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Fellow pros feel sympathy, empathy for Spieth

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – All of the elements were there, the competitive version of Kübler-Ross’ five stages of death and dying unfolding like clockwork in the days and hours since Sunday’s shocking finish at the Masters.

No one died but the mood at Harbour Town Golf Links, site of this week’s RBC Heritage, matched the gloom that hung low over the course.

As players made their way out for drizzly practice rounds, the same elements Elisabeth Kübler-Ross outlined in her landmark book “On Death and Dying” surfaced.

In 1969, Kübler-Ross created the acronym DABDA to help map the grieving process – denial, anger, bargaining, depression and, finally, acceptance.