For a few minutes on Sunday afternoon it looked like Bubba Watson might contend for a third green jacket. Instead he’ll have to settle for the privilege of being low Bulldog at the Masters.
Watson eagled the 15th hole, which dropped him to 10-under and within a shot of the leaders. But the two-time champion produced a disappointing finish with bogeys on the final two holes. That left the University of Georgia product with a 69 on Sunday and in a tie for 12th place.
» Photos: Masters' final round
“Two bogeys to finish, a little upsetting, but all in all a good week,” Watson said.
Watson opened with a pair of 72s and his third-round 67 matched his career best at Augusta National.
“I take a lot out of it,” Watson said. “I’ve been struggling finishing golf tournaments. Two bogeys here … would have been a top-10 with two pars, so I kind of let some go, let some slide.”
Watson did hang around until the end of the tournament and was one of a half-dozen players who congratulated Tiger Woods as he entered the scoring area.
Matt Kuchar, the only Georgia Tech player competing on the weekend, was never able to gain any traction. Kuchar had three birdies and three bogeys on his card on Sunday to shoot 72 and tied for 12th at 8-under 280. It was the fifth time in 13 appearances at the Masters that Kuchar has finished among the top 12, which earns an automatic invitation to return. Kuchar tied for 28th last year.
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Kevin Kisner, a member of Georgia’s national championship team in 2005, started his final round on the back nine and was 7-under after a birdie at No. 3. But Kisner’s round came undone on the seventh hole, where he took a double-bogey. He wound up with a 69 and tied for 21st at 5-under 283. It was his best finish in four trips to Augusta.
“It was my best Masters by far,” he said. “I had a chance to shoot a low number. I can build on that.”
Kisner has learned he really enjoys the closing nine. This week, he had 13 birdies, three bogeys and one double-bogey on the back. He made three birdies at the difficult par-4 11th hole.
“The back is the only nine I can play on this golf course,” Kisner said. “I just couldn’t get anything going (Sunday).”
Kevin Mitchell, who finished at Georgia in 2014, completed his first Masters with a 69 – his best round of the week - and finished tied for 43rd at 1-under 287. Mitchell, who started on the back nine, shot 33 on his final nine, the highlight being a birdie at the difficult ninth hole.
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