Pressure. The intense pressure of the final round of a major championship and especially the pressure on the back nine at Augusta National on Sunday.
Rory McILroy started his Sunday by smashing his drive straight down the middle of the fairway at the first. Then, with a short iron approach shot, he pulled it left, short-sided himself, and then failed to get up and down when he missed a three foot putt. From there, the day turned into a disaster.
He fought hard to shoot only one over 37 on the front nine, but after hitting a tee shot into another zip code at the tenth leading to a triple bogey, he couldn't steady himself and it was over.
He's not alone however, with the final round blow-up. Most recently, Dustin Johnson had a six shot lead at the 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble before posting a final round 82. Nick Watney held the lead at the 2010 PGA Championship before a final round 81. At the 2007 U.S. Open. Aaron Baddely held the lead before opening with a triple bogey and going on to shoot 80.
Of course, the most notable Masters blow-up happened when Greg Norman held a six shot lead over Nick Faldo in 1996. He shot a final round 78 to to lose by five strokes to Faldo, who shot 67.
It all just goes to show how much the stress and pressure effects the players with the lead heading into the final round of a major, especially younger players.
