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Reed fights off Spieth to claim his first green jacket

Sunday was a day dominated by the "Young Guys" of golf with Patrick Reed, Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler all sitting near the top of the leaderboard. One "Young Guy" prevailed and claimed his first Major Championship - his name was Patrick Reed. Reed held onto his lead on Sunday to win his first green jacket, which isn't easy to do at Augusta National.

Patrick Reed's resilience was the key to success. His resilience was tested right out of the gate, as he made bogey on his first hole. After his bogey, Reed righted the ship to remain even par after the front nine.

Reed was aggressive all day, even given the lead he had. His approach shot at Hole 13 stuck out because he had the whole green to miss. Reed went for the hole and hit it short of the green. He was eventually able to recover and make par, but at the time it looked to be a turning point in his round.

The back nine for Reed was up and down, as he missed some putts but was able to birdie on the next hole after those missed opportunities. Birdieing Holes 12 and 14 on the back nine, Reed eventually secured the win with a two-putt on the 18th hole to finish the 72 holes at 15 under.

Two familiar faces in Spieth and Fowler were on Reed's tail all day. Playing a few holes ahead of Reed, Spieth kept the pressure on as he and Reed were neck and neck throughout the afternoon.

Spieth's birdie at Hole 16 and Reed's par at the 13th seemed, at the time, to be the turning point of the day. Unfortunately, Spieth could only pull within one on the day. Spieth's run seemed to deflate as he clipped a tree limb on his final drive, causing him to bogey on his final hole. Spieth finished the day at eight under par.

As for Fowler, he had a tremendous final day, finishing eight under and birdieing on four of his last seven holes. But Fowler just couldn't gain the one stroke to catch Reed. Fowler's birdie on the 18th put the pressure on the leader, but Reed was strong down the stretch - ripping his drive down the 18th fairway, setting up for an easy par for his win.

This victory could very well ignite Patrick Reed's career - he's only 27 years old. A fan favorite, also known as "Captain America" after his performance in the 2014 Ryder Cup, Reed is familiar with Augusta as he played college golf at Augusta State (Augusta University) and University of Georgia.

Winning the Masters has undoubtedly been on Reed's mind for a long time. "Captain America" will forever go down as a Masters Champion, something he could only dream of before Sunday.

schierka@miamioh.edu

@KSchierlinger

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