The 2017 Masters Tournament ended in incredible fashion, as Sergio Garcia outlasted Justin Rose in Sudden Death to take home his first ever title in a golf major event.  

 

It was certainly a Sunday to remember for all golf fans. Sergio Garcia posted an overall score of nine under par over the weekend, before birdieing hole 18 in Sudden Death. Coming into Sunday, Garcia had posted scores of 71, 69, and 70. He entered Sunday’s round at a score of six under par. Justin Rose posted an identical score coming into Sunday, to make for an extremely eventful fourth round. Rose and Garcia went toe-to-toe all afternoon, and the two golfers both posted 69s for the day before the Sudden Death hole. Unfortunately for Rose, a poorly timed bogey on the first Sudden Death hole is what ultimately set up Garcia for a gutsy win on a huge birdie putt. It was easily one of the most memorable moments of the tournament (right up there with Garcia’s massive eagle putt on hole 15). Garcia had incredible momentum on the back nine after posting two consecutive bogeys on holes 10 and 11. Rose was very consistent on the day, but another untimely bogey on hole 17 set the two golfers up for a memorable 18th hole. The crowd roared as they were informed of Rose’s bogey, creating an incredible atmosphere for what easily could have been the last hole played during the round. Both players had opportunities to birdie and win, but both Garcia and Rose missed, to set up Sudden Death.

 

As for the rest of the field, Rickie Fowler and Jordan Spieth both fell down the leaderboards on Sunday. Fowler had a fantastic round on Friday as he posted a 67, but a 76 on Sunday resulted in a -1 finish for the tournament, a score worth eighth place this year. Spieth scored a 75 on Sunday after gaining momentum with a 68 the day before. Matt Kuchar played a strong Masters and finished with a -5 mark, including an outrageous ace on hole 16, before parring both 17 and 18 to finish his round. It was a special moment for one lucky spectator, as Kuchar signed the ball and surprised everybody by giving the young fan a piece of Masters history. For third place, Charl Schwartzel was three strokes off the lead with a score of -6 on the tournament.

In terms of excitement, it was another successful Sunday for the Masters. Look for some more noise to be made at Erin Hills for the U.S. Open in June, the second leg of golf’s Grand Slam.