Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, GA — November 13, 2020
As Day 3 finished at Augusta National Golf Club in the 2020 Master Tournament, the storylines developing for the final round set up for an interesting Sunday.
Dustin Johnson rose to the top of the leaderboard with a 7 under par 65 that included a 31 on the front nine. His -16 score for the week tied the best 54 hole total in Masters history. Johnson led by four strokes over Sungjae Im, Abraham Ancer, and Cameron Smith. The winner of the 2016 U.S. Open, Johnson came from behind that day for his only major championship victory. Four times Johnson has entered the final round of a major with the lead and four times he has failed to come away with the win. Will today be different?
Bryson DeChambeau came into the tournament the favorite, he struggled to make the cut and could not mount a Saturday charge. Tiger Woods fell out of contention with a 3rd round of even-par 72, he trailed the leader by 11 strokes. John Rahn, another favorite, started Saturday at 9 under and could improve on his score also shooting par in the day. Justin Thomas was a 2nd Round co-leader, he had five birdies on Saturday, but four bogies left him with a 71 and sitting six strokes behind Johnson.
The Final Round
Johnson, Im, and Ancer comprised the final group that teed off just before 10 am on the final day of the Masters Tournament. All three made par on the difficult first hole, Im birdied the par 5-2nd hole, and Johnson failed to convert. The lead dropped to 3.
Im birdied the 3rd hole, but Johnson came through with a birdie of his own. An important score for his confidence. Then the trouble everyone was looking for befuddled the leader. Johnson bogeyed the 4th and 5th holes while Im made pars, the lead was just a single stroke.
Ancer bogeyed 3 and 4, then followed that up with two more on 6 and 7. His slide down the leaderboard was matched by the rise of Cameron Smith who made four birdies combined with a bogey to move to 15 under at the turn.
Johnson Stops His Slide
Facing the 180-yard par 3-6th hole, Johnson had parred it during the first three rounds. He needed to put the brakes on and stop the slide. Johnson did so in championship style with a birdie and he was back to 16 under. Another birdie on the Par 5-8th hole and he moved to 17 under.
Bogies on 6 and 7 dropped Im back to four strokes out of the lead after 9 holes and allowed Smith to jump past, just two strokes behind Johnson.
The Final Nine
They say the Tournament really starts on the back nine on the final day. Certainly, the pressure ramps up to its highest intensity. This time Johnson was up to the task. He scored his first Masters win with a three-hole string of birdies on 13, 14, and 15, taking his score to -20, the lowest score in Masters history.
Smith, after his charge on the front nine, could only manage even-par on the backside on the final day at Augusta. Im rallied for two birdies on 13 and 15 to salvage a tie for 2nd with Smith who set a Masters record of his won. Cameron Smith became the first golfer in Masters history to score in the ’60s for all four rounds. And he lost by 5 strokes.
What About Tiger
After playing himself out of contention on Saturday, Tiger Woods was looking for a respectable finish to the week as he awaited the ceremony where he would present the green jacket to the winner.
The 12th hole has been the undoing of many a potential champion, just ask Jordan Speith. The par 3 is only 155 yards but is as lethal as a viper hiding in the weeds. Tiger put three balls in the water of Rae’s Creek bordering the front of the hole on the way to taking a 10 on the hole.
In a remarkable display of skill and perseverance, Tiger birdied 5 of the 6 closing holes to finish at 1 under for the tournament.
The 84th Masters Championship from Augusta National Golf Club
| Position | Player | To Par | Final Round | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total |
| 1 | Dustin Johnson | -20 | -4 | 65 | 70 | 65 | 68 | 268 |
| T2 | Cameron Smith | -15 | -3 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 69 | 273 |
| T2 | Sungjae Im | -15 | -3 | 66 | 70 | 68 | 69 | 273 |
| 4 | Justin Thomas | -12 | -2 | 66 | 69 | 71 | 70 | 276 |
| T5 | Rory McIlroy | -11 | -3 | 75 | 66 | 67 | 69 | 277 |
| T5 | Dylan Frittelli | -11 | E | 65 | 73 | 67 | 72 | 277 |
| T7 | C.T. Pan | -10 | -4 | 70 | 66 | 74 | 68 | 278 |
| T7 | Brooks Koepka | -10 | -2 | 70 | 69 | 69 | 70 | 278 |
| T7 | Jon Rahm | -10 | -1 | 69 | 66 | 72 | 71 | 278 |
| T10 | Webb Simpson | -9 | -4 | 67 | 73 | 71 | 68 | 279 |
| T10 | Corey Conners | -9 | -3 | 74 | 65 | 71 | 69 | 279 |
| T10 | Patrick Reed | -9 | E | 68 | 68 | 71 | 72 | 279 |
| T13 | Marc Leishman | -8 | -4 | 70 | 72 | 70 | 68 | 280 |
| T13 | Hideki Matsuyama | -8 | E | 68 | 68 | 72 | 72 | 280 |
| T13 | Kevin Na | -8 | -2 | 73 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 280 |
| T13 | Abraham Ancer | -8 | 4 | 68 | 67 | 69 | 76 | 280 |
| T17 | Xander Schauffele | -7 | -2 | 67 | 73 | 71 | 70 | 281 |
| T17 | Patrick Cantlay | -7 | E | 70 | 66 | 73 | 72 | 281 |
| T19 | Scottie Scheffler | -6 | -1 | 71 | 68 | 72 | 71 | 282 |
| T19 | Cameron Champ | -6 | E | 68 | 74 | 68 | 72 | 282 |
| T19 | Tommy Fleetwood | -6 | 2 | 71 | 66 | 71 | 74 | 282 |
| T19 | Sebastian Munoz | -6 | 3 | 70 | 68 | 69 | 75 | 282 |
| T23 | Louis Oosthuizen | -5 | -2 | 68 | 70 | 75 | 70 | 283 |
| T23 | Justin Rose | -5 | -2 | 67 | 70 | 76 | 70 | 283 |
| T25 | Danny Willett | -4 | 1 | 71 | 66 | 74 | 73 | 284 |
| T25 | Charl Schwartzel | -4 | -1 | 73 | 71 | 69 | 71 | 284 |
| T25 | Shane Lowry | -4 | 1 | 74 | 69 | 68 | 73 | 284 |
| T25 | Ian Poulter | -4 | -2 | 72 | 71 | 71 | 70 | 284 |
| T29 | Nick Taylor | -3 | E | 72 | 72 | 69 | 72 | 285 |
| T29 | Bernhard Langer | -3 | -1 | 68 | 73 | 73 | 71 | 285 |
| T29 | Sung Kang | -3 | -2 | 75 | 69 | 71 | 70 | 285 |
| T29 | Rickie Fowler | -3 | -2 | 70 | 70 | 75 | 70 | 285 |
| T29 | Chez Reavie | -3 | -2 | 71 | 72 | 72 | 70 | 285 |
| T34 | Adam Scott | -2 | 1 | 70 | 72 | 71 | 73 | 286 |
| T34 | Bryson DeChambeau | -2 | 1 | 70 | 74 | 69 | 73 | 286 |
| T34 | Si Woo Kim | -2 | E | 70 | 71 | 73 | 72 | 286 |
| T34 | Andy Ogletree (a) | -2 | E | 73 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 286 |
| T38 | Lee Westwood | -1 | 2 | 68 | 74 | 71 | 74 | 287 |
| T38 | Billy Horschel | -1 | 3 | 70 | 70 | 72 | 75 | 287 |
| T38 | Tiger Woods | -1 | 4 | 68 | 71 | 72 | 76 | 287 |
| T38 | Paul Casey | -1 | 5 | 65 | 74 | 71 | 77 | 287 |
| T38 | Tony Finau | -1 | E | 69 | 75 | 71 | 72 | 287 |
| T38 | Christiaan Bezuidenhout | -1 | -1 | 69 | 73 | 74 | 71 | 287 |
| T44 | Shugo Imahira | E | 2 | 72 | 70 | 72 | 74 | 288 |
| T44 | Collin Morikawa | E | 2 | 70 | 74 | 70 | 74 | 288 |
| T46 | Matt Wallace | 1 | 5 | 69 | 73 | 70 | 77 | 289 |
| T46 | Charles Howell III | 1 | 2 | 71 | 70 | 74 | 74 | 289 |
| T46 | Matthew Fitzpatrick | 1 | E | 74 | 70 | 73 | 72 | 289 |
| T46 | Victor Perez | 1 | E | 70 | 71 | 76 | 72 | 289 |
| T46 | Jordan Spieth | 1 | E | 74 | 70 | 73 | 72 | 289 |
| T51 | Mike Weir | 2 | 4 | 71 | 72 | 71 | 76 | 290 |
| T51 | Jazz Janewattananond | 2 | 3 | 69 | 71 | 75 | 75 | 290 |
| T51 | Zach Johnson | 2 | 1 | 73 | 71 | 73 | 73 | 290 |
| T51 | Rafael Cabrera Bello | 2 | E | 73 | 71 | 74 | 72 | 290 |
| T55 | John Augenstein (a) | 3 | 3 | 69 | 72 | 75 | 75 | 291 |
| T55 | Phil Mickelson | 3 | 1 | 69 | 70 | 79 | 73 | 291 |
| 57 | Bubba Watson | 4 | 6 | 74 | 69 | 71 | 78 | 292 |
| 58 | Bernd Wiesberger | 6 | 1 | 71 | 72 | 78 | 73 | 294 |
| 59 | Brandt Snedeker | 7 | 2 | 71 | 71 | 79 | 74 | 295 |
| 60 | Jimmy Walker | 8 | 4 | 71 | 73 | 76 | 76 | 296 |
| The following players failed to make the cut at E | ||||||||
| – | Adam Hadwin | CUT | – | 74 | 71 | — | — | 145 |
| – | Gary Woodland | CUT | – | 72 | 73 | — | — | 145 |
| – | Graeme McDowell | CUT | – | 72 | 73 | — | — | 145 |
| – | Byeong-Hun An | CUT | – | 72 | 73 | — | — | 145 |
| – | Max Homa | CUT | – | 70 | 75 | — | — | 145 |
| – | Andrew Putnam | CUT | – | 73 | 72 | — | — | 145 |
| – | Matt Kuchar | CUT | – | 70 | 75 | — | — | 145 |
| – | Henrik Stenson | CUT | – | 71 | 74 | — | — | 145 |
| – | Justin Harding | CUT | – | 75 | 71 | — | — | 146 |
| – | Brendon Todd | CUT | – | 73 | 73 | — | — | 146 |
| – | Kevin Kisner | CUT | – | 71 | 76 | — | — | 147 |
| – | Matthew Wolff | CUT | – | 70 | 77 | — | — | 147 |
| – | Larry Mize | CUT | – | 70 | 77 | — | — | 147 |
| – | Lanto Griffin | CUT | – | 74 | 73 | — | — | 147 |
| – | Tyrrell Hatton | CUT | – | 73 | 74 | — | — | 147 |
| – | J.T. Poston | CUT | – | 73 | 75 | — | — | 148 |
| – | James Sugrue (a) | CUT | – | 77 | 71 | — | — | 148 |
| – | Jason Kokrak | CUT | – | 71 | 77 | — | — | 148 |
| – | Jason Day | CUT | – | 70 | 78 | — | — | 148 |
| – | Tyler Duncan | CUT | – | 77 | 71 | — | — | 148 |
| – | Francesco Molinari | CUT | – | 72 | 78 | — | — | 150 |
| – | Fred Couples | CUT | – | 77 | 73 | — | — | 150 |
| – | Lukas Michel (a) | CUT | – | 76 | 74 | — | — | 150 |
| – | Sandy Lyle | CUT | – | 78 | 73 | — | — | 151 |
| – | Nate Lashley | CUT | – | 75 | 76 | — | — | 151 |
| – | Lucas Glover | CUT | – | 77 | 74 | — | — | 151 |
| – | Yuxin Lin (a) | CUT | – | 79 | 73 | — | — | 152 |
| – | Jose Maria Olazabal | CUT | – | 78 | 80 | — | — | 158 |
| – | Andrew Landry | CUT | – | 78 | 82 | — | — | 160 |
| – | Abel Gallegos (a) | CUT | – | 79 | 81 | — | — | 160 |
| – | Erik van Rooyen | WD | – | 76 | — | — | — | 76 |
| – | Vijay Singh | WD | – | 75 | 45 | — | — | 75 |
