Jordan Spieth held a five-shot lead going into the final nine holes of the 2015 US Masters. He finished three shots behind eventual champion Danny Willett. Chris Carlson / AP Photo
Jordan Spieth held a five-shot lead going into the final nine holes of the 2015 US Masters. He finished three shots behind eventual champion Danny Willett. Chris Carlson / AP Photo
Jordan Spieth held a five-shot lead going into the final nine holes of the 2015 US Masters. He finished three shots behind eventual champion Danny Willett. Chris Carlson / AP Photo
Jordan Spieth held a five-shot lead going into the final nine holes of the 2015 US Masters. He finished three shots behind eventual champion Danny Willett. Chris Carlson / AP Photo

Danny Willett knew Jordan Spieth would not repeat Masters meltdown at British Open


  • English
  • Arabic

Danny Willett says newly-crowned Open champion Jordan Spieth was always capable of recovering from his Masters meltdown.

Spieth famously squandered a five-shot lead with nine holes to play at Augusta National in 2016, with Willett taking full advantage to claim his first major title thanks to a superb closing 67.

It looked as though history was repeating itself in the final round at Royal Birkdale on Sunday as Spieth let slip a three-shot lead and fell a stroke behind Matt Kuchar following a protracted bogey on the 13th.

However, the 23-year-old American then played the next four holes in five under par to claim his third major title and set up a chance to surpass Tiger Woods as the youngest winner of the career grand slam in next month's US PGA at Quail Hollow.

Spieth's quadruple bogey at 2016 Masters

"He's never that far away, a guy that can score as good as he scores and putts as good as he putts," Willett said after finishing 76th of the 77 players to make the cut.

"Mentally for his age, for anyone's age, he's one of the best around and it shows on a week like this where the weather comes in. He's played in some pretty bad conditions and he does what he does best.

"He's very good at leading. I think his 36 and 54-hole stats are pretty phenomenal. A lot of that is similar to Tiger - they know he's not going to come back [to the pack], he can hit a few iffy ones but everyone thinks he's always going to hole a few of those crucial ones [putts] at the right time.

"That's why everyone was so surprised in April 2016 when he didn't polish that one off.

"He shot one over on Sunday at the Masters, we shot five under. He didn't play horrendous, it was just one of them things that happened. It was our time to do it and to win."

Also read:

John McAuley: Spieth proves once again he is golf's Guy To Beat

Spirit of Spieth: 10 things you didn't know about Spieth

As defending champion, Spieth could not simply leave Augusta National as soon as possible following his nightmare round. Tradition dictated he had to present his successor Willett with the green jacket.

"Out of anyone in the world he would take that as good as most," Willett added.

"If you really break it down it's one hole [a quadruple bogey on the 12th] that cost him, but he was always going to come back fine.

"You look at how he was afterwards and it shows the class of person he is and how mentally strong he is regardless of situations."

The essentials

What: Emirates Airline Festival of Literature

When: Friday until March 9

Where: All main sessions are held in the InterContinental Dubai Festival City

Price: Sessions range from free entry to Dh125 tickets, with the exception of special events.

Hot Tip: If waiting for your book to be signed looks like it will be timeconsuming, ask the festival’s bookstore if they have pre-signed copies of the book you’re looking for. They should have a bunch from some of the festival’s biggest guest authors.

Information: www.emirateslitfest.com
 

Getting there
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Tbilisi from Dh1,025 return including taxes

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2012-2015

The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East

May 2017

The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts

September 2021

Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act

October 2021

Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence 

December 2024

Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group

May 2025

The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan

July 2025

The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan

August 2025

Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision

October 2025

Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange

November 2025

180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE

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How to donate

Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
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Gulf Under 19s final

Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B

Everton 1 Stoke City 0
Everton (Rooney 45 1')
Man of the Match Phil Jagielka (Everton)

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AL%20BOOM
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Padmaavat

Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Starring: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Jim Sarbh

3.5/5

How to improve Arabic reading in early years

One 45-minute class per week in Standard Arabic is not sufficient

The goal should be for grade 1 and 2 students to become fluent readers

Subjects like technology, social studies, science can be taught in later grades

Grade 1 curricula should include oral instruction in Standard Arabic

First graders must regularly practice individual letters and combinations

Time should be slotted in class to read longer passages in early grades

Improve the appearance of textbooks

Revision of curriculum should be undertaken as per research findings

Conjugations of most common verb forms should be taught

Systematic learning of Standard Arabic grammar

WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?

1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull

2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight

3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge

4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own

5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed

MATCH INFO

Chelsea 0

Liverpool 2 (Mane 50', 54')

Red card: Andreas Christensen (Chelsea)

Man of the match: Sadio Mane (Liverpool)

Ferrari 12Cilindri specs

Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12

Power: 819hp

Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm

Price: From Dh1,700,000

Available: Now

Sri Lanka World Cup squad

Dimuth Karunaratne (c), Lasith Malinga, Angelo Mathews, Thisara Perera, Kusal Perera, Dhananjaya de Silva, Kusal Mendis, Isuru Udana, Milinda Siriwardana, Avishka Fernando, Jeevan Mendis, Lahiru Thirimanne, Jeffrey Vandersay, Nuwan Pradeep, Suranga Lakmal.

Other acts on the Jazz Garden bill

Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples.
Lin Rountree
An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts.
Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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