Bubba Watson secured his second Green Jacket following a closing 69 in the 2014 Masters at Augusta National in Georgia
Bubba Watson shot a final-round 69 to record a eight-under-par 72-hole total and win his second Green Jacket in the 2014 Masters at Augusta National.
He started Sunday in a tie for the lead with Jordan Spieth, and the two Americans exchanged places atop the leaderboard in the early stages.
Spieth birdied the second, holed his bunker shot at the par-3 4th and made a slick downhiller on the par-4 7th to move into a two-shot lead.
But bogeys at 8 and 9, coupled with Watson birdies at 6, 8 and 9, saw the pair swap places atop the leaderboard.
Watson bogeyed the 10th, and although Spieth salvaged a four after finding water at the par-3 12th, he wasn't able to birdie the reachable 13th.
Watson, by contrast, hit a 366-yard drive, found the green with a wedge and two-putted for a timely birdie to open up a three-shot lead.
Elsewhere, Jonas Blixt made a four at the par-5 13th to reach five-under-par, and Matt Kuchar was lurking four off the lead, but you got the sense they needed help from the big-hitting left-hander.
Kuchar and Blixt weren't able to make any more birdies, and with Miguel Angel Jimenez and Rickie Fowler too far back to effect the outcome, Watson was able to par the last four holes with relative ease and secure his second Masters title.
"I don't remember the last few holes. I just remember haging on. All I thought about was making pars. Walking up 18 was a little easier this time!
"After giving away that jacket last year I wanted it back. It took a lot of hard work and dedication. I've never loved green so much!"
It wasn't to be for Spieth, but he showed immense skill and aptitude throughout the week, and convinced all those watching he's a future major champion in the making. He finished tied for second with Blixt, a man who's notched top-5s in both the major championships he's competed in.
It was also a remarkable performance from Jimenez, who finished in alone in fourth - his best Masters finish - in his first major since turning 50.
Kuchar and Fowler rounded out the top 5, the latter recording his best finish in a Major Championship.
Final leaderboard:
1) B Watson (USA) -8 2) J Spieth (USA) -5 2) J Blixt (SWE) -5 4) M.A. Jimenez (ESP) -3 5) M Kuchar (USA) -2 5) R Fowler (USA) -2 7) L Westwood (ENG) -1 8) B Langer (GER) - E 8) R McIlroy (NIR) - E 8) T Bjorn (DEN) - E 8) K Stadler (USA) - E 8) J Senden (AUS) - E 8) J Walker (USA) - E
Bold signifies Titleist golf ball usage
