I begin my daily tour of the major golf websites with Shack's blog, which today has this most Mastersy quote of all time from the great Herbert Warren Wind. You know, the guy that named a certain stretch of holes there:
The Masters has a great many things going for it, some planned and some fortuitous. It is played on a superb and scenic course that inspires the fine field of players to spectacular feats and offers singularly good vantage points for spectators. It is held at a wonderful time of year, when practically every golfer, after a long hibernation, finds his fancy turning to thoughts of supinating the left forearm or some other such crucial action that will make the season at hand the big one he has been waiting for.
HERBERT WARREN WIND
I'm pretty sure that the USGA & R&A have removed "supination" from the golf dictionary, and replaced it with "tied".
We'll cover this weekend's golf in descending order of importance:
A Duel For the Ages - Beth Ann Nichols with her account of the magical day at Augusta National:
Before Jennifer Kupcho struck the first tee shot at the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur, she was asked where winning this tournament might rank among her accomplishments. Behind the NCAA Championship, she said, rather shockingly.
Needless to say, that view changed as the week progressed. Where exactly is difficult to say. It might have been when she walked onto the first tee Wednesday at Champions Retreat, utterly shocked by the seriousness of the occasion. History-making moments carry a certain gravitas.
Perhaps it was when she arrived on the first tee at Augusta National Saturday, or around Amen Corner when she struck that magnificent hybrid into the 13th.
Or maybe it was when a migraine set in midway through the round that left her partially blinded. The woman who fell off a shuttle at a college event two years ago and tried to carry on playing with a concussion wasn’t going to let this moment slip away.
As per that photo above, the chemistry between the two good friends was part of the charm, as Beth Ann captures:
When Kupcho hit one heavy into the par-3 sixth she quit following the ball. The joy-filled Fassi put her arm around Kupcho on the tee box and said, “Dude, it might go in. You’ve got to watch.”
It was like that all day, the soon-to-be LPGA pros trading fist bumps and hugs like two people who wanted nothing but the best for each other.
“I hope it encourages people to pick up a club and go play,” said Kupcho of their camaraderie.
Dude? Is that really what young women call each other?
I had been worried that the actual golf would seem a pale imitation of that which we're used to seeing from this venue, but the club seems to have set their course up perfectly. Geoff explains:
It was like seeing Beatles in the Cavern Club instead of Shea Stadium. The intimacy, scale and grandeur of two players running away from the field and facing the same momentous decisions dealt with in those many incredible 20th Century Masters, cameflooding to mind. The Augusta National Women’s Amateur reminded us of everything we love about the Masters, only with the scale in better proportion and the game’s future putting on an epic display.
Architecturally, we saw the Augusta National we remember when everything just worked better before they started narrowing landing areas, deepening bunkers and pushing green speeds to offset a power game pushing the outer limits of sanity. The putting surfaces were a tad more manageable and the glorious back nine par-5’s playing just long enough to provide a platform for the tempting, momentous decisions that made Augusta National stand apart.
The round just flowed much better. Watching players from tees we can all relate to was more satsifying. Seeing balls in flight and wondering if they would clear those watery graves reminded us how thrilling it is to watch players rise to the occasion in this singular setting.
Kupcho's eagle on No. 13 was no doubt the turning point, though her second on No. 15, drawn around the trees from the left side of the fairway a la Freddy back in the day, was equally good.
The Tour Confidential panel addresses this event with a question of how to improve it. The answers are fine, though they ignore that rather obvious elephant in the corner:
Dethier: I know it ended up as a four-shot victory, but that was an incredible duel down the middle of the back nine on Saturday afternoon. I was drawn in by the absolute fearlessness with which both these women tackled the finishing stretch. It was insanity. Three shots I won’t soon forget: Kupcho’s second shot into 13, her slinging draw over the water at 15 and her finishing putt at 18. As for what I’d change: If it’s the Augusta National Women’s Am, every woman in the field needs to play a competitive round at Augusta National. Make it happen some way.
Zak: Yeah, it can’t be hard to carve out two rounds at ANGC. But then again, the members of that club are protective as all hell. The women were given just one practice round there, and shortly after that practice round, members were out and about playing their course. Their grasp is tight, but they let it go for a full week. What’s another couple of days? My true takeaway is a memory. The little girls pushed to the front of the ropes during the ceremonial tee shots. The little girls chasing around autographs. The competitors planting themselves on the turf outside the clubhouse, taking it all in. Saturday was a special day.
Sens: That was pretty much as good as it gets. But I’m with you both. Give everyone a crack at the course.
Bamberger: All good points, and, and this is not an original thought, but if it’s going to be 30, make it 30 and ties. BUT the event was spectacular, special, great for golf. One of the most basic truths about the Masters is that it makes you want to play golf, whether you’re a golfer already or thinking about becoming one. For women to see women players on this celebrated course expands the invitation list in a huge way. Also, the women were playing the course as its designers would relate to — a few could go for 13 and 15; long irons and hybrids into some of the par-4s. That was one of the most enjoyable aspects. The TV coverage was excellent. It was understated, appropriate, accurate. I loved the whole thing.
Ritter: Agree with everything here. I thought it was great. Among all those little girls along the ropes, I bet there was at least one future ANWA competitor in that crowd on Saturday. Maybe even a future major champion. The real impact of this event will reveal itself over time, but it was an excellent debut.
The one obvious objection to this event was that it competed with the ladies' first major of the year, the major that, like The Masters, invites the top amateurs to compete. Given that the Dinah Shore Kraft Nabisco ANA Inspiration got there first, it would behoove the Augusta Masters of the Universe to find another date that works. To me, the week after The Masters would seem ideal, though of course it could then seem anticlimactic.
Kudos to the club and especially Fred Ridley for creating this opportunity, and for pulling it off on relatively short notice. In creating this wonderful opportunity for the young ladies, let's not do it on the one weekend out 52 that makes them forego an equally important opportunity elsewhere.
If you're curious as to why I think it was appropriate to invite the amateurs to Augusta National, do watch this wonderful Golf Channel video on Jones' relationship with the great women amateurs of his day:
Did that narrator's voice ring any bells? It's of course our Shack, who knows his history well.
Desert Doings - Somewhat upstaged by the younger girls, the ladies' first major of the year yielded a worthy champion:
Jin Young Ko made up for a couple of late bogeys with a pair of birdies en route to hervictory at the ANA Inspiration and her first major title.
Ko closed with a two-under 70 in the final round at Mission Hills in Rancho Mirage, Calif., on Sunday, good enough for a three-shot victory at 10 under overall. Mi Hyang Lee was second at seven under, and Lexi Thompson (six under) was alone in third.
Ko, a 23-year-old South Korean, got to 10 under with a birdie on 11 but fell back with bogeys on Nos. 13 and 15. But birdies on 16 and 18 secured his celebratory leap into Poppie’s Pond.
“It is really great honor to me,” she said.
It’s Ko’s fourth career LPGA Tour win and her fifth top-three finish in six starts this season.
She put on quite the display of ball-striking, not that the other aspects of her game were lacking in any way.
Let me try to tackle an issue with my typical sensitivity. Do you roll your eyes at the dominance of the South Korean players? Do you find that you can't tell them apart or remember their names, but hesitate to say that out loud for fear of being of being labelled a racist?
Did you notice Jeongeun Lee6 on the leaderboard this week? That, my friends, is no typo.... she is known as Jeongeun Lee6 because there were five players with the exact same name that preceded her on the Korean Tour. So, what can we conclude?
- I'm not a racist, because they do all actually have the same name....
- Your humble blogger will henceforth be known as Scott Simpson2.
The Kids Are All Right - i didn't watch any of it, but the kids were allegedly cute and so very good. How about this Dalyesque swing?
OK kid, now work on the beer belly....
I've got nothing to add here, I'm just amusing myself by listing this event before the Valero....
A Feel Good Story - We interrupt our regularly scheduled content about important events to bring you news from San Antonio... where something unusual did occur:
Corey Conners became the answer to a golf trivia question on Sunday night when he became the last Monday qualifier to win on the PGA Tour.Conners closed with a six-under 66 to beat Charley Hoffman by two and win for the first time in his career. He was the first Monday qualifier to win since 2010 and just the fifth since 1980.
Conners started the final round one behind Si Woo Kim, but he birdied four of the first five holes and grabbed a quick four-shot lead. He gave it back with four straight bogeys to close his front nine, but a six-birdie back nine valued him to victory.
Conners’ next start? The Masters at Augusta National Golf Club.
Well, that'll inspire legions of tour rabbits, and he did it in the hardest possible manner:
Conners, 27, was the last one into the Valero field, getting through a 6-for-1 playoff on Monday.
Those are some long odds, for sure.... Can you name any of the other four that accomplished this? That's a trick question, because I don't even think immediate family members could come up with these names:
The other four: Jeff Mitchell (Waste Management Phoenix Open, 1980), Kenny Knox (Honda Classic, 1986), Fred Wadsworth (Southern Open, 1986) and Arjun Atwal (Wyndham Championship, 2010).
Fred Wadsworth? Please tell me you just made this up...
The Augusta Invitational, A Preview - Just call me a traditionalist...We'll give Brain Wacker the lead-off slot, with his tale of players discomfort with the rigid rules of the club:
The first time the above golfer played a round at the course, he posted a picture on his private Instagram account. The next day he got a call from the club informing him that they’d “appreciate” it if he removed it, noting that photos were a matter of personal keepsakes.As one veteran of a handful of Masters tournaments, put it: “The only thing I don’t like is that I always feel like I’m walking around on eggshells. I’ve gotten more comfortable with it over the years but I still don’t know what I can and can’t do because you hear stories of what people get in trouble for.”Among them:
—In 2011, Rickie Fowler wore his hat backwards as he sat down for an interview in the media center when he was informed by member Ron Townsend to turn the cap around. Fowler explained he wore it that way so people could see his face. Townsend would have none of it and asked Fowler to turn the hat around again.
—That same year, Golf Channel analyst Charlie Rymer was booted from the property during the tournament for talking on his cell phone outside the media center, which media members are only permitted to use inside the press building.
—On another occasion, a player was warming up on the putting green adjacent to the first tee when he says he was informed by a Green Jacket that the earbuds he was listening to were an unwelcome sight.
—In 1997, Ken Green famously drank a beer while playing a practice round with Arnold Palmer. He was fined by the PGA Tour but got the fine rescinded by saying the beer was non-alcoholic (it wasn’t).
—Other players, meanwhile, pointed out being spoken to about forgetting to take their hat off when under a roof, and being limited to how many people a player can have in their entourage while on the range (in short, a caddie plus one).
For decades, there was no man more feared in our game than Clifford Roberts, and his legacy endures.
Amusingly, I expect that Brian will hear from the club about including this picture of Washington Road:
As idyllic as the club's ground may be, their immediate neighborhood is a bit of an eyesore.... and they'd rather you not be aware of that.
I like this story, though I wish he had told us when it happened, so we'd know if it was during the Roberts' yoke of terror:
According to one player who is chummy with a few members, one year another member pointed out to the club chairman at the time that the Sarazen Bridge on 15 looked dirty and the club should get it power washed. The response was it sounded like a great idea. Some time later, the member received the bill, all $12,000 of it.
Shades of C.B. Macdonald and the famous windmill....
And this:
Inside the ropes, there are more obvious challenges. Like the course itself, and the aura and mystique surrounding it.
“Once I started playing I was afraid to take a divot the first few holes,” Rory McIlroy said of his first trip there for a casual round ahead of the 2009 tournament.
That's exactly how they want you to feel.
The TC panel were asked about under-reported storylines, and had these:
Dylan Dethier: Brooks Koepka has won three of his last six majors and is coming in decidedly under the radar, which is exactly the position he loves to hate being put in.
I don't see what the big deal is about this guy, as it's been at least eight months since he's won a major.
Sean Zak: Probably Matt Kuchar. We’re so focused on his decision-making snafus this year. Playing some of the best golf of his life.
Josh Sens: Both good calls. Rickie Fowler is now 34 majors into his career without a win. He was a runner-up last year. Hard to ever call Fowler under the radar, but not as much buzz around him this year with so much focus on Tiger, Rory, Spieth and on.
Jeff Ritter: Can we just say, “All non-Tiger stories?” Outside of the competitors, I’m excited to see Augusta’s first course alteration in several years: the new, stretched-out fifth hole. It was already one of the five or so hardest holes at Augusta, and now it’s playing 40 extra yards. That hole is going to ruin a few weeks. Maybe this is the year we alter the phrase to say, The Masters doesn’t start until the fifth hole on Sunday.
Michael Bamberger: Will this become the year that the game’s overlords realize that the par-5 as we once knew it is on death watch, if not already dead.
There are no a*******s, only folks with a propensity for decision-making snafus.... Good to know.
2. Tiger Woods is a 14/1 betting favorite to win the Masters, and only Rory McIlroy (8/1), Dustin Johnson (10/1) and Justin Rose (12/1) have better odds. Does Vegas have it right?
No, next question....
3. Who finishes higher: Tiger or Phil?
Dethier: I’d love to throw Spieth in and make this a fascinating trio — Zak’s been quietly forecasting a Spieth MC for months.
I hate to focus on MC's at this event, because you really need to stink up the joint to miss this cut. Jordan and Phil have been playing badly enough that it's a real possibility, but it seems far more likely that they do just enough to earn an early Saturday tee time. Perhaps with the famous Jeff Knox...
They take on Jordan, as well, so click through for their thoughts on the lad. They also had this:
6. In a special Masters edition of our anonymous Tour pro survey, 40 pros (all of whom have played in at least one Masters) gave their unvarnished takes on Augusta National and the Masters. Which one answer most surprised you?
Dethier: I was surprised that 28 percent of players thought Tiger Woods should have WD’d from the 2013 Masters. Regardless of right or wrong, it’s rare to see players break ranks like that — especially when Woods is involved.
Meh. I wonder to what extent they understand how Fred Ridley botched that situation.
Sens: That 7 percent of them said they wouldn’t accept an Augusta membership if offered. Not a huge number but still higher than what I would have expected. What, they’re uncomfortable around all that corporate money?
Was Groucho interviewed?
In a separate article, the Golf.com writers provided their longshot picks:
Sean Zak: Brandt Snedeker will perform better than you expect him to. That putter is always warm, and the rest of his game is coming around again. Add it all up for a top 10 in Georgia.
Josh Sens: Snedeker, at 125-1, is a good play. But I’ll go deeper down the board to Jimmy Walker (175-1), who has never missed a cut at Augusta. A hot week with the putter and you never know.
I'm a bit surprised that Walker is even in the field, but I guess he's still milking the exemption for winning at Baltusrol. We can be assured that he'll mind his manners, and ask each of his playing partners, "Would you like me to leave that ball there?"
How about these two as sleepers?
Jeff Ritter: Marc Leishman is quietly chugging along with five top-10s in 10 events this season. He’s cracked the top 10 a couple of times in his career at Augusta, and while his track record at the British Open is stronger, I think he’s due to make a splash in another major. This feels like a good spot.
Alan Shipnuck: I’m going with a guy who has won only one tournament in the last six years and whom has played in only two of the last five Masters: Tiger Woods. ANGC is the quintessential second-shot course and Tiger’s iron game remains the best on Tour. If he can find some old magic with the putter and convert more of those chances, look out.
Rejected.
One last item, E. Michael Johnson's history of rules controversies at the Masters. You'd be forgiven for thinking that this starts and ends with Roberto, but perhaps this was the most significant of all:
Arnold Palmer, 12th hole, final round, 1958
Zeroing in on his first major championship, Palmer led Ken Venturi by one shot playing the par-3 12th. Palmer’s tee shot landed over the green and plugged. Under a local rule providing for relief from embedded balls, Palmer felt he was entitled to relief and Venturi agreed. However, Arthur Lacey a rules official who had played on a pair of Great Britain & Ireland Ryder Cup teams in the 1930s, thought otherwise and told Palmer to play it as it lay. Palmer disputed the ruling, then angrily chopped the ball out, eventually making a double-bogey 5. However after holing out, he announced he was going to play another ball and let the committee rule on it. He did so, making a 3 with the second ball. Venturi contended Palmer played the second ball incorrectly—that it needed to be done concurrently. At the 15th hole, the ruling came down that Palmer’s 3 would stand, and he went on to win by a stroke over Fred Hawkins and Doug Ford. Venturi finished two back. Years later Palmer said he had told Lacey he was going to play a second ball, but Lacey wouldn’t let him do that. The wording of the rule in 1958 wasn’t quite as it is today, either, leaving some wiggle room. “Should the competitor fail to announce in advance his procedure or selection, the score with the second ball shall be his score if played in accordance with the rules,” it read. Venturi went on to have a Hall of Fame career, but never did win the Masters, or get over the incident.
The hard part is that the powers that be at ANGC had a fidelity to the written rules that could be alarmingly transactional at times.
But Johnson also gets to the nub of that Tiger drop in 2013:
Tiger Woods, 15th hole, second round, 2013Bearing down on the lead in the 2013 Masters, Woods hit a near-perfect wedge from 85yards. “Near” being the explanation for it striking the flagstick and ricocheting into the water fronting the green. Wanting to land his next shot a couple yards shorter, Woods went back two yards and dropped. The strategy worked as Woods knocked it stiff and made bogey—except the rules call for the drop to be made as “near as possible” to the spot from which the previous shot was struck. By his own admission in a press interview after the round, he said he dropped two yards back. After a viewer called in (it later was revealed that the caller was former PGA Tour and USGA tournament director David Eger), a series of meetings and discussions eventually resulted in Woods receiving a two-stroke penalty, but avoiding disqualification as the committee controversially invoked Rule 33-7, which gives officials leeway in deciding disqualifications.
Left unsaid is that Ridley dismissed the Eger phone call because of his personal dislike of the man, failing to ask Tiger about the drop. When he became aware that Tiger had confirmed Eger's take in that post-round interview, he was in quite the fix, as it would have been unfair to DQ Tiger for his own malfeasance.
It's be a great week.... do check back early and often.
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