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Masters Playoffs - 1990s
Infamous 11th hole aids Faldo's second sudden-death win
Posted: Saturday April 07, 2001 4:52 PM
Updated: Tuesday March 26, 2002 6:04 PM
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Nick Faldo won his second consecutive Masters playoff in 1990. File/The Augusta Chronicle |
By John Boyette
The Augusta Chronicle
There must be something about the 11th hole at Augusta National Golf Club.
Sure, it's the start of the most famous trilogy in golf, Amen Corner.
It's also acquired a reputation as a tough par-4. Ben Hogan, one of the most precise golfers in the history of the game, used to aim his approach shots just to the right of the green. That way, he would avoid the hole's main hazard - the pond guarding the front and left sides of the green.
And while Hogan and others have cursed the hole, Nick Faldo isn't about to say a disparaging word about the 455-yard gem known as White Dogwood.
Faldo won his first Masters in 1989 with a birdie on the 11th in a sudden-death playoff against Scott Hoch.
A year later, Faldo found himself in another playoff at the Masters, this time against Ray Floyd.
Floyd, 47, was bidding to become the oldest champion, while Faldo was trying to become the tournament's second back-to-back winner.
Floyd, who won the Masters in 1976, played solid golf all week. Through three rounds, he had a solid lead over John Huston. Faldo had started slowly, but a third-round 66 put him in the hunt going into Sunday.
Raymond Floyd, the 1976 Masters champion, was trying to become the oldest winner in tournament history. File/The Augusta Chronicle |
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All day Sunday, it looked like Floyd's tournament. Through 12 holes in the final round, he had a comfortable four-shot lead.
But Faldo wouldn't go away. Birdies at Nos. 13, 15 and 16 put him in the thick of things, and when Floyd three-putted from 50 feet on the 17th, the two were tied. Both made par on the closing hole to finish regulation play at 10-under 278, five shots ahead of their closest pursuers.
On the first playoff hole, Faldo was bunkered and got up-and-down for a par. Floyd's birdie putt from close range came up short.
On the second playoff hole - No. 11 - Floyd played first from the fairway. But he badly pulled the iron shot into the pond guarding the green, paving the way for Faldo to win with a routine par.
And that's just what the Englishman did. He put his approach to about 20 feet and two-putted for par.
Floyd had to take a drop and, with a penalty stroke for finding the water, hit his fourth shot onto the green. It was a crushing blow.
``I don't think I've ever had anything affect me like this,'' he said after the round. ``At this stage in my career, you don't know if you'll get another chance.''
It was the second straight year Faldo had taken advantage of a playoff opportunity to win one of golf's most coveted titles.
``I think maybe No. 11 is my hole,'' Faldo told reporters after the playoff. ``I really feel as if I made history this time.''
| 1990 Masters |
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| Players |
Score |
Earnings |
| *Nick Faldo |
71-72-66-69-278 |
$225,000 |
| Ray Floyd |
70-68-68-72-278 |
$135,000 |
| John Huston |
66-74-68-75-283 |
$72,500 |
| Lanny Wadkins |
72-73-70-68-283 |
$72,500 |
| Fred Couples |
74-69-72-69-284 |
$50,000 |
| Jack Nicklaus |
72-70-69-74-285 |
$45,000 |
| Seve Ballesteros |
74-73-68-71-286 |
$35,150 |
| Bill Britton |
68-74-71-73-286 |
$35,150 |
| Bernhard Langer |
70-73-69-74-286 |
$35,150 |
| Scott Simpson |
74-71-68-73-286 |
$35,150 |
| Curtis Strange |
70-73-71-72-286 |
$35,150 |
| Tom Watson |
77-71-67-71-286 |
$35,150 |
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* Faldo won on the second hole (No. 11) of sudden death with a par.
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| Faldo |
4-4 |
| Floyd |
4-5 |
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