The 2020 Masters has been delayed until November due to the coronavirus pandemic, but that didn't stop data scientist Rick Gehman from playing out the tournament as if it was played as scheduled. A SportsLine expert who co-hosts "The First Cut" podcast on CBS Sports, Gehman's simulations are used by countless DFS players and golf bettors.
For this Monte Carlo simulation, Gehman factored in every golfer's recent form along with their career history and hole-by-hole scoring at Augusta National. The field includes every golfer who had qualified for The Masters by the time the PGA halted tournaments, and real cut rules were applied. Here's how Rounds 1-2 played out.
Rounds 3-4
Webb Simpson took the term "Moving Day" seriously, carding a 7-under 65 on Saturday, tying for the low round of the day. This vaulted Simpson into a four-shot cushion atop the leaderboard, and it looked like he would need all of those shots early in Round 4. He started with a gut-punch double bogey on No. 1 but rebounded Sunday with consecutive birdies to finish his first nine 1 under. He played his second nine 1 over, without a birdie on the card, but it was enough to finish 14 under for the tournament, earning Simpson a second major championship with a four-shot win over surprise contender J.T. Poston.
Through two rounds, Jon Rahm was the odds-on favorite to capture his first career major, but he went 74-73 to finish tied for fourth, six shots back. It looked like Rory McIlroy was going to capture his first Masters and complete the career Grand Slam as he came out hot Saturday. McIlroy eagled No. 2, then birdied Nos. 3 and 4, but he couldn't capitalize as he finished with an even-par 72.
Patrick Reed tied the Masters record with a round of 63 on Thursday, but he went on to shoot 72-70-74 to finish third (-9). Poston recorded his best major finish ever at 10 under, with his final-round 72 the only day he did not go under par.
Notables through four rounds
- Tiger Woods was stuck in neutral for most of this event and didn't break par in a single round. He tied for 42nd.
- Sungjae Im, the reigning Rookie of the Year, vaulted up the leaderboard over the weekend, capping his tournament with rounds of 69-71 to finish ninth.
- Jordan Spieth continues to thrive at Augusta National. His final round 69 (-3) was good enough to notch a T10 finish.
Masters leaderboard (final)
| Golfer | To Par | Birdies or better | Bogeys or worse |
|---|---|---|---|
Webb Simpson | -14 | 26 | 8 |
J.T. Poston | -10 | 21 | 9 |
Patrick Reed | -9 | 18 | 11 |
Jon Rahm | -8 | 20 | 9 |
Rory McIlroy | -8 | 21 | 9 |
Hideki Matsuyama | -5 | 15 | 10 |
Joaquin Niemann | -4 | 15 | 7 |
Jazz Janewattananond | -4 | 20 | 8 |
Sungjae Im | -3 | 17 | 10 |
Tyrrell Hatton | -2 | 15 | 7 |
Lanto Griffin | -2 | 20 | 12 |
