As much as he enjoyed his first Masters last year, Jordan Spieth left Augusta National Golf Club with one regret. Not the chunky chip he hit on the eighth hole of the final round, which opened a crack at the top of the leader board that the eventual champion, Bubba Watson, blazed through.
Spieth lamented that his runner-up finish came against a field that did not include the four-time champion Tiger Woods, who missed the tournament after having back surgery.
“I wish that Tiger was there,” he said then, adding, “In order to feel like I can reach a goal one day of becoming No. 1 in the world, I feel like I’d like to see him come back stronger than ever, and I think that he will.”
As is becoming customary, Spieth was right on the mark, and on Sunday
his wish will be granted — sort of. Woods, coming off a two-month break
to work on his game, carded a 68 Saturday that included a four-under
front nine for his first back-to-back sub-70 scores here since 2005, the
last time he donned the green jacket.