Rory McIlroy joins a list of recent collapses in major championships
To say what happened to Rory McIlroy on Sunday at Augusta National was heartbreaking wouldn't totally do it justice. The entire time it was happening, golf fans everywhere were turning their heads, hoping not to see exactly the massacre that was going on at the Masters. But if there is a silver lining, it's that Rory isn't the only one to fall apart lately in majors. Here is a short list of the most recent failures, and what exactly happened to each of them.
Rory McIlroy, final-round 80 at the 2011 Masters: You just watched it, so you know the story, but just to recap; McIlroy turns the front nine at 1-over 37, not the best but not a bad number, and then completely falls apart. A triple-bogey on the 10th, followed by a four-putt on the 12th doomed him, and he would eventually miss a short birdie putt on the 18th hole to shoot a final-round 80 after leading by four shots heading into the final round.
Nick Watney's final-round 81 at the 2010 PGA Championship: A lot of people will remember Dustin Johnson's penalty on the 72nd hole at Whistling Straits, or the playoff between Martin Kaymer and Bubba Watson, but few remember that heading into the final round, Watney was leading. His 9-over 81 could have been much worse if not for two birdies over his last three holes, as the youngster gave away his first real shot at a major in dramatic fashion.
Paul Casey's final-round 75 at the 2010 British Open: It seemed like a stretch that anyone was going to catch Louis Oosthuizen at last year's Open Championship, but if there was a man to do it, it was Casey. Paired with Oosthuizen, Casey shot a final-round 75 as everyone else was going low to allow Louis a very easy walk to the Claret Jug.
Dustin Johnson's final-round 82 at the 2010 U.S. Open: For three rounds, Dustin Johnson looked like the king of Pebble Beach, and after his third-round 66, he seemed destined to win a major championship at the same place he had captured two PGA Tour events so far in his young career. But Johnson made a triple-bogey on the second hole, followed by a double-bogey on the third, and could never recover, failing to make a single birdie in his final round.
Kenny Perry's bogey-bogey finish at the 2009 Masters: It seemed like Kenny Perry's week at Augusta National, and after making a clutch birdie on the 16th, he seemed destined to win, but Perry couldn't close the deal, making bogeys on the 17th and 18th holes from relatively simple positions to land in a playoff with Angel Cabrera and Chad Campbell, eventually losing to Cabrera on the second playoff hole.
Aaron Baddeley's final-round 80 at the 2007 U.S. Open: Leading after three rounds, Baddeley was surviving the always tough Oakmont, but a triple-bogey to start his round derailed him completely, and he finished with a 10-over 80 in the final round, dropping all the way down to a tie for 13th.