19th Hole

Jordan Spieth-Dustin Johnson duel deserved better choice of playoff hole, players say

Published

9 years ago

Aug 28, 2017

The Jordan Spieth-Dustin Johnson duel at The Northern Trust was very exciting. No doubt about it. The conclusion was a bit unfortunate, however, owing to the choice of playoff hole.

You can see the lines Dustin Johnson and Jordan Spieth took off the tee in this tweet from Ian Poulter.

Shame @Fedex playoff hole had to be on the worst hole of the golf course.. 18th hole suited 5 guys in the field. Congrats DJ unlucky Jordan pic.twitter.com/ms2WZrfq0X

— Ian Poulter (@IanJamesPoulter) August 27, 2017

Poulter calls the choice of hole a “shame,” and he’s right. Johnson learned his lesson from missing the fairway right in regulation and having to lay up. He wasn’t going to make that mistake again, and instead he unleashed a howitzer, cutting the corner on a line more aggressive than Poulter with the block button on Twitter.

Does anyone other than @DJohnsonPGA even consider this line off the 18th tee? #QuickHits pic.twitter.com/pgHJS1dFWV

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 27, 2017

DJ piped his drive 341 yards. Spieth hit an excellent, 300-yard-plus drive, but was unable to take the same line.

Look, there’s an element of “you should never put the game in the ref’s hands” here. Spieth didn’t play as well as Johnson Sunday, as evidenced by, you know, their scores. Spieth shot 69. DJ shot 66.

That said, the 18th hole does offer the biggest bombers a massive advantage if they can clear the water. And it’s not really “risk-reward,” because as long as DJ makes decent contact, he carries the water. Maybe he’s in the rough, but he’s still garnered said massive advantage for his second shot. You shouldn’t hit a drive 315 yards and find yourself facing a 180-plus yard approach while your opponent is looking at a baby wedge.

Proceeding from the standpoint that a poor golf course advantages only one type of player, you can certainly make the case (as pros did) that the 18th was a poor choice of playoff hole.

If you fly it 315 then you have a 100 yd wide fairway on 18…..

It's a shame that it ended because of a long drive contest in the playoff

— Wesley Bryan (@wesleybryangolf) August 27, 2017

And yes, Johnson still had to hit the wedge. Heck, he had to hit the booming drive under pressure. But the idea of playoff hole selection is generally to pick a fairly benign hole that affords a birdie opportunity. Right?

Looking at the course map, the teebox at No. 10 (a mid-level difficulty, 445-yard par 4) would have been an even shorter commute than the 18th tee. Of course, the fans were already in place at No. 18, so you’d assume that was the tournament organizers’ guiding factor in the decision.

19th Hole

How much each player won at the 2026 Masters

Published

1 month ago

Apr 13, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

Rory McIlroy made it two wins in as many years at Augusta National, seeing off the challengers on a dramatic Sunday to slip on the green jacket once again. The victory earned Rory a whopping payday of $4.5 million, with Scottie Scheffler his closest challenger earning $2.43 million for his sole runner-up finish.

With a total prize purse of $22.5 million up for grabs, here’s a look at how much each player won at the 2026 Masters tournament.

For players that did not make the cut, they still earned $25k for their efforts at the year’s opening major.

1: Rory McIlroy, $4.5 million
2: Scottie Scheffler, $2.43 million
T3: Tyrrell Hatton, $1.08 million
T3: Russell Henley, $1.08 million
T3: Justin Rose, $1.08 million
T3: Cameron Young, $1.08 million
T7: Collin Morikawa, $725,625
T7: Sam Burns, $725,625
T9: Xander Schauffele, $630,00
T9: Max Homa, $630,00
11: Jake Knapp, $562,500
T12: Jordan Spieth, $427,500
T12: Brooks Koepka, $427,500
T12: Hideki Matsuyama, $427,500
T12: Patrick Reed, $427,500
T12: Patrick Cantlay, $427,500
T12: Jason Day, $427,500
T18: Viktor Hovland, $315,000
T18: Maverick McNealy, $315,000
T18: Matt Fitzpatrick, $315,000
T21: Keegan Bradley, $252,000
T21: Ludvig Aberg, $252,000
T21: Wyndham Clark, $252,000
T24: Matt McCarty, $182,083
T24: Adam Scott, $182,083
T24: Sam Stevens, $182,083
T24: Chris Gotterup, $182,083
T24: Michael Brennan, $182,083
T24: Brian Campbell, $182,083
T30: Alex Noren, $146,250
T30: Harris English, $146,250
T30: Shane Lowry, $146,250
T33: Gary Woodland, $121,500
T33: Dustin Johnson, $121,500
T33: Brian Harman, $121,500
T33: Tommy Fleetwood, $121,500
T33: Ben Griffin, $121,500
T38: Jon Rahm, $105,750
T38: Ryan Gerard, $101,250
T38: Haotong Li, $96,750
T41: Justin Thomas, $92,250
T41: Sepp Straka, $87,750
T41: Jacob Bridgeman, $83,250
T41: Kristoffer Reitan, $78,750
T41: Nick Taylor, $74,250
46: Sungjae Im, $69,750
47: Si Woo Kim, $65,250
48: Aaron Rai, $61,650
T49: Corey Conners, $57,600
T49: Marco Penge, $57,600
51: Kurt Kitayama, $55,250
52: Sergio Garcia, $54,000
53: Rasmus Hojgaard, $52,650
54: Charl Schwartzel, $51,300

19th Hole

CBS’s Sunday Masters coverage slammed by golf fans

Published

1 month ago

Apr 13, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

While Sunday was a dramatic day at the Masters, many golf fans were left feeling frustrated by the CBS final round coverage.

There were plenty of moments that golf fans took to social media to air their frustrations on Sunday over, including a lack of shots being shown throughout the day, being behind the live action, confusion over the approach shots of the final group on 18, and providing an angle for the winning putt where the cup couldn’t be seen.

Here’s a look at some of the criticisms that were directed at the CBS coverage throughout the day on X:

This has been a brutal broadcast for CBS. When the folks from Augusta sit down with them this year, you can bet they’ll talk about this 15 seconds where we have no idea where Rory’s ball went, and Dottie moans. #TheMasters pic.twitter.com/ak3mkpIN7V

— Ryan (@PossiblyRy) April 12, 2026

It’s rare criticism coming in for CBS, who are usually heavily praised for their Masters coverage each year.

19th Hole

The surprise club Tommy Fleetwood says is key to his Masters chances

Published

1 month ago

Apr 7, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

Tommy Fleetwood goes in search for the first major victory of his career again this week, with the Englishman proving to be a popular pick at Augusta National.

Fleetwood’s best showing at Augusta came back in 2024 where he finished T3, and while speaking at his pre-tournament press conference, the 35-year-old emphasized the importance of his 9-wood in his pursuit of the green jacket.

Speaking on Tuesday to media, Fleetwood said:

“It’s a great 9-wood golf course. I think it’s always been — I can’t remember when I first put like a 9-wood in or a high lofted club, but it’s a perfect like 9-wood golf course. I’ve had that in the bag for a few years.”

The Englishman continued, revealing that his strategy for the week won’t just be to hit driver off the tee as much as possible:

“Yeah, it’s funny really because I know Augusta is probably associated with being fairly forgiving off the tee in a way, so you think you can whale around driver a little bit. But I don’t necessarily think that’s always the play for me. I think there’s holes that set up really well where I can draw it with the mini driver if I’m feeling less comfortable with the driver and things like that.”

That strategy he believes will make his TaylorMade Qi10 9-wood extra critical this week in Georgia:

“The biggest thing is the 9-wood for me. If I can put myself in position on the par-5s or the 4th long par-3, like it — for me, I can’t really hit that high 4-iron, so 9-wood helps me a lot.”