Playing at Augusta National Golf Club is a dream. But sometimes the dream turns into a nightmare, or at least it goes sideways. Enough so that Nick Faldo recalls being in tears during a round in 1989, Jason Day fell into a deep depression after blowing his best chance to win in 2013 and Matt Fitzpatrick was so frustrated with his play in 2020 that he didn’t want to play the next week.
Golf can be humbling. In his first Masters, Russell Henley shot 82 in the second round to miss the cut. It also happened to be his birthday. No present or slice of cake was going to cheer him up that day. Here are some of the times the pros remember being the most upset at the Masters.
Nick Faldo
In 1989, Lee Trevino and I had to finish the third round on Sunday morning. It wasn’t going well. I had a third shot on 13 and I thought if I finish 2 under for the last six holes, I’d save the day. I actually finished 2 over and shot 77. I was in tears on the course when I plugged it at 17. I was able to regroup and threw everything at the wall and shot 65 and win a sudden-death playoff (over Scott Hoch) but six hours earlier I was in tears feeling like I’d blown it.
Wyndham Clark
Last year, I was playing nicely and hit it on the green on 15, went up near the hole and spun off into the water.
Rickie Fowler
I birdied the last in 2018 when Patrick Reed won. I remember feeling like I gave it my best shot so I was excited about that but to be so close and come up short was one of the times of both a high and a low.
Matt Fitzpatrick
2020, I didn’t play well and didn’t want to play the next week. It was humbling and showed me that I was a long way off.
Brian Harman
I made triple on nine one year and didn’t hit a bad shot.
Jason Day
In 2013, I had the lead with three holes to go and I thought the jacket was mine but I bogeyed 16 and 17 and finished third. It was a deep, deep disappointment.
Keegan Bradley
I’m upset a lot in Augusta. I remember this one shot that I hit on the sixth hole to a back-left flag. It was wet that year and I hit the most unbelievable 6-iron in there and it hit, and I took my eye off it and started to roll and roll. I stopped watching and it came all the way down the front and I was furious.
Kevin Kisner
One of my first times playing in the Masters, I was trying to grind so hard to make the cut and I chipped my ball at nine to the front pin to 4 feet and a big gust blew it back off the green before I could mark it and I had to chip it again.
Matt Kuchar
It has to be leaving early. I’ve missed my fair share. Any time you depart early, it’s a bummer.
Rickie Fowler
Probably one of the most excited and most upset is the last one when Patrick [Reed] went on to win, just knowing how close I was, obviously to play well and give it a good shot, I was excited about that, but to be so close and then come up short, that was probably One advice. But that is the time, so the high and up very low.
Russell Henley
I shot an 82 at my first Masters on my birthday, April 12. It was a Friday, so I missed the cut too, and I had a lot of people there coming to see me. I got my hopes up really high and next thing I know I’m signing for 82. Not the birthday present I was hoping for.
Stewart Cink
I made a hole-in-one on 16 with my son caddying for me. That lifted me right on the cutline and I bogeyed the last two to miss. I was destroyed. All I could think of was this could be my last time at the Masters, and so far it has.
Webb Simpson
One year I missed the cut by one making bogey on the last hole.
Adam Hadwin
In the November Masters in 2020, I had to finish the second round on Saturday. I had a 6-footer for birdie on 14 and had to play the last five holes in 1 under and I missed the 6-footer and missed the 15th green with a wedge and ended up missing the cut by one. That’s the maddest I’ve ever been leaving the property two days early.
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