Two holes cost Appleby his lead
Posted
|
Stuart Appleby joined the growing list of Australian golfers who got a sniff of winning a Masters Tournament, but will return Down Under green jacketless.
No Aussie has won at Augusta National Golf Club. Not Peter Thomson. Not Bruce Crampton. Not Bruce Devlin. And, of course, not Augusta National's favorite whipping boy, Greg Norman, who is a three-time runner-up.
Appleby's failure wasn't on the level of Norman's epic meltdown in 1996, when he blew a six-shot lead heading into the final round. But Appleby did enter Sunday with a one-shot lead over Tiger Woods and Justin Rose and wound up in a tie for seventh after shooting 3-over 75.
Two holes - Nos. 1 and 12 - likely cost Appleby the green jacket, which went to eventual winner Zach Johnson.
"I got off to a bad start with a double bogey on No. 1 and then another on No. 12," he said.
Appleby's troubles on the first hole began with a wayward drive that wound up in the fairway's right tree line.
His approach shot to the par-4 hole was short of the green; his third shot went over it. After pitching on, he two-putted for his six.
Appleby recovered with a birdie on No. 6 to go to 3-over for the tournament and made five consecutive pars until he hit No. 12. His tee shot went into Rae's Creek, and it took four more strokes before escaping the short but dangerous par-3.
He parred his way in, but that wasn't enough to win.
Appleby, who was paired with Woods, said he was aware of the four-time winner's presence, but the course had most of his attention Sunday.
"The course was so much bigger than (Woods) because it would take an unbelievable 6- or 7-under, which no one was going to shoot," he said. "The course was ultimately the beast this week. It was a tough day, but I enjoyed the day."
Reach Mike Wynn at (706) 823-3218 or mike.wynn@augustachronicle.com.
