AUGUSTA, Ga. — Those words sound comforting.
white dogwood.
Golden bell.
Amen corner.
It's a very beautiful sound. It makes me feel calm. It evokes the scent of spring, rosy visions, and the din of a church choir.
During Sunday's final round of the 88th Masters Tournament, Augusta National's famous golf holes, the par-4 11th (White Dogwood) and the par-3 12th (Golden Bell), were open for three contenders. It became a nightmare.
All three felt the wrath of Amen Corner (Nos. 11, 12 and 13), Augusta National's famous three-hole back-nine stretch. This Masters Sunday, like many previous Sundays, the tournament was decided at the south end of the golf course. Here, two of his most famous and difficult shots in golf – his approach to the 11th and his tee shot to the 12th – were lost, each protected by water.
They were ugly, rickety, and demoralized. They even drove one of their victims to alcohol. Max Homa said he plans to be tipsy Sunday night after hitting a long tee shot on the 12th and making double bogey.
There's also 24-year-old Ludwig Oberg. He capped off his first major win with a runner-up finish, but it might have been better if his approach hadn't splashed into the water at age 11. And then there's Collin Morikawa, who started in this tournament. On the first day I was delayed by shots, and even on the 11th I found a drink and fell further behind.
Homa and Oberg were just two strokes behind eventual champion Scottie Scheffler when the nightmare of Amen Corner arrived. Scheffler also couldn't avoid getting stabbed himself on the 11th. After making bogey, he made par on the 12th and birdie on the 13th, turning a four-way tie into a three-shot lead in an hour.
After him were 2,024 victims of perhaps the most pressured and harshest consecutive golf swings in the sport. They had a lot ahead of them. Remember when Jordan Spieth lost a huge lead in 2016 with a bogey on No. 11 and a seven-quadruple on No. 12? What about the implosion in 1996 when Greg Norman missed a 3-foot par on the 11th and dunked his tee shot on the 12th?
Add Oberg, Homa, and Morikawa to the mix. Although they couldn't hold the lead, they weren't far behind and clearly within range to challenge Scheffler. But the Amen Corner preys on those who narrowly miss, make poor decisions, take too many risks, and protect too much.
From 207 yards down the center of the fairway, Oberg aimed for the right edge of the 11th green, well away from the water that protects the left side. His goal is to pull the shot to the center left pin.
His Swedish mentor, Peter Hansson, watched from the gallery as his protégé's shot bounced off the left bank of the green and splashed into the water.
“Wait a long time in the fairway. You're standing there and the wind is moving. Wait five or six minutes,” Hanson said afterward. “That was probably the toughest shot I played in golf today.”
today? Before the tournament, Keegan Bradley called his approach on No. 11 “the hardest shot in the world.”
Sunday's 520-yard 11th hole ranked as the most difficult hole on the course this week. There were more bogeys (22) than double bogeys (17) than birdies (17). 22 athletes discovered the pond in the front left (about 6 people per day).
Shortly after Oberg's shot, his playing partner, Homa, misjudged the wind and sent it flying 159 yards onto the 12th green. His 9-iron shot bounced off the back edge of the green, then jumped into a clump of vines along the steep bank. He needed his drop unplayable but couldn't get up and down and on the shortest hole on the course he carded a 5.
“What will it be like tomorrow?” one reporter asked Homa at the post-round press conference.
“I haven't had a drink in a really long time. I was planning on doing it. [drinking] Sunday after the Masters. So… it’s not very good,” he replied.
On the 12th, Homa missed its spot by just 3 feet, another reminder of Augusta's cruel nature, he said. As he approached an unplayable lie deep in a nasty lie on the back bank of the green, he couldn't help but think, “How is this fair?”
He teed off just one stroke behind Scheffler. He left with a three-point deficit.
“Twelve is difficult. I felt it was unfair,” he said. “I hit a really good shot. The expert answer is, 'These things happen.'”
These things really happen right here on the south end of Augusta's wonderfully beautiful layout.
white dogwood.
Golden bell.
Amen corner.
beautiful? calm down? Rose color?
of course.
But it's also cruel, diabolical, and nightmarish.
