Spieth Falters, Willett Claims Masters

Jordan Spieth couldn't bear to watch, so he turned his head before another shot splashed into Rae's Creek. Moments later, Danny Willett looked up at the large leaderboard at the 15th green and couldn't believe what he saw.

This Masters turned into a shocker Sunday, right down to the green jacket ceremony.

Spieth was in Butler Cabin, just like everyone expected after he took a 5-shot lead to the back nine at Augusta National. In actuality, he was there to present the green jacket to Willett, who seized on Spieth's collapse with a magnificent round that made him a Masters champion.

"You dream about these kind of days and things like that, but for them to happen ... it's still mind-boggling," Willett said.

It was a nightmare for Spieth, especially the par-3 12th hole. Clinging to a 1-shot lead, he put two shots into the water and made a quadruple-bogey 7. With that, he fell three shots behind and never caught up. Instead of making history with another wire-to-wire victory, he joined a sad list of players who threw the Masters away.

"Big picture? This one will hurt," Spieth said.

Willett's comeback ranks among the most unlikely in the 80 years of the Masters. Willett wasn't sure he would play this year because his wife was due to give birth to their first child on Sunday. She gave birth to Zachariah James on March 30, which sent Willett on an amazing journey to his first major.

"We talk about fate, talk about everything else that goes with it," Willett said. "It's just a crazy, crazy week."

He became the first player from England to win a green jacket since Nick Faldo in 1996, and the parallels are bizarre. Faldo shot a 5-under 67 and overcame a 6-shot deficit when Greg Norman collapsed around Amen Corner. Willett also closed with a 5-under 67, with no bogeys on his card, to match the best score of the weekend.