(Photo by Dom Furore)

By E. Michael Johnson
It was another record scoring day at Augusta National, with Patrick Reed pulling out his first major championship win. Reed’s closing 71 meant that 15 of the top 16 players on the final leader board broke par on Sunday. Let’s break down the final day numbers with the latest edition of intriguing stats from Augusta.

LONG HOLES BRING BIG REWARD FOR REED

Patrick Reed’s winning 15-under-par 273 total was built almost entirely on his play on the par 5s. After playing them in 13 under for the first three days, Reed managed a lone birdie and three pars on the three-shotters on Sunday to put him at 14 under for the week. That just narrowly missed setting the tournament mark of 15 under on the par 5s, held by Greg Norman in 1995, Tiger Woods in 2010, Ernie Els in 12013 and Phil Mickelson in 2015. Ironically, perhaps Reed was better off not matching the mark as none of those four won in that year.

SPIETH’S MAD DASH TO THE FINISH

Jordan Spieth might not have gotten his second green jacket, but his performance Sunday brought him a share of another line in the 2018 Masters record book. Spieth’s final-round 64 tied the tournament mark for lowest final-round score in Masters history, a mark previously set by six players. Spieth went 31-33 over his two nines and finished third. Of the players who have shot 64 in the final round of the Masters, only Gary Player in 1978 won the tournament.

1974: Maurice Bembridge (34-30—64)

1975: Hale Irwin (32-32—64)

1978: Gary Player (34-30—64)

1988: Greg Norman (30-34—64)

1998: David Toms (35-29—64)

2012: Bo Van Pelt (34-30—64)

2018: Jordan Spieth (31-33—64)

SHOULD HAVE BEEN GOOD ENOUGH, BUT WASN’T

A little sympathy for Rickie Fowler. The man in orange finished at 14-under-par 274 yet had to settle for second place behind Patrick Reed. To put Fowler’s fine play into perspective, his score would have been good enough to win all but six of the previous 81 Masters. The only winning scores lower than Fowler’s were Jack Nicklaus (271 in 1965); Raymond Floyd (271 in 1976); Tiger Woods (270 in 1997); Woods again (272 in 2001); Phil Mickelson (272 in 2010) and Jordan Spieth (270 in 2015).

ACES CONTINUE TO BE WILD ON THE 16TH

Charley Hoffman’s ace on the par-3 16th was the 20th hole in one on that hole in the tournament’s history. The first was by Ross Somerville in the tournament’s inaugural year of 1934 when he hit a mashie niblick from 145 yards into the cup. But it’s been recently that the fireworks have come more frequently. Hoffman’s ace marks the ninth on No. 16 from 2010, perhaps aided by faster green speeds in recent years that bring the ball down the slope more easily and consistently.

AUGUSTA, GA – APRIL 08: Charley Hoffman of the United States plays his second shot on the fifth hole during the final round of the 2018 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 8, 2018 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)

THE BEST FIVE-YEAR START TO A MASTERS CAREER ISN’T SPIETH’S

Jordan Spieth’s record at the Masters is impressive. A win, pair of T-2s and a T-11 and a third-place showing this year. The only player with a better record in first five pro starts at Augusta National is Jack Nicklaus: three wins, a T-2 and T-15 from 1962-66. Here are the records of Spieth compared to nine of the game’s greats in their first five starts at the Masters.

Jordan Spieth: T-2, 1, T-2, T-11, 3

Byron Nelson: T-9, 13, 1, 5, 7

Sam Snead: 18, T-31, 2, T-7, T-6

Ben Hogan: T-25, 9, T-10, 4, 2

Arnold Palmer: T-10, 21, T-7, 1, 3

Jack Nicklaus: T-15, 1, T-2, 1, 1

Gary Player: T-24, MC, T-8, T-6, 1

Tom Watson: T-8, T-33, 1, T-2, T-2

Phil Mickelson: T-34, T-7, 3, MC, T-12

Tiger Woods: 1, T-8, T-18, 5, 1