Geoff Shackelford's blog has long featured a topical daily golf quote, and with such quotes being legally in the public domain I see little reason not to piggyback off of his research staff.
Overview - Masters week is finally upon us and the anticipation grows with each hour. Let's kick off with this Augusta National flyover video (h/t Maggot):
The elevation changes and mounding around the greens suffers from the two-dimensional camera work, but as well as we know these holes there's always something that jumps out at you. For instance, I was struck this time by all of the right-to-left tee shots required on driving holes, as well as by the sheer length of the chute you drive through on the 18th. The Ike tree is still there in this video, so you'll appreciate how tight a driving hole it became when they added the row of trees down the right fairway line.
Kids Rule - Shack also contributes a nice post at The Loop on the Drive, Chip and Putt competition, giving it major props:
Yes, there were the well-produced pre-packaged features by Golf Channel telling us the contestant backstories, a necessary component to humanizing the contestants. (Payne called Golf Channel's coverage effort "remarkable.") Ultimately though, as hoped, it was the high-definition skills competition contested on the storied property that any golfer could enjoy watching. There were kids of all shapes and sizes -- even cross-handed players Logan Medcalf and Patrick Welch -- competing with stunning dignity under what most of us would think of as unimaginable pressure. Yet for all of their nerves, the air at Augusta National's practice areas and 18th green was one of dignified joy at the site of young people demonstrating hard-earned skill.
I got that sense from the little I saw of the Golf Channel coverage. It was just quite cool seeing the kids give it their all, knowing they must have been struggling to breathe under that kind of pressure. But isn't this the best part:
Adding to the scene was the unexpected interest of past champions and contestants. There was
Defending champ Adam Scott provides a thrill to last a lifetime. Darren Clark warming up on the range, stopping between shots to watch 9-year-olds drive it 200 yards. Jordan Spieth high-fived competitors rotating through the drive, chip and putt stations, appearing genuinely tickled at the sight of it all. Fred Couples leaned on his putter as only the 1992 Masters champion could, genuinely fascinated to watch young boys and girls trying to make putts. So did Mark O'Meara and Vijay Singh. Sprinkled throughout the stations or in the galleries were club members in their green jackets, including Comcast CEO Brian Roberts helming a microphone to announce players on the 18th green.
That's the brilliance of the date, ensuring an audience of big-time professionals to salute the stars of the day. Shack speaks in his post of "grow-the-game fatigue", which rings true after a Spring of silly Hack Golf and soccer on golf course initiatives that anyone with an IQ in the middle two digits immediately understands as, to be charitable, completely misguided. This, on the other hand, is so shockingly simple and logical, that you can only wonder why it took so long to think up.
We still have to understand that golf isn't for everyone... but this can go a long way to making the sport cool for kids that are open to it.
Foam Fingers at the Ready - If Adam Scott had kept his lunch down at Bay Hill three weeks ago, he would have taken over the No. 1 ranking in the OWGR from Mr. Eldrick Woods. Turns out, per Will Gray at Golf Channel, that the No. 1 ranking is even more up for grabs this week:
With Tiger Woods missing the Masters for the first time since 1994, the top spot in the world
The holder is perhaps getting a bit ahead of himself. rankings is officially up for grabs.
While Woods is still atop the standings entering this week, the three players directly behind him at Nos. 2-4 - Adam Scott, Henrik Stenson and Jason Day - can all overtake him with a high finish this week at the Masters.
Not surprisingly. Scott has the easiest path, needing only a two-way T3 or better. Stenson would need a two-way tie for second, and Day would need to win. Day hasn't played since winning the WGC Accenture Match Play due to a thumb injury, and Stenson hasn't been in the same zip code as his typical form, so Scott would seem to be the play here.
Weather Update - Not a great day to be on site, as per this Golf Central report:
Just two hours after the gates opened to patrons on Monday morning, a weather warning siren echoed throughout Augusta National Golf Club and play was suspended. All badge holders were asked to leave the premises because of potentially dangerous conditions. Around 12:40 p.m. ET, officials announced that gates would not re-open for the day.
The good news is that after a slight chance of rain on Tuesday, the rest of the week should be sunny and dry.
Still More Questions? - This Q&A thing has gotten way out of hand, but they're easy posts where the professional writers do the heavy lifting.
1. Which first-time Masters participant is the most dangerous?
The Writers - Harris English and Jordan Spieth each get two votes, with the fifth going to an unnamed golfer who ranks himself in the top five.
Best Line - As a group, the Golfweek writers are not as clever as the SI crew, but I'll go with Jeff Rude, "Jordan Spieth. Because he's fearless, talented, loves the big stage and has pushed the envelope in golf with achievements – such as winning multiple U.S. Juniors like Tiger Woods and becoming the first teenager in more than eight decades to win on Tour.
My Take - No bad choices there, though Spieth has had some trouble closing. As noted yesterday, I don't particularly fancy rookies' chances because of the unique nature of the golf course, but if a gun is against my temple I'd take Reed or Jimmy Walker, just because they've gotten across the finish line a few time previously.
2. Who in the field who has experience at Augusta could break through to win his first green jacket?
The Writers - Kuchar in a landslide, with single votes for Jason Day and Rory.
Best Line - From Beth Ann Nichols, "Isn’t it time for another feel-good moment from Kooch at Augusta?"
My Take - I'm on record as a Kooch man, though those last two Sundays do give a bit of pause. Day is clearly due, but impossible to know how much he's been able to practice since we last saw him in February.
3. Which player’s Augusta record surprises you?
The Writers - Nobody understands why DJ hasn't done better on a golf course that should suit his game.
Best Line - Nichols again, "Zach Johnson. The 2007 Masters champion isn’t exactly automatic at Augusta. In fact, outside of that impressive victory, he hasn’t finished better than a tie for 20th in 2008. Johnson has missed the cut three times in nine starts and has a 73.27 scoring average."
My Take - DJ's suitability for Augusta National is profound, but alas it's only from the neck down. See the article discussed in the bullet below to understand that it's a thinking man's course, and is DJ your first choice for strategic coherence? I didn't think so... Zach's game is entirely ill-suited for ANGC, so gets my vote (in the opposite way of Beth Ann) for most surprising record, because I still can't believe you can win a Masters laying up on all 16 Par-5's
- Klein Time - Brad Klein is one of the best writers around when it comes to golf course architecture. After all, there's a reason Mike Keiser asked him to consult in the design and building of Old Macdonald. At Golfweek he explains in one page why ANGC is significant in our little corner of the world, and he does so without putting anyone to sleep. No extensive excerpts for you, but one tiny taste to induce you to click through:
For all the length and power that Augusta National demands, the success of a round always comes back to figuring out what happens when the ball hits the ground. And that’s a matter of angle and ground deflection. The scariest shot on the course, after all, comes at the shortest hole, the 155-yard 12th. Why? Because when viewed from the tee, the hourglass-shaped green has no visible angle.
Just read the damn thing. I'll be here when you get back.
- Angel, Si - Adam Schupak has a great Golfworld feature on Angel Cabrera, covering both the early struggles and his later success. I love the lumbering Argentine, a man who can disappear for years at a time but become extremely dangerous at the sniff of the lead in a major. This was new to me, but makes great sense:
Through Romero, Cabrera forged a friendship with Seve Ballesteros. In whatbecame an annual ritual for Cabrera, he sought to unlock Augusta’s secrets from the two-time Masters champion.
“For the first four or five years, Seve helped me a lot. He said be careful with this, be careful with that,” Cabrera said. “I remember when we arrived on the 12th tee, Seve said, ‘Always aim to the left of the bunker.’ I said, ‘But what if the pin is on the right? I’d have a 90-foot putt.’ He said, ‘It’s not bad to make a 4 on this hole. You want to eliminate making 5 or more.’ At the time, I may not have understood the importance of what he was teaching me. But whenever I got in difficult situations on the golf course, his words of wisdom come back to my mind.”
I can still visualize Cabrera's drive on No. 18 at Oakmont, the ball bouncing and rolling out seemingly hundreds of yards. And who can forget his clutch birdie on No. 18 last year to tie Adam Scott, and his thumbs-up to Scott after the great approach shot on the second playoff hole.
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