Top 5 worst collapses at the Masters

Special memories are created at the Masters every year. Unfortunately, there is also heartbreak and anguish in the quest for the first major of the year.

Leaders have made the turn at Augusta National, nine holes away from a peak personal achievement, only to have it escape their clutches in the most unbelievable ways possible.

Here are the five worst final-round collapses at the Masters.

Greg Norman (1996)

A year before Tiger Woods cruised to victory at Augusta, it looked like Greg Norman would do just that as he entered the final round. 

Norman began the day with a six-shot lead over Nick Faldo. Norman just needed to be steady — get up and down, stay out of trouble. 

That lead began to shrink on the first hole. By the time he reached the tee for the 12th, Norman and Faldo were tied. 

Norman put his tee shot on the par 3 12th into the water, and Faldo grabbed a lead he would not surrender. One more tee shot into the drink on the 16th for Norman cemented one of the worst collapses in golf history.

Jordan Spieth (2016)

The 12th hole at Augusta can wreck a golfer’s shot at glory in an instant. 

Water in front, bunkers behind and to the side, and the only safe spot is on the green. 

That hole claimed another victim in 2016. 

Jordan Spieth held the lead in the final round, as he teed off on 12. But his shot came up short and rolled into the water. His first drop shot went into the water. He put his fifth shot into the bunker. 

The nightmare finally ended with a quadruple bogey, which deprived Spieth of the chance to win back-to-back Masters championships. 

Rory McIlroy (2011)

Rory McIlroy represented a group of young, up-and-coming stars in golf, and he entered the final round of the Masters with a four-shot lead. 

But it all fell apart at the start of the back nine. He hooked his tee shot on the 10th into the woods, which set off a chain of events that resulted in a triple bogey. It got even worse on the 12th, with a four-putt double bogey. 

When the round mercifully came to an end, McIlroy had fired a final-round score of 80, eight over par.

Francesco Molinari (2019)

Francesco Molinari just quietly went about his business at the Masters last year, when he took the lead and set up a Sunday showdown with Tiger Woods. 

With Woods in hot pursuit, Molinari went to the 12th hole — stop us if you’ve heard this before — and hit his tee shot into the water in front of the green. 

Woods was able to pick up two shots on Molinari, which turned the tide with six holes to play. 

Molinari was unable to get the lead back, and Woods won his first major championship since 2008.

Kenny Perry (2009)

Unlike so many Sunday contenders over the years, Kenny Perry stayed out of trouble on the 12th hole. 

The collapse didn’t begin until the 17th. 

With a two-shot lead and two holes to play, Perry’s game suddenly abandoned him. He bogeyed 17 and 18 to set up a three-way playoff with Chad Campbell and Angel Cabrera. 

Perry didn’t fare any better in the playoff, and Cabrera left Augusta with a green jacket.