Can a player overcome their Masters' Scars?

One more sleep…

On the Masters preview podcast I recorded with Paul Burke on Monday (listen here), we discussed scars at The Masters and whether players can bounce back to win after a tough loss at Augusta National.

I looked through some of the history of the tournament to see if I could find an answer. That’s what today’s post is about. Mainly because I am hoping Rory McIlroy can exorcise his demons and win on Sunday.

Man, that would be sweet.

The next post will be on Friday.

Enjoy the Masters!

Can a player overcome their Masters' Scars?

Augusta National and The Masters have lived rent-free in the heads of many of the best professional golfers in the world. Every April, another shot at a green jacket is presented to them, and for some players, the pressure is too much.

There is just too much scar tissue.

Is it possible for a player to win The Masters after experiencing heartbreak at Augusta National? Are there golfers who have overcome Augusta scars to slip their arms into that coveted garment?

For some, the answer is no. They had one arm in that jacket only to have it ripped out and handed to someone else.

Here are some players with scar tissue at The Masters. Some are in the field this week while others are in recliners, imagining what a champions’ dinner would taste like.

The Poster Child: Greg Norman

The Shark has been beaten and bruised more than anyone in the history of The Masters.

It started in 1986 for Norman. Well, maybe it started in 1981 when he made a double-bogey on the ninth hole to fall off the pace as Tom Watson would go on to win. A fourth-place finish in his first Masters is a nice start for the Australian.

The famous Jack Nicklaus victory in 1986 could very well have been Norman’s. The day started with Norman atop the leaderboard at 6-under par. In any other year, a closing 70 would have been plenty. But when the GOAT is in the field, anything can happen. A 46-year-old Nicklaus shot 65, but Norman sat in the middle of the fairway on the 18th hole in a tie for the lead after making a birdie on the 17th hole and then hit a 4-iron into the crowd right of the green and made a bogey.

It’s a stunning few minutes to watch—the buildup, the drama, the exchange between the announcers. NBC would have gone to a playing-through segment…

Norman would go on to finish T2, T5, T3 in the next three Masters. Over those four years, only six players beat him. This includes the stunning Larry Mize chip-in on the 11th hole in a playoff.

He never would win a Masters.

While Norman is the poster boy, he’s not the only one who has been wounded by Augusta National.

Close Calls and Open Wounds: Rory McIlroy and Brooks Koepka

The 21-year-old wunderkind stood on the tenth tee with a four-shot lead in 2011. A rope hook into the trees led to a disastrous triple-bogey. He would make a bogey on 11 and a double-bogey on 12 to tumble out of contention.

A chance at redemption arrived in 2018 when he was paired with Patrick Reed in the final group on Sunday. In fairness, Reed had a three-shot lead, but the opening tee shot from McIlroy continues to stir discussion because it was so poor. He hit it miles right and set the tone for the entire round. He would shoot a 74 and watch Patrick Reed shoot a safe 71 en route to victory.

In a cruel twist of fate, the golfing gods allowed Rory to record a runner-up finish in 2022 after he shot 64 on Sunday and holed out from the bunker on 18 in the final round, generating a most joyous reaction.

Brooks Koepka

The greatest major winner of the post-Tiger era has feasted on weak-willed competitors at the U.S. Open and PGA Championship over the last 7 years. However, Koepka has been burned twice at Augusta National.

First, in 2019.

Like Norman in 1986, Koepka found himself standing face-to-face with destiny. Tiger Woods was in the hunt, 11 years removed from his last Masters victory. That Sunday had a handful of players in contention. Koepka and Francesco Molinari had both beaten Woods in 2018 majors. Koepka held off Woods at the PGA Championship at Bellerive CC and Molinari beat Woods at Carnoustie in the Open Championship.

Both players, along with Tony Finau faltered on the 12th.

But Koepka eagled 13 after making a double-bogey on 12. He stood on the 18th green two shots behind Tiger, but he had a birdie putt. Tiger, in the group behind Koepka, hit a poor tee shot off the 18th tee. A two-shot swing was in the cards.

Koepka’s 12-foot birdie putt looked like the effort someone makes when they want to let their boss win a $5 Nassau.

Tiger would finish one shot better than Dustin Johnson, Xander Schauffele, and Koepka.

Then, Koepka had the 2023 Masters showdown with Jon Rahm. It was more than just Rahm v. Koepka. At that time, it was LIV Golf vs the PGA Tour, because Jon Rahm had pledged his fealty to the PGA Tour. Of course that fealty had a price…

Koepka was soundly and utterly outmatched. On the heels of his PGA Championship defeat at Kiawah at the hands of 51-year-old Phil Mickelson, it seemed he had lost his major mojo.

However, just a month after losing that Masters, he turned around and won the 2023 PGA Championship. He admitted he learned a lot from that Rahm loss at Augusta National.

But has he learned enough to win at Augusta National?

Two scars for Brooks. Not shameful to lose to Rahm and Tiger. But scars nonetheless.

Never Healed: Davis Love III, David Duval, Lee Westwood, Ernie Els

Love III seemed to be built for Augusta National. He hit the ball far and had an easygoing temperament. He had golf in his blood as the son of a golf professional.

However, he could never quite get it done. In Love’s case, his scars weren’t self-inflicted. He shot an incredible 66 in the final round of the 1995 Masters and watched Ben Crenshaw win just days after his mentor Harvey Penick had died. Crenshaw attended the funeral and returned to Augusta on Wednesday night. It felt like fate…

Then in 1999, Love spun his wheels on the back nine. He started the day two shots behind Jose Maria Olazabal, but they both made the turn at 5-under. Olazabal seemed to be leaking oil after shooting 38. He turned it around on the back and shot a 33. Davis Love couldn’t keep the pace, shot 35, and lost to the Spaniard by two shots.

David Duval

It was an astounding run of golf from 1998-2001 for Duval. But he couldn’t break through. The biggest scar came in 1998 when he held the lead at 9-under par standing on the 16th tee. He made a bogey on 16 while Mark O’Meara finished with back-to-back birdies to beat Duval by a shot.

From 1998 to 2001, Duval finished T2, T6, T3, and 2. He never made a cut after that in his career.

Lee Westwood

Westwood recorded five top-ten finishes from 2010-2017. His closest calls were in 2010 and 2016.

He started the final round tied with Phil Mickelson in 2010, but Mickelson shot a 67, and Westwood couldn’t keep up. He’d shoot a 71 and lose by three. If any doubt were to creep into Westwood’s mind, it might have been because scores were extremely low that Sunday. Anthony Kim shot 65, and K.J. Choi and Tiger Woods both shot 69. Every player in the top 7 beat him that day, and he was one of two players in the top 7 that didn’t break 70. The other player? 51-year-old Fred Couples shot 70.

In 2016, Westwood was six shots behind leader Jordan Spieth as he made the turn. However, Spieth collapsed (more on Spieth later…) and opened the door for a bunch of players. Danny Willett shot a 67 to beat Westwood by three shots. Westwood didn’t play poorly, firing a 69 in that final round.

Since that 2016 close call, Westwood has only played in four Masters; his best finish is T17… but that’s what the LIV money is for…

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Ernie Els

Like David Duval, Els had a wildly strong run for five straight Masters. From 2000-2004 he finished 2, T6, T5, T6, 2.

Els paid his dues from 2000-2003; he put himself into contention but often spun his wheels on Sunday.

But in 2004, he was in a duel with Phil Mickelson. He started the day three shots behind Mickelson, but an eagle on 13 and a birdie on 15 put him on the cusp of winning a green jacket. At the very least, a playoff was likely.

But Mickelson, who had yet to win a major, made birdie on 16 to tie Els at 8-under. Mickelson would twist the knife on 18 with a birdie putt that removed all the monkeys off his back as he finally won a major championship.

Els would never finish higher than T13 again.

Other historical scars

Of course, we can’t forget Scott Hoch’s missed short putt in 1989 on the first playoff hole against Nick Faldo.

Or Ed Snead’s disastrous finish that let Masters rookie Fuzzy Zoeller win.

Or Kenny Perry’s bogey-bogey finish in 2009. He’d lose to Angel Cabrera in a playoff.

And then there’s Curtis Strange playing the last six holes in 3-over par in 1985 to lose to Bernhard Langer by two shots?

Can someone win with Augusta Scars? Like, legitimate scars?

Phil Mickelson won in 2004 and had a very strong record at Augusta National leading up to that point. Did he have scar tissue? Yes. He was the best player without a major, and some (like me) thought he might never win one.

But he never experienced real heartbreak at Augusta National. He had it at Winged Foot, Shinnecock, Bethpage, and Atlanta Athletic Club. Every close call at Augusta for Mickelson didn’t feel like a wound.

Jose Maria Olazabal might be the only player blew a chance to win a green jacket and bounced back to win at Augusta National. In 1991, he made a bogey on the 18th hole to lose to Ian Woosnam by a shot. Olazabal would win in 1994 and 1999.

Now, the most interesting character here is Jordan Spieth because he has a green jacket; however, after he won, he had maybe the worst collapse since Greg Norman’s 1980s and 1990s anthology.

In 2016, as a 21-year-old defending champion, he reached the tenth tee with a five-shot lead over Danny Willett. It seemed a coronation was in progress. Then, he played holes Nos. 10-12 in 5-over par.

The disaster at 12 plays out over nearly 20 minutes on the coverage. He went from first to fourth on that devilish par 3.

A look at the scorecards…

It feels like Spieth should have 10 green jackets.

He has one.

He also made a ridiculous charge in 2018 but clipped the tree off the tee on the 18th, made a bogey, and signed for a 64.

Spieth might have scars even with a victory. Can he overcome those scars and win another green jacket?

He’s still just 31 years old, so he has 8-10 good years left and maybe 10 more years in which he could use his guile to win.

So… Can Rory overcome his scars?

This is Rory McIlroy’s 17th Masters — and perhaps his most pressurized, with the elusive green jacket still standing between him and the career Grand Slam.

Sergio Garcia won his first Masters on his 19th try! Sergio didn’t have any true Masters scars, but you could write a book about his scars in the other majors.

To heap even more pressure on McIlroy, The Masters might be the toughest tournament to have as the fourth leg of the Grand Slam. 2025 marks the 11th time McIlroy is arriving at Augusta National with Grand Slam aspirations.

That’s a lot of pressure, and there’s a lot of scar tissue there, even the kind that doesn’t show up on Wikipedia and in game stories from past events. The U.S. Open at Pinehurst and a lackluster showing at Troon are fairly recent, too.

This might be Rory’s best chance since that doomed Sunday in 2011 — and perhaps his last, best shot to evict the demons that have lived rent-free in his head for 14 years.

It would put him on a short list of players who have healed from their Augusta National scars and slipped both arms into that coveted green jacket.

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