Masters Recap: Reed Wins First Major

The story of the 2018 Masters is Patrick Reed winning his first major title. It's also the story of Rory McIlroy coming up small yet again on an Augusta Sunday. And of Jordan Spieth growing his legend with a final round for the ages. And of Rickie Fowler somehow expanding in stature despite continuing as the dreaded best player never to have won a major.

You could say the indicators were there for Reed, who edged Fowler by one stroke on Sunday. After never landing in the top-10 in his first 15 majors, Reed was runner-up to Justin Thomas last year at the PGA Championship. After snoozing through the first two months of the year, he reversed form over the past month, finishing second to Paul Casey at Valspar, tying for seventh behind champion McIlroy at Bay Hill and dusting Spieth at the WGC-Match Play.

But with all the boldface names playing well heading into the week, and with Reed never having made a dent in four prior trips down Magnolia Lane, the outcome is a surprise. And by a surprise, we mean as of Thursday morning. Because it surely wasn't a surprise heading into Sunday, by which time we had seen the best 54-hole stretch of Reed's career.

Reed had won tournaments before, some big ones, too – a WGC (the 2014 Cadillac), a playoff event (the 2016 Barclays), a select field (the 2016 Tournament of Champions). And his Ryder Cup reputation precedes him.

But winning tournaments, especially majors, is more than playing the best golf. In winning those three marquee tournaments, Reed never had to face the world-class leaderboard he did at the Masters. With McIlroy, Spieth, Fowler and world No. 3 Jon Rahm on his tail on Sunday, Reed never wavered, was never flustered, even after getting caught atop the leaderboard.

"I knew it was going to be a dogfight," Reed told reporters. "It's just a way of God basically saying, 'Let's see if you have it.' Everyone knows you have it physically with the talent. But do you have it mentally? Can you handle the ups and downs throughout the round?"

Reed did, and he had showed his mental toughness before, dusting McIlroy in an emotionally charged Sunday singles at the 2016 Ryder Cup. Again, very impressive. But playing for country against one man isn't the same as being chased by a who's-who of the OWGR top-10.

Reed impressively stuck to his game plan over all four days, committing his share of bogeys with 11, but limiting the damage by never shooting a double. "It was something I needed to learn," he said.

After winning the 2016 WGC-Cadillac, in which one of the runners-up was the never-imposing Jamie Donaldson, Reed boldly proclaimed himself a top-five golfer, drawing gasps, ridicule and resentment from the golf community. He's never actually gotten there, peaking so far at No. 7. His Masters win vaulted him from 24th to 11th.

Does the victory serve as a springboard to more wins and more majors this season, something that could move Reed, finally, into the top-five?

It's common for golfers with breakthrough wins to exhale and unintentionally take a step back after their life is altered. It's human nature. So all that, combined with all the talent at the top of the rankings, makes us doubt a move into the top-five anytime soon, if at all.

MONDAY BACKSPIN

Rory McIlroy
McIlroy missed short putt after short putt, showing he was yet again not ready to win the Masters and still not able to overcome Reed. Maybe things would've been different if his Ryder Cup vanquisher wasn't the one he was chasing for the green jacket. But the combination of past failures at the Masters and against Reed proved to be too big of a hurdle. McIlroy had entered the week at the top of his game, having recently won Bay Hill, but another disastrous loss with a major in his grasp just leaves more scar tissue, and it makes us wonder what the rest of the season holds for him. Once an athlete who had experienced only the highest of highs is punched in the mouth (figuratively), you always wonder how he will respond. One of the worst ways to respond is to get punched in the mouth yet again. That's what happened to McIlroy on Sunday.

Rickie Fowler
Six prior times, Fowler has entered the final round of a major in the top-three, and of course he's never won one of them. We won't hold it against him this time, since he began the day a whopping five strokes behind. But he still impressively came within a shot to finish solo second, playing the final seven holes in 4-under. His birdie on 18 completed a 65-67 weekend and made Reed sweat until the final stroke. We now believe Fowler will win a major sooner than later. So does Fowler. "I am ready to go win a major," he told reporters. "But this was kind of the first major week that I understood that, and known that, and felt that."

Jordan Spieth Spieth had been left behind in the world rankings, and elsewhere, by Dustin Johnson and Justin Thomas, and maybe even Jon Rahm. But he showed on Sunday, and really all week, that when he's on, he can still be the best. Beginning the day nine strokes back, Spieth shot 64 to at one point tie for the lead. His bogey on 18 ended his chance for history and victory, leaving him in solo third. The chances of Spieth winning one of the three remaining majors looks greater than it does for Reed, Fowler or really anyone else.

Jon Rahm
Rahm was ranked No. 3 in the world (now fourth after Spieth overtook him) and clearly arrived at the Masters as an elite golfer. But he was an elite golfer who had never made a dent in a major. In fairness, Rahm had played in only six previously and is still just 23. The Spaniard wound up solo fourth, and it seems only a matter of time before he too wins a major. Like with Spieth and Fowler, it would surprise no one if it came later this year.

Cameron Smith
Finally, we come to someone not in the elite category. Smith needed to reach the quarterfinals of the Match Play last month just to climb into the top-50 in the OWGR to qualify for the Masters. The 24-year-old Aussie went out and tied for fifth with Bubba Watson, moving to No. 39 and likely ensuring his participation in at least the next two majors. A terrific putter, Smith is in the process of becoming a star and maybe joining the elites someday. Back in 2015, he had an ever better major finish, tying for fourth at the U.S. Open. So the Masters was no fluke.

Dustin Johnson
Johnson's standing as world No. 1 has been perilous of late, but he's managed to hang on. He had a very quiet tie for 10th at the Masters, and that was with bogeys on two of his final three holes. Johnson clearly is not on top of his game, but even 85 or 90 percent of his game is better than most other golfers. The U.S. Open is still two months away, still plenty of time for Johnson to fine-tune his game for a title run -- or to lose his top ranking.

Satoshi Kodaira
Kodaira isn't the best golfer from Asia; Hideki Matsuyama and Haotong Li are ranked higher. But he acquitted himself nicely in his first Masters, tying for 28th. That's his best showing in a major/WGC. Ranked inside the top-50 at No. 46, Kodaira likely will remain an attractive low-priced DFS option in big tournaments the rest of the season. As of right now, he's qualified only for the British Open, but we expect to see him in all the majors/WGCs.

Tiger Woods
Woods wound up tied for 32nd, bringing to a close a week that began with such high expectations. Whether those expectations were unfairly high for someone just a couple of months into a return from a fourth back surgery is certainly a fair question. But when Woods plays again, probably in a month at the Wells Fargo, he'll surely be one of the favorites again. Such is being Tiger Woods, now up to No. 88 in the OWGR.

Phil Mickelson
Oh, Phil. He was another top betting choice for the Masters. But after tying for 36th, which included a tournament-destroying 79 on Friday, Mickelson disclosed this little gem to reporters: "I put a little bit too much pressure on myself in the majors now, because I know that I don't have a ton of time to win them, especially U.S. Opens." That doesn't sound like someone who should be considered to win when the Open arrives at Shinnecock Hills in June.

Sergio Garcia
Garcia was the epitome of graciousness and class in his role as defending champion, even after his painful-to-watch 13 on the par-5 15th on Thursday, which ended his chances of playing the weekend. It was probably too much to ask for a big week. Not only was there so much pressure as a defending champion, but Garcia hadn't played too much golf after recently becoming a first-time father. But he hung around till Sunday to continue the tradition of draping the green jacket on the new champion, and was respectful and smiling all the way. We don't envision last week's disappointing golf will linger to affect the rest of Garcia's season, and he could be a contender at either of the two Opens.