• The Masters

Schwartzel plays the thief to snatch green jacket

Alex Dimond
April 10, 2011
Charl Schwartzel crashed a planned coronation on Sunday at Augusta - but few could have any complaints © PA Photos
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This was supposed to be the story of the old king reasserting his dominance or the young prince making his claim to a Georgia throne.

This was supposed to be the coronation of a new young hope, or the crushing of an uprising by a dominant ruler who had suddenly seen his authority come into question after suddenly plotting a more wayward path.

These were the two possible storylines of Sunday at the 2011 Masters. The green jacket was going in one of those two distinct directions.

'The king is dead, long live the king'. One way or the other, that was the line.

Wrong.

Instead, a thief named Charl Schwartzel came in and stole the jacket-shaped crown many others had laid deserving claims to thanks to a steely resolve and unwavering short game no-one else could match.

Few casual followers of the game might have expected the South African's triumph. But no-one could begrudge his success after witnessing the manner in which he went out and took it. Raised on a farm back in Johannesburg, he is now lord of all he surveys.

Then incumbent ruler of the arena, Tiger Woods, made the early running on Sunday, speeding out to five-under for the day after just eight holes that jumped him into a share of the lead quicker than even his most ardent fans would have thought possible. After a 31 on the front nine, however, the back nine proved a trickier proposition, as a squandered eagle opportunity on 15 summed up his woes with the putter.

On each and every day he missed two or three similar chances - three-putting more than he ever previously would - and ultimately that cost him. Such a worrying display with the flat-stick should prevent him from ever returning to the level he once performed at - players who lose their touch on the green seldom recover it - but the overall quality of the other facets of his game - if not exactly as strong, at least passable impressions of those halcyon days - augur well for his continued pursuit of Jack Nicklaus' major record.

But it was surprise package Schwartzel who made the sprinter's finish, striding his way to the Butler Cabin and a first green jacket with four successive birdies to close of which the longest, to clinch victory in fitting fashion on the 18th, was still from no more than 20 feet.

That stretch elevated him above two Australians, Jason Day and Adam Scott, who both deserve huge credit for the manner and style of their performance over the closing holes. They may both idolise Greg Norman, who fell apart so memorably here in 1996, but they certainly did not play like him in the spotlight.

The latter holed clutch putts when the pressure was highest, while Day - only 23 but with unapologetic facial hair and beautiful wife that suggest, perhaps rightly, he already believes he's figured out the game of life - belied his years to pop up with two final birdies to join his compatriot in what he hoped would prove a playoff at 12-under.

Compare and contrast that with the fortunes of the man he partnered on the first three days, Rory McIlroy. McIlroy, the prince of Augusta after an impeccable 54 holes where he made just a three bogeys and drove the ball further and straighter than anybody else, unfortunately showed he wasn't quite ready to ascend to the throne just yet.

He threatened to unravel early, as a few wayward shots underlined nerves that anybody could understand. But he appeared to have overcome them by the time he reached the 10th, still atop the leaderboard.

There, everything unravelled in the blink of the eye. A tee-shot started too far left hit pine and ricocheted back up the hill into the front garden of one of the cabins that lines the course. From there, a chip back into the fairway and over-ambitious fairway wood borne out of desperation led to more time among the trees and ultimately a triple bogey that visibly broke him.

Woods was ultimately let down by his form with the flat-stick © PA Photos
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Where before he was scrambling supremely to make his score, now it was just his mind that was scrambled. Short putts kept on missing the lip, never mind testing the hole. Somewhere between the subsequent three-putt bogey on 11 and double on 12, his challenge died a death. Everything after that was just unnecessary torture. Only time will tell whether it is a defining experience that makes or breaks him - but the manner in which he faced his demise after leaving the arena with a closing 80 suggests everyone's worst fears may not be realised.

"Just hit a poor tee shot on 10 and it unravelled from there," he was man enough to note. "I couldn't get it back. It's one of those things. But I'll get over it.

"Hopefully it will be character building."

Perhaps, regardless of whether or not McIlroy had held it together, it was just always meant to be Schwartzel's day. He chipped in on the first for a birdie when a bogey looked the most probable outcome, and then holed out again - this time for eagle! - on the short par-four third. The South African made the most of that fortune, however, and refused to relinquish the advantage it had given him every time the course politely asked for a shot or two back.

He did what almost every winner does around the Georgia course - he didn't miss from inside six-foot. Time after time he cleaned up for pars, a metronomic process reminiscent of previous surprise winners, Mike Weir and Trevor Immelman, that others struggled to match.

Then, in crunch time - like many of the greats of the game and this tournament before him have done, from Nicklaus to Woods and, well, almost every green jacket owner in between - he responded in perfect fashion. With Scott laying down the gauntlet, a shot clear of the field and with a tap-in birdie awaiting on the welcoming 16th, Schwartzel holed out for birdie on the 15th and followed his rival in for a two on the next.

Then he went two better, holing from 15 feet on 17 to put his nose in front for the first time all day, before his crowning moment after two exemplary shots on the very next.

Schwartzel may have played the thief in stealing victory away from any number of other players, but the manner and style of his triumph deservedly elevated him to golfing royalty.

He may not be the natural heir to Tiger Woods, or even prevent Rory McIlroy from one day reaching a similar destiny as the ruler of golf's great kingdom, but his place in the pantheon is now assured.

The thief?

Maybe. But the manner in which he went about his heist suggests perhaps this year's crown was rightfully his all along.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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