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Danny Willett wins Masters after Spieth blowup
England's Danny Willett reaped the benefit of a Jordan Spieth blowup early on the back nine at Augusta National and won the Masters by three strokes on Sunday.
Spieth took a five-stroke lead into the back nine, then bogeyed 10 and 11 and put two shots in the water on the par-3 12th, leading to a quadruple bogey that left him three behind the eventual winner.
Willett, in only his second Masters appearance, is the first Englishman to win the Masters since Nick Faldo won it for the third time in 1995.
With a 72-hole score of five-under-par, Willett, 12th in the World Ranking won his first major at 28 years old. He shot a five-under 67 in the final round, recording five birdies and no bogeys and beat Spieth by three.
Spieth was attempting to win wire-to-wire for the second straight year and to become one of only four to win in consecutive years, joining Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods.
He birdied the final four holes and shot 32 on the front nine before his back-nine collapse. Spieth and another Englishman Lee Westwood tied for second. Westwood shot a three-under par 69, Spieth a one-over 73.
Dustin Johnson, still in search of his first major, finished tied for fourth place at one-under with Paul Casey and J.B. Holmes. Johnson trailed Willett by two strokes after 16, but three-putted the par-4 17 for a double bogey that ended his bid.
Rory McIlroy remained a Masters victory short of a career grand slam. He tied for 11th, along with Jason Day, Justin Rose, Daniel Berger and Brandt Snedeker.
Shane Lowry, Davis Love III and Louis Oosthuizen, meanwhile, each recorded a hole-in-one on the par-3 16th hole.