AUGUSTA, Ga. >> Paul Casey set the stage early for Jordan Spieth’s incredible final round.
The Englishman, who landed on the cutline of plus 5 on Friday, flirted with the course record of 63 Sunday at the 82nd Masters before settling for a 7-under 65.
He finished at 5 under for the tournament and in a tie for 15th. The course record of 9 under was set first in 1986 by Nick Price and equaled by Greg Norman in 1996, who eventually lost to Nick Faldo that year when he blew a six-shot Sunday lead. Price didn’t win either when he fired the 9-under round.
Casey had an extraordinary run on the back nine, where he started 1 under for his round and dropped to 7 under before bogeys at Nos. 17 and 18 snapped his magic. He began the day at plus 2 after shooting a 69 on Saturday to start Sunday’s final 18 tied for 30th. Had he parred the 18th he would have matched the best final round at the Masters of 8-under 64, but he just ran out of steam.
That mark has been set seven times, including once by Gary Player in 1978 to earn his third green jacket. He equaled the greatest final-round comeback of eight shots with the win. Spieth also is among those to shoot 64 in the final round. His resulted in a third-place finish behind Patrick Reed and Rickie Fowler.
Mickelson, Woods finish strong
Tiger Woods was walking up the 18th green when Reed and Rory McIlroy were studying their putts at the second green.
Woods said on Saturday his goal was to finish even par for the tournament and he had a chance to do just that had he parred the closing hole. Unfortunately for Woods, he three-putted from above the hole for bogey to shoot a 69 and finish at 1-over 289 and in a tie for 32nd.
As for Mickelson, he began the day tied for 50th in a 53-man field, but escaped the bottom among those who made the cut with a final-round 67 that left him tied for 36th.
Woods, who has played five times over the past two months, said he was heading back to the gym to get into shape. It was the first time he walked up the 72nd hole of a major since 2015 and that brought a smile to his face as the crowd rose as one.
“It felt good to be back in a major,” Woods said. “It has been a while. I was disappointed in my iron play all week and I putted poorly today. I had a three-putt from 6 feet on seven. But it was good to be playing here again. The last few times I’ve been here was just to eat (at the past champions dinner).”
As for Mickelson, he echoed a similar sentiment he had on Saturday: If you don’t have a chance to win, it doesn’t matter.
“Yeah, it was better than (Saturday’s), round but it’s never easy to be out here knowing what you’re missing out on with that back nine here on Sunday,” Mickelson said. “You know what you’re missing out on and you know what special things happen on that back nine, how fun it is to be a part of it, to be in the mix.”
Hoffman draws an ace
Playing with Tony Finau, who had an ace in the practice round on Wednesday and then injured his ankle celebrating, Charley Hoffman scored one for real in a most unusual way.
Instead of playing the ball out to the right of the hole and then letting it roll back toward the left, Hoffman hit his to the left of the hole near the bunker and then watched it kick right and into the hole for the 20th ace in history at that beautiful par-3 hole.
It was the only one for the day although two-time Sony Open winner Jimmy Walker just missed one of his own in a more traditional fashion for a kick-in birdie.
Rory comes up short
Rory McIlroy had a chance to become the first European to win a career grand slam on Sunday, but just didn’t have it from the very first swing off the tee. Among the top 16 finishers of the first major of the professional golf season, the Northern Irishman was the only one to shoot over par at 74 to finish in a tie for fifth.
There are only five golfers ever to win all four majors. They are Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Woods.
