Quotes Following Sunday's Finish at the Masters

One of my favorite sayings is, "It's not how many times you get knocked down that counts ... It's how many times you get up." Jordan Spieth got knocked down yesterday in a very public manner. How will he respond? I'm guessing he'll use this to make himself a better golfer, but would anyone be surprised if memories of Sunday's back 9 at Augusta National become lifelong demons?

Below are some notable quotes from last night's Golf Central Live From the Masters. I especially like Rich Lerner's highlighted quote comparing Spieth to a young fighter.

On Sunday at Augusta National Golf Club
Brandel Chamblee – “No one can really remember and point to the definitive year that the phrase took hold, ‘The Masters doesn’t begin until the back nine on Sunday,’ but it is days like today that add lore to that legend.”
Rich Lerner – “An unbelievable Sunday at Augusta National.”
Lerner – “Disbelief everywhere you turn. But nothing but elation and joy for Danny Willett.”
Lerner – “There is shock all around the grounds here.”
David Duval – “We talked all week about how wide open this golf tournament was going to be because of the weather. It turns out it was wide open.”
Ryan Burr – “There is the difference between a loss and a collapse. Losses happen, collapses rattle to the core, and we were all rattled to the core today.”
Burr – “It was an incredible Masters, proving once again to be the best reality show on television.”

On Danny Willett, 2016 Masters champion at 5-under par (5-under par 67 on Sunday)
Frank Nobilo – “He did exactly what the chaser was meant to do, that is post a score.”
Nobilo – “He was as tough as nails today.”
Chamblee – “It was dizzying to watch all of the great shots that he hit.”
Duval – “He had his game plan mapped out and he did it just right.”
Tripp Isenhour – “The last guy to register is the last guy standing, and that is Danny Willett.”
Ken Schofield – “He clearly is the leader of the new pack. Many of whom are Englishmen, but indeed in all of Europe.”

On Jordan Spieth, T2 at 2-under par (1-over par 73 on Sunday)
Duval – “If you would have told anybody in the golfing world that Jordan Spieth, with the lead, would make seven birdies on Sunday at Augusta and loses? They would have said you’re crazy.”
Nobilo – “I don’t know how he shakes it off. I don’t know how we put in perspective either because we crown another Masters champion, deservedly so, but we leave with another story.”
Chamblee – “This one will hurt for a long time but I have no doubt that he will bounce right back.”
Lerner – “Spieth is like the talented young fighter who has been knocked down, knocked out for the very first time. The mark of a real legend is how they get up, how they react in the next fight.”
Duval – “This is going to add some scar tissue for Jordan Spieth.”
Duval – “He got to the 10th tee and the wheels just came off.”
Duval – “This is one of the things that is going to make him tougher, or it is going to be a hard thing to get over. All great champions do have scar tissue in them from something. This one got away from him and he is going to go back to the drawing board. He will sit down this week – I guarantee you this week – and say, ‘What happened and how do we not let that ever happen again.’”
Isenhour – “That putter is what kept him right there with that chance all week.”
Schofield – “In Europe tonight, nobody watching golf – no European golf follower – expected or wanted to see what happened to Jordan on the 12th hole. Everyone knows that Jordan is a great champion. Seeing and hearing his press conference tonight and the way he has conducted himself in the moment of great disappointment simply confirms that not only is he a great golfer, he is a very fine gentleman.”