If golf was played over nine holes, Westwood would be Masters champ and Tiger would have won majors in 2012 and 2013

The front-nine cost Westwood a first major

There’s been a great deal of talk about nine-hole golf lately. 

It’s been proposed as a solution for people who can’t spare the best part of four hours to play an 18-hole round of golf. This year’s Open will even see a nine-hole championship hosted at Royal Troon in the week before the main tournament. 

But imagine if all of the majors were played over nine holes, instead of 18. The results would be very different. That’s what England Golf discovered when they examined the scoring in all majors from the last five years as part of the Golf Express campaign, which promotes the nine-hole format. 

Tiger Woods would have 16 majors

Tiger Woods’ battle to chase down and surpass Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 majors has stalled since his U.S. Open victory in 2008. If the 2012 Open Championship had only been played on the front-nine at Royal Lytham & St Annes, however, Woods would have won the Claret Jug for the fourth time in his career. Woods would have finished at 4-under, putting him clear of eventual winner Ernie Els and second-placed Adam Scott. 

Woods would also have won the 2013 Masters, were it not for that annoying thing known as the back-nine. Woods would have been 4-under, two shots clear of Angel Cabrera, Jason Day and Marc Leishman, and slipping into a green jacket for the fifth time in his career. 

Lee Westwood would have won the 2016 Masters 

They say the Masters doesn’t start until the back-nine on the Sunday, and this year’s tournament proved that to be very true. If the tournament had only been played on the back-nine, an Englishman would still have emerged victorious, but it would have been Lee Westwood rather than Danny Willett. 

And Justin Rose would have won the 2015 Masters

“During practice, I often play nine holes rather than 18,” says Justin Rose. Had he been afforded that luxury at the 2015 Masters, playing only the back-nine, he’d have doubled his career major tally, adding a green jacket to the U.S. Open he won in 2013.