Jeev ends tied 37th

Jeev Milkha Singh’s hopes of a high finish in his debut Masters at the Augusta National vanished as the script went horribly wrong in the last round and he slipped from tied 16th overnight to end up tied 37th.

Jeev Milkha Singh’s hopes of a high finish in his debut Masters at the Augusta National vanished as the script went horribly wrong in the last round and he slipped from tied 16th overnight to end up tied 37th.

A series of mistakes led to a calamitous eight for the Asian Tour No 1. A quadruple bogey after criss-crossing the green three times took his focus away, and from there, a frustrated Jeev was battling with himself. Not even four birdies during the rest of the round could save Jeev as he ended with a seven-over 79.

Zach Johnson emerged the champion as he held his nerve in the closing stages. Starting the day at four-over and two behind leader Stuart Appleby, Johnson, 31, won his first Major with two shots to spare.

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Johnson shot a final round of 69 to finish one-over and two clear of the bunch of three players, including Tiger Woods (72), Rory Sabbatini (69) and Retief Goosen (69), all of whom finished at three-over 291.

“I learnt a few things, but frankly I am really disappointed. I enjoyed everything except for the last round at the Masters,” Jeev said.

“Maybe I will learn something from here. I started off badly and did not get back into shape after that,” said Jeev, who totalled 14-over-par 302 in the year’s opening Major.

“Hopefully I will be back soon at Augusta. I am happy that I made the cut and I would love to come back as I like the course. It’s set up perfectly for my game. We’ll see what happens next year,” added Jeev, who next week plays the Verizon Heritage.

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He needed two more chips to get to the green and then two-putted to complete the nightmarish hole. Through the day, Jeev seemed to be affected by the first hole as his driving was wayward and time and again he was struggling to get to the greens. And then the breaks did not go his way and at least twice the putt stopped on the lip.