but a disappointing 77 in round three looked to have taken him out of contention, five shots behind leader American Ben Crenshaw.
Faldo, though, went off like a train in the final round, and fought his way to a superb best-of-the-day 65 and the clubhouse lead at five-under. One by one his main opponents slipped up – Seve, Greg Norman, Crenshaw and American Mike Reid all had chances to lead, but all fluffed them. By the time the final group came to the last only one player had matched Faldo’s 72-hole score, American Scott Hoch after narrowly missing a birdie on the last for an outright win.
The play-off format was sudden death, and the pair started on the par-four 10th. While Hoch made the green in two, Faldo could only find the bunker. Faldo’s escape was poor leaving him a 15-foot putt for par, whilst Hoch had 25-feet for a birdie. When the American rolled his putt to just two feet away, it was clear that Faldo had to hole his 15-footer. He missed, leaving Hoch his simple ‘tap-in’ for the title. Hoch hesitated over the putt, stood up to take another look, readied himself over it for a second time then tapped the ball towards the hole. Agonisingly, it missed the hole… completely. Instead of claiming the title, the pair went on to the second play-off hole. Faldo did not look this massive gift horse in the mouth and birdied it to win the play-off and his first Masters.
Faldo never looked back, winning two more Masters and two more Open Championships to become the most successful British golfer of recent times. Hoch met with considerable success winning 11 PGA Tour events, but never came as close again to winning a Major.
Scott Hoch’s infamous 2 foot putt – Countdown to the Masters (77 days)
Hoch’s 1989 tale part of Masters history – ESPN
4. The meltdown – Jordan Spieth on the 12th, 2016
“I can’t imagine that was fun for everyone to experience, other than Danny (Willett)’s team” Jordan Spieth 2016
In 1996, American Jordan Spieth seemed to have the golfing world at his feet. Still only 22 years old he was the holder of two golf Majors, the previous year’s Masters and US Open, had won the prestigious Tour Championship and was ranked number one golfer in the world. He arrived at Augusta as favourite to retain his Masters Trophy.
His defence was convincing. A bogey-free opening round of 66 (6-under) shot him into a two-shot lead. He faltered a little in difficult scoring conditions in his second and third rounds, but did enough to go into the final round with a one-shot lead. Having led from gun to tape in 2015, he had now led the Masters for an unprecedented seven consecutive rounds. With no-one shooting the lights out behind him, there were strong odds that he would make it eight in a row for back-to-back victories.
It certainly seemed that way after the front nine. Spieth birdied 6, 7, 8 and 9 to take a five shot lead at the turn. Only three other players were under par – fellow American Dustin Johnson and Britons Lee Westwood and Danny Willett – and none of these had yet won a Major. Spieth had two to his name already and had seemed utterly unruffleable in his career to date.
A small crack, though, opened up on the 10th, a tough par-four. Spieth missed a par putt here for a bogey five. The crack widened on the 11th, where he hooked his tee shot into the trees. He recovered well, but could manage no better than another bogey. Further up the course, Danny Willett had picked up two birdies so, in a matter of minutes, Spieth’s lead had been cut to just one hole. With two par fives ahead of him, though, he was still favourite. He did not remain so after the 12th.
The par three ‘Golden Bell’ is a nerve-jangling experience for Masters contenders. Hit the ball too short and you risk dropping into Rae’s Creek or the front bunker. Hit it too long and there are two downhill bunkers at the back amidst a host of azalea bushes. Choosing the right club is complicated further by the normally swirling wind.
Club choice could not be blamed for Spieth’s error in 2016. Instead, it was just an awful swing. He aimed left of the flag to try and find a safe spot on the green, but almost shanked the ball, pushing it right and short. It landed on the slope at the front of the green and rolled back into Rae’s Creek. He took a penalty drop leaving himself around 70 yards to the pin. He had been deadly with his wedges all tournament. Not this time. He chunked it like an amateur and once again found the water. His next attempt, his fifth shot, did at least clear the water but found one of the two back bunkers. He managed to get up and down but when the shots were counted, he had recorded a quadruple bogey seven, his worst ever score as a pro on a par-three.
To his credit, Spieth responded with a birdie on the next hole, then another on the 15th, but the damage had been done. To most pundits’ surprise, the unheralded and unfancied Briton, Willett, held his nerve to record his first (and only) Major. Spieth refused to be defined by the loss, and went on to win his third and (to date last) Major in the following year’s Open Championship. Perhaps, though, he would have won many more had it not been for 2016 and Golden Bell.
Other shockers at the Masters:
- Defending champion Sergio Garcia hits five balls each of which spin back into the water in taking 13 on the 15th hole in 2018
- Tom Weiskopf, Open Champion in 1973, hits five balls that either roll back or drop straight into Rae’s Creek making a 13 on the 12th in 1980
- Ernie Els takes six (yes, that’s six) putts from three feet on first hole in 2016
- … and let’s not forget Charlie Kunkle, who crowned his one and only appearance in the Masters in 1956 with a 95 in his final round
Jordan Spieth’s collapse at the Masters the most shocking in golf history – ESPN
A timeline of Jordan Spieth’s sudden Masters meltdown | SB Nation
3. Surely you checked it, yes? – Roberto Di Vicenzo, 1968
“If your returned score for a hole is higher than your actual score, your higher returned score for the hole stands” The Rule of Golf
The 1968 Masters was a decent tournament, with the lead changing hands several times in the final round, and with many of the top players of the era featuring on the leaderboard. It would, though, probably have been consigned to history had it not been for one remarkable and unfortunate occurence. After four days of intense and close competition, the tournament was decided by a simple error on a scorecard. The beneficiary was American Bob Goalby, claiming his first and only Major. The loser, Argentinian Roberto Di Vicenzo, denied the chance to play-off for the title by a slip of the pencil.
Di Vicenzo was enjoying an Indian summer to his career. A prolific winner across the world, he had won the previous year’s Open Championship aged 44, a full 20 years after placing third in 1948 (he was again third in ’49 and runner-up in ’50). Goalby was also an experienced pro, 39-years old, and with seven tournament wins and a handful of top 10 placings in Majors behind him. Both were in contention going into the final day, Goalby one behind the leader, Gary Player, and Di Vicenzo one shot further back.
The Argentinian got his final round off to a dream start, eagling the par-four 1st to move immediately into a share of the lead, then adding further birdies on 2 and 3. Goalby, playing a couple of holes behind, also started well. As other, more-fancied, contenders failed to spark, these two stayed out in front and came to look the most-likely winners. When Di Vicenzo birdied the par-5 15th he moved into a one-shot lead, then two holes later (on the 17th) he stuck a superb wedge to four-feet for another birdie chance. Goalby, however, was not done and gave himself an eagle chance on the 15th. The two putts dropped almost simultaneously (TV viewers had for the first time the opportunity to see them using new split-screen technology) bringing both players level.
Di Vicenzo needed only a par on the last to equal the course record and set the clubhouse lead, but he failed to get up and down from the side of the green and finished with a bogey. Feeling like he had given away the Masters, he trudged to the scorer’s hut to check and sign his scorecard. Perhaps he was over-focused on the bogey five that he had recorded on the last, but he failed to notice that his playing partner, Tommy Aaron, had marked his card with a four on the 17th and not a three. So, he signed for a 66 and not the 65 he had actually scored. If the officials in the hut did notice, none mentioned it.
Goalby, meanwhile, had bogeyed the 17th, but finished with a 66 for a final score of 11-under par. Di Vicenzo had also finished on 11-under par, but by the rules of golf he had to accept the score that he had signed for, making him 10-under par. He had lost the Masters by a shot. Di Vicenzo’s famous quote of “What a stupid I am!” may well have included more expletives had his English been better.
Other golfers who have fallen foul of the scorecard rule:
- Padraig Harrington was disqualified when leading the 2010 Benson & Hedges International Open after it was discovered that he had not signed his first round scorecard. The error only came to light when the Belfry Hotel asked for the scorecards so they could frame them.
- Mark Roe was disqualified from the 2003 Open having equalled the best round of the tournament and when lying just three shots off the lead after the 3rd round. He had failed to swap his card with playing partner Jesper Parnevik, so each had signed the wrong card.
- Jordan Spieth was disqualified in the 2024 Genesis Open after giving himself one shot too few on his scorecard. The rules had changed to allow him to correct it within 15 minutes, but Spieth had had to rush to the toilet after signing so had no time to come back and fix it.
- Johnny Miller in the 1976 World Series of Golf played a round having forgotten to take his six-year-old son’s 23-inch putter out of his bag. His even par 72 turned into a 76 after the four-shot penalty was applied.
- PGA Tour Canada pro Justin Doeden admitted to deliberately changing his scorecard to make the half way cut in an event in 2023. Despite copious apologies his career has not recovered.
War, murder and an incorrect scorecard: The story of the 1968 US Masters – The Irish Times
How a scorecard error cost Roberto de Vicenzo the Masters
2. The prodigy implodes – Rory McIlroy, 2011
“I’ll get over it. I’ll have plenty more chances – I know that.” – Rory McIlroy, 2011
By 2011 21-year old Rory McIlroy had already made a big splash in the world of golf. The most celebrated youngster since Tiger Woods had won on both the European and the US PGA tours, placed in the top 10 of three of the Majors and risen to the top 10 of the world rankings. It was clearly a matter of when, rather than if, he would win his first Major, and with his game seemingly tailor-made for Augusta, the Masters would surely present him with a great chance.
It looked for all the world that it would come as soon as 2011. McIlroy got off to a great start, shooting a bogey-free 7-under par 65 on day one to share the lead. A 69 (3-under) on day two took him into the outright lead, and he followed this up with a 70 (2-under) to go into the final day with a four-shot lead at 12-under par.
Come Sunday and McIlroy was clearly nervous. He bogeyed the first after failing to get up and down from the back of the green, then dropped another shot on the 5th. He steadied the ship with a birdie on the 7th, but could now see in his wing mirrors a host of top players queueing up to overtake him. Playing partner and 2009 winner Angel Cabrera, South African Charl Schwartzel and, most ominous of all, Tiger Woods, had all closed to within a shot of the Northern Irishman by the time he reached the turn.
His one-shot lead was not to last much longer. The 10th hole, nicknamed Camellia, is a tough par-four, one of the most difficult holes on the course based on scoring average. McIlroy had managed the hole decently over the first three rounds (recording two pars and a bogey), but his composure deserted him with the pressure on. His drive was wild and came to rest in a rarely-seen spot close to some houses. The best he could do was chip back onto the fairway from where he badly mishit his approach to the green. His pitch to the green struck an overhanging branch, then his chip to the green (already his fifth shot on a par-four) fell short leaving him a long putt. Two putts later and he had recorded a triple-bogey, taking him in an instant from first to seventh. On the next hole, the 11th, he missed a short par putt, then on the par-3 12th he three-putted from less than three feet. Six shots had gone in three holes and he had played himself completely out of contention.
McIlroy’s final round of 80 (eight over par) was the worst score of the day and left him outside the top 10 (in a tie for 15th). The winner, for what it is worth, was South African Charl Schwartzel, who closed with four consecutive birdies to win his only Major.
McIlroy appeared relatively unscarred by his experience. In fact, he went on to win that same year’s US Open at Congressional by an incredible eight-shot margin. And by the close of 2014 had won four Majors – an Open and two PGA Championships to add to his US Open – and seemed odds on to complete a career Grand Slam. We all know now that it would in fact take 11 years and a heap of near misses (21 top 10s) for him to add to his Major tally. Had he got over the line in 2011 he might have won more, or he might have won fewer. His story, though, would surely not have been as compelling.
1. The great white shark gets harpooned – Greg Norman, 1996
“Well Greg, not even you can f*** this up now” – veteran journalist, Peter Dobereiner to Greg Norman on the Saturday night at the Masters
For a golfer who won 90 tournaments worldwide and was ranked world number one for over six years, Australian Greg Norman has an unfortunate reputation as a loser. Yes, he did capture two Majors – the Open Championships of 1986 and 1993 – but to many his near misses better define his career. He finished in the top 10 of a Major 30 times and, incredibly, came second or third in 12 of these tournaments. Half of his near misses came in the Masters, a tournament he was destined never to win.
Norman had a fantastic chance in 1986 when a par at the last would have taken him into a play-off with the charging Jack Nicklaus. He had a better chance in 1987 when Larry Mize produced his miracle chip to rob Norman in the play-off. In 1989 he bogeyed the last to miss another play-off. There was another top 10 finish in 1992 and a tie for third in 1995. He kept getting close, but there was no cigar for the cigar-loving Australian.
His fortunes seemed sure to change in 1996 when he arrived at Augusta ranked world number one and seemingly in full control of his game. He demonstrated this in spades with a record-equalling nine-under-par 63 in the opening round. Having started undramatically with with six straight pars, he went on to make an amazing nine birdies in the remaining 12 holes. A second round 69 took him four shots ahead of the field, then a 71 saw him finish day three with a huge six shot lead. Seemingly the only cloud on his horizon was that in second place was two-time Masters winner, the unflappable Nick Faldo, and the two would play together on the Sunday.
Another cloud was spotted, though, by CBS golf analyst and experienced coach, Peter Kostis. Kostis observed that Norman had changed his grip during the tournament, and felt that this had led to more erratic ball striking. In reality, it was only the Australian’s superb chipping and putting that had kept his score going after the first day. Kostis predicted a long final round for Norman if he could not sort this out.
Whether or not Kostis was right, Norman himself did not feel that all was well. He slept badly on the Saturday night (in truth, not uncommon for someone leading a Major) and woke on the Sunday with a stiff back. On top of this he claims he was dealing with a difficult personal issue.
His final round started poorly with a missed fairway on the 1st leading to a bogey five. Norman responded with a birdie but a second bogey, up against a strong start from Faldo, saw his lead halved to three shots coming off the 8th. The 9th gave perhaps the clearest signal that all was not well with the Aussie. He had a straightforward 9-iron to the green but chose instead to play his wedge. The ball came up short and then rolled 30 yards back towards Norman on the fairway. Bogey. This was followed by another on 10, then another on 11. His six-shot lead had now evaporated. He was in no state of mind to face the perilous 12th, the par-three ‘Golden Bell’, and, once Faldo had safely found the green, Norman dunked his into the water. Double-bogey and five shots dropped in four holes. Norman was now two behind his playing partner.
Faldo was too good and too mentally strong to let go. Three birdies in his final six holes saw him clinch his third Masters triumph, his closing score a full five shots better than Norman. The final round had seen an incredible 11 shot swing. Norman’s career was far from over – he still won a handful of tournaments – but despite placing in the odd Major he never really looked like winning another to add to his two Opens.
Norman’s other near misses
- 1987 Masters – Larry Mize’s miracle chip-in on the first extra hole of the play-off defeated a much better placed Norman.
- 1986 US PGA – Norman led all the way and by four coming into the final round. Journeyman Bob Tway drew level with three holes left. Tway scrambled unlikely pars on 16 and 17 before holing his bunker shot on the last. Norman could not follow suit and finished runner-up.
- 1984 US Open – Norman birdied 17 and saved par with a long putt on 18 to make a play-off against Fuzzy Zoeller. But he collapsed in the 18-hole play-off losing by eight shots to Zoeller.
- 1986 Masters – after a run of birdies, a poor four-iron approach at the last led to a bogey that meant Norman failed by one shot to make a play-off with Jack Nicklaus.
- 1989 Open – Norman played stunning golf on the final day (a 7-under par 64) to make a play-off against Mark Calcavecchia and Wayne Grady. Level with Calcavecchia with only one hole to play he found a fairway bunker then another then found the out of bounds. Another play-off defeat.
The Inside Story of Greg Norman’s Masters Collapse | Golf News and Tour Information | Golf Digest
How sports science explains Greg Norman’s 1996 Masters meltdown – ESPN