Peter Hanson's time at top ended quickly

Peter Hanson’s lead didn’t last long in the final round of the 2012 Masters Tour­nament. Amazingly, the Swede didn’t know how quickly – and by how much – it had disappeared until much later in the round.

Hanson started the round with a one-shot lead. After a bogey-par-bogey start, he was three shots behind Louis Oosthuizen, who was playing in the group ahead and opened with par, double eagle, par.

“I didn’t actually know about it until I probably got to the ninth hole,” Hanson said of the double eagle.

Hanson closed with 1-over-par 73 and finished two shots out of a playoff between Oosthuizen and eventual winner Bubba Watson. Hanson tied for third and was the only player in the top five after 54 holes to shoot over par in the final round.

Playing with Phil Mickelson, Hanson was on the first hole when Oosthuizen made his double eagle on No. 2.

“I heard the big roar but you always think, because it was that direction, that somebody made a hole-in-one on 16, which is quite common,” Hanson said.

No. 16 was aced twice that day, but that wasn’t what this roar was about.

“I think everybody knew except us,” Hanson said. “It might sound weird, but when you’re out there playing, you don’t think of anyone else. Me and Phil, we kind of knew we were trailing.”

After shooting 2-over 38 on the front nine, Hanson was still just one shot behind Oosthuizen, who had bogeyed No. 10. Mickelson, who also shot 38, was two shots behind the leader.

“We were trying to get a little momentum going in the group. We actually had a good talk going down the 10th hole, saying at least someone in our group, the last group in Augusta, give them a bit of a fight for it,” Hanson said.

“We were trying to push each other along. It might sound a little bit weird. You want the other guy to make birdie and hope you can ride him out and hopefully you are the two that are going to play for that green jacket coming up the last few holes. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen last year.”

Mickelson made triple bogey on the par-3 fourth in the final round, shot 72 and finished tied for third with Hanson, Lee Westwood and Matt Kuchar.

Hanson won nine times worldwide before the Mas­ters but had never been in a pressure-cooker like this one.

“Hopefully, I learned a lot from it because it was the first time I was in contention in a major,” said Hanson, who went on to win twice on the Euro­pean Tour after the Mas­ters. “It was a nice position to be in going to the last round. What I dream of is to be in that same position again and see if I can go a couple of positions better.”

Hanson had more momentum than anyone entering the final round. He had the low round Saturday – a 65 that featured eight birdies after an opening bogey. In the final round, he had only two birdies, on Nos. 15 and 18.

“I was very happy with the way I played the last day,” Hanson said. “I kept striking the ball very well. My putting didn’t really hold up as good as I would have hoped. I was getting a little defensive with the putter. Maybe it comes down to a bit of nerve. It was a new situation to be in.”

He ranked third in fewest putts for the week with 110. But after averaging just more than 26 putts per round the first three days, he had 31 on Sunday.

“Putting has been my weak side for years, and I’ve improved a lot over the last couple of years,” Hanson said. “But when you get under great pressure, your weakness is still going to show up.

“On the front nine, I gave myself so many good shots (at birdie). That’s where I kind of fell backwards a little bit. I had great chances at 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9.”

Hanson had one last chance to make a run at the green jacket. After birdieing No. 15, he knocked his tee shot on the par-3 16th to within 6 feet of the hole. If he made it, Hanson would be two shots off the lead. But the birdie putt slipped by the low side of the hole.

“I missed that opportunity to get into the mix over the last two holes,” he said.

Looking back, Hanson calls the 2012 Masters “such a special week. It was only my second time getting in there. It’s just a great place. Just to be part of it is probably the biggest dream as a kid I’ve ever had. I would rate Au­gusta more special than the British Open, even though I’m Swedish and European, because it’s played at the same place. You feel like you know the golf course even if you haven’t been there.

“Being in the hunt, and getting into the last group in the final round and playing with Phil, it was a thrill.”