Hanson slips from Masters lead early, can't recover

As Peter Hanson prepares to look into the past, he hopes for selective memory.

He can’t forget he had a one-shot lead entering Sunday’s final round of the 2012 Masters Tournament. But he wants to remember how he got there, particularly Saturday’s remarkable 31 on the second nine.

“I think, when I look back at it, I will remember (Saturday) more than (Sunday),” Hanson said. “That back nine, that’s something you dream about as a kid. Seen it so many times, shooting 31, 32 and 30 on the back nine, and to be able to do that yourself and get into contention, it was a great experience.”

Hanson, who shot 1-over on Sunday, finished at 8-under for the tournament, which placed him in a tie for third and two shots behind Bubba Watson and Louis Oosthuizen.

The Swede – trying to become the first from his country to win a major – lost his tenuous lead after one hole, and had to wait until No. 15 to get his first birdie of the final round.

Hanson, who was in the unique position of being in the lead of a major, said he felt calm going up to the first tee. But he bogeyed there and at No. 3.

He also missed birdie putts as he approached the end of the front nine before he confronted the unusual on 12 and 13.

First, he had what he called the “perfect shank” on the tee shot at No. 12, when he failed to make it over Rae’s Creek. He fell a shot back there.

Then, on 13, a shot bounced back out from near the water. On another shot, he didn’t get enough rollback to provide a decent distance for a birdie putt. He had to settle for par.

Though he made birdie at No. 15, Hanson needed several more to threaten the top of the leaderboard.

But a birdie putt lipped out on 16, and a final birdie on No. 18 still left him two shots short.

Still, it was a little bright spot after he entered the day faced with a monumental task.

“I think it was pretty difficult,” Hanson said about having the lead to begin Sunday. “It was really nice playing with Phil (Mickelson). But, still playing in the last group in a major, especially here in Augusta, it’s a very special thing.”

It’s going to be an experience he’ll try to focus on as he recalls the 2012 Masters and hopes to put himself in a similar position next year.

“Hopefully, now I get a new shot at it next year,” Hanson said. “We’ll see what we can do.”