Patrick Reed started the final day at the Masters with a three-shot lead ahead of Rory McIlroy. Many thought the final round would be Reed, the controversial American, going mano a mano against McIlroy.

But no one told that to Rickie Fowler and Jordan Spieth, who both made spirited runs on Reed, who prevailed by a single shot to win the Masters and his first major championship.

The combustible Reed, who seems to relish the pressure and emotion of golf’s biggest stages, looked shaky out of the chute, bogeying the first hole.

“It was tough out there,” Reed admitted after the round.

Somehow, despite the pressure, and the chase by both Fowler and Spieth, Reed managed to compensate for any shortcomings over the round, making birdies with some miraculous putting to overcome the occasional bogey. It wasn’t always pretty—but it was effective, and when he rolled in a par on the final hole, Reed was the Masters champ.

“To have to par the last hole to win my first major—it definitely felt right,” he said. “It is almost impossible to put into words.”

Reed edged out Rickie Fowler, who started the day five back of Reed.

“I battled through the front nine very well,” Fowler said. “I put myself in a position where at least I had a chance.”

There’s no question that Fowler pushed Reed to the end, making six birdies in the final 11 holes, including a short birdie on 18 that cut the lead to one.

“We gave it our all—left it all out there,” Fowler said. “Nice to get the one at the last, to keep him honest.”

Fowler finished at 14-under, one shot behind Reed. It was his best Masters finish.

The most improbable round of the day was carded by Jordan Spieth. The young Texan started the round with two birdies and never let up. For making his ninth birdie by the 16^th hole, Spieth looked like he might post a score that Reed, playing two holes behind him, couldn’t match. But a poor drive on the 18^th that clipped a tree left Spieth with a wood into the 18^th, and he missed a short putt for par to finish with 64, 13-under for the tournament.

“The first few holes were stress free,” said Spieth. “And then it was just trying to be patient with what the golf course would five.”

Still, Spieth admitted the finish left him “gutted,” and two shots back of Reed.

Tiger Woods finally put a solid round together, though it was too little too late. Woods carded a 3-under final round that moved him up the leaderboard to finish the tournament in 32^nd place. Coming into the tournament Woods was the odds-on Vegas favourite, but he found himself over par and barely squeaking into the weekend. His final round saw five birdies and an eagle, and four bogeys to finish at 69, and 1-over for the tournament. Still, Woods seemed happy about just being able to tee it up.

“I missed playing out here,” he said. “I missed competing against these guys. It is such a great event, the best-run event in our sport, and I am glad to be able to compete and hit the ball the way I did.”

Adam Hadwin, the only Canadian to make the cut, had a solid final round, shooting 1-under par to finish 1-under for the tournament. Hadwin hit 11 of 18 greens in the final round, and 11 of 14 fairways, but never seemed to settle in with his putter. Still his finish of T24 is an improvement over his first Masters, where Hadwin finished in a tie for 36^th.

There was one Canadian that did hoist a trophy this week at Augusta National. 11-year-old Vanessa Borovilos from Toronto won the girls 10-11 division in the Drive, Chip and Putt contest. Two other Canadians participated in the competition, 15-year old Luke DelGobbo, who practices at Golf Town’s store in St. Catharines, and Landon Kelly, 9, of Lindsay, Ont.