Midweek Musings - Day Late Edition

I was planning to blog yesterday, but got tied up with a contractor trying to solve one of our recurring pesky issues....  What would you like to discuss?

Masters Detritus - Still sifting through the aftershocks, though the protagonist himself is back at work, if one can call hanging with Shane Lowry work.

We'll all say "Amen" to this, though perhaps respectful silence might be the more appropriate reaction:

In 6 silent minutes, CBS delivered a Masters broadcast masterpiece

Golf television is an exercise in relentless motion. On a typical Sunday, eight voices are employed to speak about at least 50 balls spread over 18 fields, while two dozen production folks work any number of jobs focused on the past (replays), present (directing) and future (production, graphics, commercials, pre-produced segments).

When it works, it all sounds like a symphony orchestra — a series of masterfully talented individuals serving as a necessary piece of a much larger whole. And when it works really well, sometimes it sounds like it did for six straight minutes on Masters Sunday: nothing at all.

CBS did not say a word for six minutes as Rory McIlroy wept his way to the scorer’s room at Augusta National on Masters Sunday. Instead, in what might be the CBS team’s finest moment under the leadership of lead producer Sellers Shy, the network sat back and watched, holding a single steady-camera on McIlroy as he faced his first moments as the Grand Slam winner.

It can be excruciating — and feel somewhat counterproductive — for those who are paid to talk to sit in silence in the aftermath of a historic moment. But often silence tells the story far better than analysis could. That was the case here.

Well, that's exactly what the Ayatollah preached to them for all those years.  And now that Sir Nick's blubbering is off mic, there's a chance.

Though this feels like quite the stretch:

EXTRA KUDOS

Shy was thrilled with his team’s handling of the situation, but the unsung hero of it all was Nantz, who delivered the closing line — “The long journey is over — McIlroy has his masterpiece!” — and then disappeared into the night.

Nantz’s grasp of the brevity required in that moment was quickly followed by the rest of his CBS Sports counterparts and delivered an added depth of emotion.

“In that moment, that’s when you want Jim Nantz,” Shy said. “He knows what to do in that moment, and we all take his lead. The visuals speak for themselves.”

Those faux-spontaneous reactions from Nancy-Boy are among my least favorite moments.  They seem about as spontaneous as the interviews with the sponsor's CEO.

And wither Rory in the interim?

McIlroy’s first stop after Augusta was London, where he and his wife, Erica, are building a house. From there, McIlroy said, he, Erica and their 4-year-old daughter, Poppy, hopped a jet to Belfast to spend time with Rory’s parents, Gerry and Rosie, and “a few other people that are important to me.”

Among that group of revelers, McIlroy said, were Michael Bannon, Rory’s swing coach since his Holywood youth, and Rory’s caddie and boyhood friend, Harry Diamond, and his wife. “To celebrate with the people that have been a part of this whole thing for my entire career, my entire life, was absolutely amazing,” McIlroy said.

London, eh?  

Not really linked to this bit, but Employee No. 2 felt that the vibe between Rory and Erica in the aftermath of his win was....well, coolish.  

But that linked piece did answer a minor lingering question, why weren't his parents there?   The broadcasters spoke as if they were, without a doubt, in Northern Ireland, and I assumed they were being their characteristic clueless selves.  In fact, I gave it a verbal "Pshaw", noting that Gerry was for sure watching from the grill room at Seminole.

Well, mark this date on your calendars, because the clueless have stumbled upon a clue:

Earlier this month at Augusta National, though, Gerry and Rosie were nowhere to be found. As a victorious Rory walked from the 18th green to scoring on Sunday evening, tearfully embracing

seemingly everyone in his path, his mother and father were nearly 4,000 miles away, back home in Northern Ireland.

And, from the sound of it, surrounded by boxes.

Rory said Wednesday that his parents missed his Grand Slam moment because they were moving houses.

“Which they said was a good thing,” Rory said on Michael Breed’s SiriusXM show. “They were glad they had something to do to take their mind off what was happening at the Masters.”

You know, parental stress and all.

When Rory did finally connect with Gerry and Rosie?

“Very emotional,” Rory said. “It was amazing to relive the week — and not just relive the week but the entire journey we’ve been on to get to this point.” He added, “Being an only child, I obviously have an extremely close bond with my parents, and to be able to share this with them was incredibly special.”

Which do we think is ore stressful, closing out the career slam or moving?  I know, kind of a coin toss, no?

Geoff's Cutmakers post is available, though he has thus far denied us the third of the troika, where folks visit the woodshed.  But he has all sorts of good stuff here, this one being right in my sweet spot:

Tribute Pins. The Lords should never be discouraged from celebrating history. They do it so well and with a level of authenticity that only adds to the accomplishment of winning the Masters. But

taking it onto the course for the final round and losing the iconic 16th hole pin placement to celebrate Jack Nicklaus’ winning putt from 1975? To coincide with elaborately planned social and CBS rollouts? It was a bit like putting pickles on the Masters Pimento Cheese sandwich. I love pickles. Who doesn’t love pickles? But you don’t mess with a proven recipe. Especially since the 16th’s upper left shelf offers the least interesting pin on the green. There’s good reason it’s no longer used on Sundays: even if a player hits a great shot, the green’s steep pitch leads to few made putts. The green contours are more pronounced than in Nicklaus’s day, making a repeat of his putt unlikely. The 16th played to a 3.019 average Sunday and saw 10 birdies despite 83% of the field hitting the green. The players took more putts per GIR there on Sunday than any day of the week. In the name of watching balls feed dramatically to the hole and players doing amazing things (it’s harder than it looks), let’s hope they go back to the normal Sunday pin. After all, it pays tribute to all of the amazing moments at No. 16.

I don't actually love pickles, or was that question rhetorical?

It's quite obviously a horrible pin, and I have long expressed some doubts about this hole and green.  Geoff correctly notes the drama of the traditional Sunday pin, but to me it's the only good location on the green.  And even there it's a bit of a conundrum, because it's a Par-3 with water and the pin is placed closest to said water, except that, because of the slopes, the players never have to fire at that water-adjacent pin, they can play safely right of it.

This was his lede item, and there's much praise for the set-up, so much praise that one wonders why it's included in the middle tier.  But it also includes one unbelievable howler from Geoff:

Course Setup. Probably the best setup of the last decade, it’s no coincidence we got a thrilling weekend of play with a nice variety of contenders. The first two rounds were especially good with a nice mix of hole locations. Perhaps worried about pace of play due to the huge field size, or simply realizing that a hybrid blend of hole locations makes for a better setup, the Cup and Tee Marker Placement Committee did a fantastic job presenting the course while working in a few fresh looks. Better weather helped. But huge swings in humidity and temperature from morning to evening must have made finding the green speed and firmness sweet spot the ultimate first-world battle. This year, the increasingly excessive 18th hole seemed to play better thanks to the markers going down in the 440-450 range instead of going back to 465. The 72.807 scoring average was the lowest since 2020 (71.752). For the fourth year in a row, the second nine (36.899) played almost a stroke harder than the front nine (35.909). The course played surprisingly tough on Sunday when the greens veered close to the speed limit and McIlroy mentioned it played more like a U.S. Open. The sense of defensiveness might have been a product of the pressure he faced more than setup, since there were 12 rounds in the 60s led by Rose and Hideki Matsuyama posting final round 66s.

Huge field size?  At the Masters?  That's a good one,. Geoff.

The 2025 Masters field consisted of 95 golfers. The field was one of the smaller ones on the PGA Tour, typically featuring around 90-100 players. While some players initially had invitations, a few had to withdraw due to injuries or other reasons, resulting in the final field of 95.

I is at the higher end of the field size they allow, and I could understand Geoff making that point.  But HUGE?  This is the era we live in, where 95 players are too many to get around a golf course.  Sheesh!

Need a laugh?

Butler Cabin. This year’s surprising explosion of white orchids and stockpiling of firewood

added to an aesthetic rollercoaster ride that has featured ferns, flowers, unusual table pieces, five-alarm scarring above the fireplace, and the annual school detention center body language. Without an amateur making the cut, this year’s ceremony moved briskly. Since the telecast ran long and everyone just wanted to hear from McIlroy, the whole thing was shaping up to be the least-awkward Butler ceremony on record. But in a tradition unlike any other, Scottie Scheffler kept the weirdness streak alive despite doing his third straight year in the Cabin. After putting the jacket on McIlroy and shaking the new champion’s hand, he rapidly exited stage left. It wasn’t quite a full “Bennett,” named after low amateur Sam’s abrupt mid-ceremony departure in 2023. Nonetheless, the tradition continues.

The problem here is that the kids don't know any history.  The Butler Cabin ceremony in recent years is awkward and bad television, but not to an extent that it becomes entertaining.  But Jim Nantz is no Clifford Roberts, but amuse yourself at some point and seek out some of those YouTube videos.  My personal favorite is when he asked Seve how tall he is....  I know, the look on Seve's face is just priceless.

Udder Stuff - Just between us kids, I already have my eye on the exit.....  In a more recent post, Geoff was lauding the week at Harbor Town:

Novel concept: put on a closely contested competition played at a compelling and proven venue, maybe include a few people we’ve heard of, sprinkle it with underdogs or comeback stories, and call it a golf tournament. If possible, throw some history on the grill and guess what? People worldwide start to forget the last few years of bratdom, greed, entitlement, brooding, bungling, and, hopefully, the whole creator-with-a-capital-C mishegas.

While this concept explains the huge Masters ratings, the impact of Rory McIlroy’s playoff win over Justin Rose spilled into the RBC Heritage in Hilton Head. Harbour Town week sometimes features a sleepy vibe following the Masters, but instead, we got firm, fast greens, a tight leaderboard, and Justin Thomas’s emotional bid to win again after severely over-tinkering the last few years. The sports fans rewarded with a thrilling Masters finished tuned in again to produce the most-watched Heritage in 23 years, peaking at 6 million viewers Sunday evening on CBS and also drawing (undisclosed) strong numbers via Paramount+ (which, incidentally, has more than double the subscriber base as NBC’s Peacock).

Golf Channel also reported eye-opening Heritage numbers to reinforce a newfound fan enthusiasm largely thanks to McIlroy and a thrilling Masters: the network averaged 562,000 viewers on Thursday and Friday, up 35% from last year. Those were the most-watched early rounds on record. And despite Golf Channel reaching far fewer homes than just a few years ago, a whopping 1.2 million viewers tuned in for Sunday’s lead-in coverage.

But I was reliably informed that professional golf can only thrive if we let the LIV guys come back....

Knowing the place (not that I've neem there for some time), this seems mad:

In its annual pre-championship economic outlook, the R&A announced that it expects 278,000 fans will attend this year’s Open Championship at Royal Portrush. If such numbers pass through the gates, it will be the best-attended Open Championship held outside of St Andrews.

Also…

• The R&A says one million ticket ballot applications were submitted.

• The attendance expected would surpass 2019’s 237,750 fans who witnessed Shane Lowry’s six-shot victory over Tommy Fleetwood.

• The 153rd Open will also be the largest ever sporting event held in Northern Ireland.

• The event will generate more than £213 million in total economic benefit according to an independent forecast by the Sport Industry Research Centre (SIRC) at Sheffield Hallam University.

• The Open will account for £63 million of the benefit, with “the destination marketing benefit” exceeding £150 million.

• Under the “Kids Go Free” initiative more than 27,000 tickets are available for those under the age of 16, with reduced price tickets for fans under the age of 25.

• 89,000 spectators are expected to attend the four sold-out Practice Days up from 61,000 fans who attended the equivalent days in 2019.

• 4,600 have booked a place in the on-site Open Camping Village and have proudly committed to a week free of 21st-century indoor plumbing.

It is a spectacular venue, an event I am eagerly anticipating.  However, given the size of Portrush, I can only assume that most of those 278,000 souls will be sleeping in their cars.

Doing the job American bloggers won't do, Geoff has posted updated Ryder Cup point standings.  First, the home team:

Did you ever consider J.J. Spaun or Andrew Novak Ryder Cup material?  The names that follow also seem unlikely to rock your world, guys like Tom Hoge, Daniel Berger, Lucas Glover and Billy Ho.  Feel free to remind me that one of those guys won a U.S. Open at the Ryder Cup venue, but I'll have to remind you that that was 16 years ago....

The Captain seems to be going the wrong direction, sitting in 21st place as we speak (full points list is here).  names that are further down include Max Homa (24th), Jordan Spieth (30th) and Brooks Koepka, who has also won a major at this venue (80th).

It certainly doesn't feel like a juggernaut, not that the other guys don't have their issues:

Also not a juggernaut, though I feel that recent play has elevated the Euro's prospects somewhat.  Viktor coming back from the dead is huge, and one expects Ludvig to be a killer in this.  Current Euro standings can be found here, and I encourage you to not take comfort from Laurie Canter being there, since I expect Robert MacIntyre and, especially, Sepp Straka to be there.

That will have to sate you for today.  Not planning on blogging tomorrow unless something drives me towards the keyboard,.  Worst case, we'll catch up on Monday.  Have a great weekend.

Weekend Wrap - Low Country Edition

Hope everyone had a good weekend.  Perhaps Spring might actually be settling in.... But still folks are clinging to that event from the prior weekend, which in a rational world would  

Harbor Town -  I did see the ending, the last 2-3 holes and the playoff, and Harbor Town remains a fun and visually striking venue.  But it's quite the mess if you want coherence from your schedule.  Let me explain...

Obviously a Tour schedule should exhibit variety, and up top few years ago this event had a very sustainable position.  It was post-Masters winddown week, a collective chill after the intense pressure of the year's first major.  Harbor Town was perfect, a short hop from Augusta and a delightful Low Country vibe, ignoring that first post-Covid event in 2020.  To this observer it worked perfectly, and guys had the option of playing or not playing as they preferred.

But now we all understand that golf can't succeed unless we know with mathematical certainty that Patrick will get paid, and you're either a "Have" or you're on the menu.... Given that life as a "have Not" isn't viable, the sponsors have to pony up and turn into something that matters, but it's still the week after the Masters.  Setting aside my hatred of the limited-field Signature Events Money Grabs™, I have no objection to Harbor Town being so designated, it just takes a mental midget to think that, under a situation where a handful of events are elevated, that one of those should be this week.

Apparently, I'm not the only one with such a reaction.  As a proxy I'll submit this week's Tour Confidential panel.  As Unplayable Lies dead-enders know, I use this feature for low-impact blogging, but I also use their Q&A's as a proxy for what folks think matters.  By far, the most frequent issue upon which I've pounced in the past is their Tiger sycophancy.  

This week we see the writers mull two follow-up Masters questions before getting to JT's win.  Well played, Jay!  You commit to rendering eight events as special, and then you allow one of them to be buried under the continued excitement over the Masters ( an event that, does, actually, matter).  You guys are playing some kind of 3D chess, eh?

I didn't watch enough to have a feel for Thomas' play, though Andrew Novak has become a bit of a hard-luck case.  here was that TC bit on JT:

3. Last week, Rory ended his major drought, and on Sunday at the RBC Heritage, Justin Thomas ended his winless slump, beating Andrew Novak in a playoff at Harbour Town to pick up his first win since the 2022 PGA Championship. Thomas reminded us of his firepower with his 61 Thursday; what had been holding him back during this winless stretch?

Melton: Golf is hard, and even the best in the world go through slumps. Watching superstars go through struggles reminds us how hard this game is, and gives us an even greater appreciation for those who win year in and year out.

Schrock: I think Zephyr nailed it. Thomas won and won a lot from 2015 to 2022. Even the best modern pro golfers go in slumps, unless your name is Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson or Rory McIlroy. Thomas was inaccurate with the driver as he tooled his swing and then his normally reliable putter went away. It all seems to be back now, which is good news for the PGA Tour. The more stars at the peak of their powers, the better. Next up: Jordan Spieth?

Piastowski: Swing stuff. Expectation stuff. Other pros being better stuff. It happens. But then it snowballs, and that’s hard to shovel out of. But man, full-power JT is fun to watch. And yeah, his first PGA Championship win came at Quail Hollow.

 I think you'd have to start with the putter but, when it goes bad in this game, it all goes bad.

What's intriguing if you're a JT fan, is that next major venue..... He, of course, won a PGA there, and that guy that just got fitted for an ugly green jacket has also had some success there.

You guys know what interest me, so of course this was my favorite story of the week, trigger4ed by this social media post:

Wow, that sounds so out of character for Patrick..... Not!

By way of background,. I've long thought the signing thing was out of control and, even if you sign for a five-year old, it might end up on E-Bay.  And the4y are at their "office", but still, it isn't hard to see what a bad look this is.  My favorite buried detail is that Xander was signing on the course, X-Man being Patrick's a-hole buddy....

What does this story tell us?  That Patrick is a dick?  Old news, I hear you saying.... He is, in the priceless formulation of that long-ago Alan Shipnuck reader, the terrific penis.

Reactions on social media were predictable:

It's fair to say the golf fan's post has divided opinion with golf fans.

Some PGA Tour fans consider Cantlay has every right to do what he wants and doesn't have to stop during a practice round if he doesn't want to, even for a little kid.

Others seem not quite so forgiving though for a practice day, and think it's a disgrace he would say 'no' and walk straight past the young lad.

We'll let you head over to Instagram and X / Twitter now to see what everyone makes of it all.

As a wise man once said, "I Don't Owe Anyone Anything".

This story is a perfect synecdoche of the current state of professional golf.  Think of every recent pronouncement from the Tour about fan engagement and the need to unify the game for the fans and yada, yada, yada.....  Obviously they've been taking quite the PR hit and their press releases show it, but those are of course just words.  In the unscripted moments Patrick and Collin Morikawa tell us quite clearly what they think of golf fans.....  even the young ones.  But Patrick will lecture us on what we need to do to grow the game, which, as I understand it, mostly involves paying him.

Two quick follow ups.  First, the above was posted by a fan on site, who later deleted it.  

It took off because your observation confirmed the impression we've developed about these guys....

The second point to makes i that none of the major golf publications have touched this story.  They did cover the Morikawa bit, but apparently the policy as relates to this guy is Omertà.

Masters Detritus - I'm already on the clock, so let's first grab those two bits from the TC gang:

1. Now that we’ve had a week to fully digest the 2025 Masters and Rory McIlroy’s first green jacket (and career Grand Slam), where would you rank it among some of the best Masters of all time?

Zephyr Melton: I can reliably rank Masters only in my lifetime (since 1994), and in that time

frame, I’d rank it top three, with 1997 and 2019 being the others. The excitement of Sunday, mixed with the historical implications, made it one of the best watches I’ve ever had. What a tournament.

Josh Schrock: To me, it’s probably the best in my lifetime. Tiger’s win in 2019 was amazing just for the incredible feat of him becoming the Tiger Woods of old one last time at Augusta National, but the final round itself wasn’t as thrilling as what we witnessed last week. That’s because Tiger hit just fairways and the middle of greens while Rory oscillated between full flight and complete meltdown. The yo-yo nature of the final round, coupled with the grand slam and what would have been the worst devastation of Rory’s career, made it No. 1 on my list. I’ll go 2025, 2019 and 1997, with an honorable mention to 2004.

Nick Piastowski: Whew, I’ve been thinking about this all week. Jack in ’86. Mize’s chip-in. Tiger’s first and last wins. There’ve been some outstanding ones. But what didn’t this Masters have? Tight leaderboard. Good leaderboard. Dramatic finish. Ecstatic and popular winner. Hard to beat, for sure.

The problem is that these are 25-year old kids and their golf memories go back an hour-and-a-half.   I'm actually annoyed by this trend to call it an all-time great Masters, because I feel it doesn't qualify.  In a way it's something even more interesting, we saw a man fighting his demons for five hours.  I get why people were entranced and gutted at the end, but it wasn't a great day of golf.

What's interesting is that Augusta National gave these guys a huge hint with that 16th hole pin placement, but they apparently had b locked the caller.  What was missing from Rory's win was challengers playing at the top of their game.  Jack in '75 had to beat Miller and Weiskopf at the peak of their powers, whereas the only guy that made a run at Rory started from way too far back (and the run would have been incidental if Rory hadn't come back towards the pack).

It was a great show, it just wasn't really great golf.

Let me just added props for that great photo, which I hadn't seen elsewhere.

But now we jump the shark:

2. With his Masters title in his back pocket, a major drought snapped and that weight finally off his shoulders, what do you expect to see from McIlroy in the remaining three majors? Are you picking him as the early favorite to win any of the remaining three?

Melton: When you’re hot, you’re hot. Golfers tend to win in bunches, and when that window is open, it’s critical to take advantage. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Rory in the hunt many more times this season, especially in the majors.

Schrock: With the career grand slam done and dusted, why not win all four? Next up is the PGA at Quail Hollow, a course McIlroy has dominated in his career. The Open is at Royal Portrush, where he owns the course record, and he has been one of the best U.S. Open players over the past four years — he just doesn’t have a win to show for it. I think he wins at least one more this year, especially with Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele still searching post injury.

Piastowski: Yes. I’m in. I’ve fallen victim to recency bias after like every major, but picking him to be the favorite for the next three doesn’t seem too outlandish. Schrock explains why above. But yeah, golf. Being the favorite is one thing. Winning is another. Shoot, folks were thinking the same of Scottie Scheffler as late as last December.

At least the last guy acknowledged the recency bias....  Of course Quail Hollow would have Rory salivating, but we're forgetting the last decade awfully quickly.

Unfortunately, I am out of time.  I still have more Masters leftovers, which I'll try to get to in the coming days.  Of course, as you may have noticed, I'm the laziest blogger on the planet.... Have a great week.

Midweek Musings - Masters Detritus Edition

Best.  Masters.  Evah?  I've been a little surprised at how many are making that claim, without the benefit of historical citations, for sure.  My takeaway was that it was a uniquely captivating spectacle, but there were too many missing ingredients for it to reach the pantheon.  It was, however, a unique five-hour window into the black hole between a tormented player's ears, and even came with a happy ending...  Something rare in our game.

The biggest missing element were challengers....  Compare and contrast with the Masters honored on the 16th green.  Yah, I know it's from the paleolithic era, but there you had the three best players in the world at the top of their games.  Can we see the difference?  Here the best we can say is that Rosie got it rolling late.....  

What do we have for the kids today?  Well, we have several in the Winners-Losers genre, though the former to me were very thin on the ground.  Shall we start with JR (after all, there's little left to say about Rory):

Justin Rose. A second straight major finishing second hurts, losing in a second Masters playoff is positively cruel. This did not stop him from once again demonstrating pure class in the aftermath.

Even better, this time his 20-percenter was not giving the green coats a wrap-it-up signal to cut short another dignified stiff-upper-lip assessment of the week. One that included making 10 birdies Sunday, one short of the record for any Masters round. Rose joins Tom Weiskopf (4), Johnny Miller (3) Tom Kite (3) and Greg Norman in Hall of Fame company to come so close on multiple occasions. Rose also nearly tied the largest 54-hole comeback in Masters history when starting the final round seven strokes back. It’s not out of the question that he can still add another major with such an incredible attitude. “There's no point in being too despondent about it and you look at all the good stuff that got me into this situation,” Rose said. “You can't skip through a career without a little bit of heartache. It's not going to happen. If you're willing to lift the big championships, you've to put yourself on the line. You have to risk feeling this way to get the reverse. It's all -- it nets out.”

I got asked by our head professional yesterday whether anyone else had ever lost two Masters playoffs, and I came up empty in the moment:

Justin Rose is the second player in Masters history to lose two playoff matches. The first was Ben Hogan, who lost playoff matches in 1942 and 1954.

1942?  Wow, I wouldn't have even thought there would have been a Masters in 1942, but we were only in the war for five months at that point.  The livestock grazing in Amen Corner came later... and the next Masters after this one was in 1946.  Any guesses as to who took Hogan down?

One of my longstanding gripes is the treatment of playoff losers.  Certainly the didn't win, but isn't it a higher form of loss than a typical second place finish?  The playoff loser shot the best score of the week, which is the objective at the start of the week, no?  We all understand that second place can be an agonizing close call, or it can be  fifteen shots back, right Ernie and Miggy (anyone get that reference)?

Let me share my two favorite major playoff factoids.  The first will come via a question, has any player lost all four majors in playoffs?  Anyone?  Bueller?  You're gonna hate yourself, because the answer is blindingly obvious.  I'll throw some hints your way.....  Calcavecchia?  Ring any bells?

How about Fuzzy?  Do visions of white towels pop into your mind?  Larry Mize, anyone?

But that's a little too recent and obvious, no?  Anyone remember Craig Wood?  

Craig Ralph Wood (November 18, 1901 – May 7, 1968) was an American professional golfer in the 1930s and 1940s, the winner of 21 PGA Tour titles including two major championships and a member of three Ryder Cup teams (1931, 1933, 1935). Wood was the first player to lose all four major championships in extra holes.

The asterisk is because the PGA was then a match-play event, hence that "extra holes" bit.  Wood is most famous as the victim of Gene Sarazan's "Shot heard 'round the world" at the 1935 Masters Augusta National Invitational.

The other major playoff factoid that amuses me relates to the King.  Arnie was.... well, he was the damn King, so you know what he was, but his major haul of seven may strike some as meager as compared to his stature in the game.  Arnie only won one U.S. Open, his famous charge in 1960 to steal it from a young Jack and an elderly Hogan, but folks seem to forget that Palmer lost three U.S. Open playoffs in five years.  Think about that level of frustration:

• 1962 - Jack Nicklaus (Oakmont)
• 1963 - Julius Boros (The Country Club)
• 1966 - Billy Casper (Olympic)

He shot the low number in four Opens, and won only the one.  Jack shot the low number five times, and won four of those.

Geoff seems to be grading on a curve:

Bryson DeChambeau. A remarkable performance given what appeared to be his (at best) B-game. Birdieing three of the last four holes Saturday appeared to put a damper on McIlroy’s mood and added even more tension on Sunday. While DeChambeau ended up four strokes from the playoff, the week shows more deep Masters runs are in his future. He should ignore the haters seizing on his open, perhaps silly answers to questions. Majors would be far less interesting without DeChambeau around.

Fair enough, though I can't help being disappointed at his failure to provide a serious challenge to Rory.  

The other problem is that I can't stop laughing at him for calling Augusta a Par-67.  It's beyond funny that the man who uttered that statement was the only player in the field to lay up off the third tee.  Wasn't that the sequence that lost him the Masters?   Somehow on the walk from the second green to third tee he morphed into Len Mattiace....

It probably says more about our outsized expectations than it does about the young man, but I expected more from him this week:

Ludvig Aberg. Two Masters, two incredible performances. The elegant Swede briefly tied for the lead through 16 holes before a three-putt at 17 and 18th hole triple bogey. In the logoclad overkill world of professional golf, last week’s bright outfits stood out against his peers sporting a drab array of cow pasture beige, Chernobyl gray, and hyperion treatment plant blues. The 25-year-old leaned into a lively Adidas revival, and his willingness to celebrate Masters springtime sure classed up the joint. A future Masters win also seems inevitable.

A weirdly-sized photo that I stole from Geoff.....not great formatting for sure.

A for this one, color me unmoved:

Harry Diamond. The endlessly-badgered bagman bought at least two weeks of criticism for not stopping his man from playing a shot. McIlroy’s faith in his looping pal paid off when we found out Diamond’s reassuring post-18th hole bogey words gave his player the boost needed to birdie the hole in sudden-death. And we learned he was not wild about an insane recovery play on the seventh that would have been a disaster. One quibble: next time your man pitches one from behind the 15th hole into the pond, you must tackle him when he’s walking back to the drop area and bringing a 10 into play.

Fair enough, Geoff, but now do St. Andrews, Pinehurst and LACC..... see the problem?

It was never about Harry, it was about what the  choice to put Harry on the bag told us about Rory.  Specifically, that it was more important for him to be comfortable than to be challenged.  If you're looking to explain the years 2015-2024, that's a pretty good start.  When Rory pulled the wrong club on the 16th hole at Pinehurst, wasn't that Harry on the bag?

Then Geoff had this on TV stuff:

Ratings. CBS averaged 12.7 million for Sunday’s final round and the audience peaked at a whopping 19.543 million viewers from 7-7:15 p.m. ET. Streaming numbers were not disclosed but added to the huge numbers. Sunday’s average audience size was up a stunning 33% from last year. Sky Sports says Sunday was its most-watched day in network history, with 7.5 million tuning in and 1.85 million watching after midnight when McIlroy and Rose played the 18th hole. To put the peak 19.5 million number in perspective, SBJ’s Josh Carpenter noted that it was only “700K less than the 20.2 million average for Tiger's win in 1997.” The numbers are especially remarkable given the well-documented decline in linear television reach.

CBS. The record pollen levels did not stop Jim Nantz from guiding the team who are—weirdly—in different announce locations. They were working an extra two hours this year on what is already a break-light, tense, just-don’t-call-it-a-mob-scene, broadcast. The variety of announcer locations was rarely noticeable, even with Frank Nobilo covering the 16th from the 11th where his view of Amen Corner takes priority, Ian Baker Finch from a super tower position, and Andrew Catalon above the 14th green. No one talked over each other and they all offered sparse but smart commentary regarding play on multiple holes, highlighted by moments like Baker-Finch noting how no one was getting up and down on No. 4 from where DeChambeau had hit his tee shot. Dottie Pepper was more indispensable than ever and added key observations about wind, shot choices, and things said inside the ropes. She shined best during Sunday’s 7th hole sequence when McIlroy pulled off an insane shot from the left second cut. Another set of eyes on the ground is desperately needed for shootout years like this one. Rose’s 66 lacked an (American) television voice during his epic comeback. And Sky’s on-course reporter is weirdly relegated to outside-the-rope status. What parts I heard from Sky’s announce team left a lot to be desired, particularly when Nick Faldo couldn’t resist talking about himself way too much.

I'm not at all surprised at the boffo ratings, which is where that Saturday putt by Bryson on the 18th green was so impactful (I'm also guessing the cold weather on the East Coast didn't hurt).  Not sure Corey Connors paired with Rory would have generated the same frisson... It's almost a relief to confirm that people will watch golf.  Well, maybe not golf per se, but The Masters.

Another set of eyes on the ground?  It's Augusta, Geoff, it took us fifty years to get Dottie and shot-tracing.

There's another aspect tot he ratings that folks might want to think through, to wit, the commercial load.  I totally get that this can't be replicated elsewhere.  After all. Augusta National has left more money on the table over the decades than DOGE has found fraudulent U.S. Aid disbursements.  But I have a radical concept to promote, to wit, that 12.7 million people tune in because the broadcast is watchable..  I know, an idea so crazy it just might work.

Cue the over-interpretations:

After sizzling Masters, now is the time for PGA Tour, LIV Tour Golf to strike a deal

 Why?  Do we think the John Deere would suddenly feel like the Masters if PReed was there?

For instance, we know how tough it is for a top golfer, even an all-time great like Rory McIlroy, to put away a tournament. It seemed like McIlroy had won three or four times before he finally won it. We also learned never to rule out a talented golfer like Justin Rose, who was finished after Saturday but built a stirring comeback to force a playoff Sunday. And we learned that the most talented golfers in the world can look like double-digit handicappers at times at Augusta National.

But one thing that we certainly learned, though maybe not as blatantly as the other lessons, is that men’s golf desperately needs to get the game united again.

Think about it. As the 2025 Masters unfolded, excitement grew over how many of the greats in the game were playing the same golf course at the same time. McIlroy, now a five-time major champion, was trying to hold off Bryson DeChambeau, a two-time U.S. Open winner. But when was the last time you thought about DeChambeau? Probably when he won the U.S. Open last year in a duel down the stretch with McIlroy.

Lots of words that don't remotely prove out the premise.  The Sunday excitement was provided almost exclusively by non-LIV players, leading me to an alternative conclusion, to wit, that the Masters was exciting because the Masters is always exciting.  DeChambeau benefitted from that more than he contributed to it, which I don't mean as a knock on him.  The magic is the event, not in this year's passing circus.

Before I move on, ESPN threw up some silliness in terms of winners from the week:

Schlabach: Besides McIlroy, I'll go with a couple of aging former Masters champions: Zach Johnson and Bubba Watson.

Johnson, 49, had fallen to 289th in the world rankings after missing eight cuts in 2024 and not doing much of anything this season, outside of tying for 21st in the Sony Open in Hawaii in January. He didn't play much golf last fall while watching his son play his senior year of high school football, and he seemed to have an eye on PGA Tour Champions when he turns 50 next year.

Plus, he has been battling a right elbow injury since last summer.

The 2007 Masters champion made six birdies in an eight-hole stretch and carded a 6-under 66 on Saturday, his best round at Augusta National. He tied for eighth at 5 under, his best finish on the PGA Tour since 2021.

"I still feel like I have it," Johnson said. "I don't know if pride is the right thing, proud, whatever you want to call it."

Watson, 46, hadn't done much of anything in the LIV Golf League -- his best finish this season was a tie for 12th in Saudi Arabia in the opener. He's currently 36th in the individual points standings.

But the two-time Masters winner matched his career low with a 4-under 68 on Sunday and tied for 14th at 3 under. It was his best finish at Augusta National since tying for 12th in 2019.

Watson was making his 17th start at the Masters, and his course knowledge was a bonus.

"You're always trying to get information," Watson said. "But as you get older that information doesn't do as good as it used to."

Uggetti: If we're going for the non-Rory division, it's easy to look toward Max Homa, who finished in a tie for 12th.

Perhaps no one was searching for a semblance of a positive week on the golf course coming into this week more than Homa, who had missed five straight cuts before arriving in Augusta and had been forthright about how much he was fighting his swing.

So, how do you get right?

For Homa, it appears the answer is playing Augusta National four days in a row. Over four rounds, Homa broke par every single time.

"It's awesome. This has been just not fun at all," Homa said after making the cut Friday. "It does feel good to not beat myself out here."

Homa clearly feels some level of comfort here, and he showed it. A year after he finished in a tie for third, his T-12 finish earns him an automatic invite for next year.

Of course, Homa isn't just looking for positive weeks like this one; he's after consistency and winning. There's plenty of work left to do.

"Tough times don't last; tough people do," Homa said. "At the end of the day, if you get out of your own head it's just one event. You can miss the cut by one and feel like garbage. It sucks. But always closer than you think."

The first bit is funny, no?  When have Bubba and Zach ever been used in the same sentence?   One of the peculiarities of Augusta is how well some of the old-times play, and it's all kinds of old-times.  You couldn't find two more disparate players than these two, heck Zach is the only guy that lays up on all the Par-5's every year (the year he won was because the weather was so God-awful that they all had to lay up).

The irony is that Homa is auditioning to join this crew, but without the green jacket that gets him invited back each year.  This is the first decent golf Max has shown us since last year's Masters, and I don't his chances unless he throws some numbers up elsewhere.

But this feels way too early:

Too-early favorites for the rest of the majors?

Schlabach: McIlroy will probably be the favorite at the next major championship, the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, on May 15-18. He has won the Wells Fargo Championship at the same course four times, in 2010, 2015, 2021 and 2024, and set the course record twice with a 62 in 2010 and 61 five years later. It wouldn't be a surprise to see him add his sixth major and third PGA Championship title next month. I'll go with Rory to win a second straight major next month.

I'm expecting Scheffler to have a couple of victories under his belt by the time he arrives at the U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club outside Pittsburgh on June 12-15. He had three straight top-10 finishes in the major before tying for 41st at Pinehurst No. 2 last year. Players aren't going to be able to bomb it around Oakmont because of its narrow fairways and myriad bunkers, so give me someone who can control his ball and work it both ways. Scheffler isn't going through an entire season without a major championship victory.

McIlroy will also be a sentimental favorite when the Open Championship returns to Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland on July 17-20. He missed the cut the last time The Open was played there in 2019, carding a quadruple-bogey 8 on the first hole and a triple-bogey 7 on the last in an opening round of 8-over 79. He tried to battle back and make the cut with a 6-under 65 in the second round but missed the weekend by one. Keep an eye on Irishman Shane Lowry, who won the previous Open Championship at Royal Portrush. He's playing great golf, too.

Uggetti: Mark has the favorites nailed, so I'll add some names that are worth considering.

Ludvig Åberg has now finished inside the top 10 at Augusta two years in a row, and though he has had only one other top-12 finish at a major in eight tries, his game is tailor-made for pretty much every possible major championship setup. The 2025 Genesis Invitational winner has the ballstriking to compete with the likes of Scheffler and McIlroy, and he has shown repeatedly that even when down late on a Sunday, he has the firepower to make a charge.

Keep a close eye too on Xander Schauffele. This week at Augusta, Schauffele once again did not look like he was fully back in peak form following the rib injury that sidelined him earlier this season, but he still gritted out a T-8 finish after an opening 73.

And let's, of course, not forget about who was leading the tournament after two holes Sunday. DeChambeau will not let this loss deter him from continuing to threaten at major tournaments. Quail Hollow and Oakmont are likely to be setups that favor DeChambeau's length and give him a chance to add to his own major total.

I don't know these writers, but thanks for sharing all those blindingly obvious names.   I especially love Uggetti's digging deep to come up three guys clearly among the top ten players on the planet.  

That's it for today.  Catch you down the road as we continue to process.

Weekend Wrap - Dr. Jekyll & Mr. McHyde Edition

Well, that had some twists and turns to it....  I don't get much right (check out my Masters pool if you're in doubt), but my Friday call bears noting.  With the rest of the world writing the Ulsterman off with yet another Thursday Masters hiccup, your humble blogger said, "Not so fast."

Given my repeated predictions that Rory would finish his career with a wardrobe void in the green spectrum, who says we don't deal well with change at this age....  Of course, you're also probably thinking that this isn't about me, though I call them right just about as often as Rory wins majors.... Anything more than once a decade is just showing off.

Geoff likes to lede his post with numerical summaries, and he goes long today:

By The Numbers

• -11: Leading score after 72 holes (Rose, McIlroy)
• 3: McIlroy’s score on the first hole of sudden death to win
• 5: Career majors for McIlroy
• 128: Months since McIlroy had won a major
• 3899: Days since McIlroy’s last major win (until Sunday)
• 4: Double bogeys during the week (first ever for a Masters champion)
• 6: Members of the Career Grand Slam Club (Sarazen, Hogan, Player, Nicklaus, Woods, McIlroy)
• 310-329-333-352-295-308-352-310-332-248-317: McIlroy’s non-par 3 tee shots in regulation
• 3: birdies on the 4th hole Sunday (Kim, Theegala, McIlroy)
• 35/56: Fairways hit by McIlroy (63%)
• 47/72: Greens in regulation by McIlroy (65%)
• 17/25: Scrambling by McIlroy (68%)
• 329.3: McIlroy’s driving distance average
• 3: Eagles by McIlroy
• 18 Birdies by McIlroy
• 10: Final round birdies by runner-up Justin Rose
• 72.05: Sunday scoring average
• 36 and 5: 16th hole location paying homage to the 1975 Masters

As much as I loved that 1975 call-out, not sure I get Geoff's "36 and 5" reference....  Can anyone clue me in?

As for our hero, Geoff tries to capture the insanity:

A rollercoaster ride of a day.

A cluster unlike any other.

AYFKM.

WTF x 2025.

Rors, bud. Where to start?

You’re a superstar. The Arnie and Savior of 21st-century patrons. The Green Coats have probably never wanted someone to wear a jacket more than you. And this is not just because you remember their names, make eye contact, know how they’ve made their fortune, or can talk shop with them without leaning on your nearby 20-percenter to finish your sentences.

After the zaniest Sunday at the place where they do zany Sundays like no other, you’ll be doing celebratory toasts tonight, taking the jacket across the Atlantic later this week for mum and dad to try on. McIlroy’ll be enjoying this win after several All-World, steel-cut losses in the 11 years since the last major. But let’s be very clear about one thing: it’s a major-worthy mitzvah that the press center has military grade plumbing, padded walls, soft carpet, and an open bar where the Casamigos-fueled Azaleas flowed as soon as you were done talking about winning the 2025 Masters.

“I don't know if any Masters champions had four doubles during the week, but maybe I'm the first,” Rory McIlroy said, looking splendid in a 38R green jacket. “But yeah, just a complete roller coaster of emotions today.”

You think?

To set the record straight: you were the first with four doubles. Craig Stadler—three doubles in 1982—thanks you. And even Jack Nicklaus is trying to figure out what he just witnessed.

“I’ve never seen a tournament where I’ve seen so many good shots and so many bad shots and so many changes of this and that,” he told Golf Channel’s Live From. “I’m delighted for Rory. I know that he’s had a lot of pressure on him. He’s had the world on his shoulders. That was wonderful to see him win.”

That Jack quote is so very true.....  Several times over the weekend we saw Rory hit shots that only he could hit.... alas, that also includes the wedge into No. 13 yesterday.

And this about a really curious decision:

Rory is a true Master. A gift to golf. A complete golfer who has improved with age and found new ways to love the game even when it dumps fire retardant on his unending fire. The whole thing is all so lovely. And beautiful. Proper. Inspiring. Stunning. Even ethereal.

But what the hell did you do to us on 13?

“I thought I played the 13th hole smartly, at least for the first two shots,” he said of quite possibly the worst shot ever hit by a major champion nursing a four-stroke lead with six to go.

“3-wood off the tee, laid it up into a good position. I had 82 yards to the pin. It went into a little valley and it was on the upslope. And usually when I hit wedge shot off upslopes, they come out a little bit left on me. I gave myself like a couple of yards of room to the right. I wasn't aiming at the creek, but it came out, you know, a little weak and a little right.”

A little? You think?

What's interesting to me is that we've seen exactly no one do that previously, regardless of the size of their lead.  Ironically, it brings into play the worst fate that can happen, which is to end up in the water in three (one can survive being wet in two, especially with a 4-shot lead).  

I had noted that the final round set-up evoked St. Andrews a bit, though the venue providing a stark difference.  The Old Course really was a Par-67 (H/T: Bryson), and I thought he made a critical error there in not maintaining his aggressiveness.  Augusta is a different test, where on needs selective aggressiveness, nowhere more so than the three-shotters.  But I don't think Rory does conservative well, so maybe wasn't well-served doing so.

But I'll credit the guy for acknowledging this (though not sure what Geoff is smoking);

Perhaps most reaffirming in McIlroy’s bizarro win that should have been by seven or eight shots?

For a change, the ball listened.

Gaps in trees opened up.

Deadly lies in past majors were decent this week.

Finally, the guy who seemed to get no breaks in crushing losses at St Andrews, Los Angeles and Pinehurst, received the help all legends need to accumulate multiple majors.

“Look, I rode my luck all week. And again, I think with the things that I've had to endure over the last few years, I think I deserved it. Anytime I hit it in the trees this week, I had a gap. Even the second shot on 7 today, which I probably shouldn't have taken on, Harry was telling me not to. I was like, ‘No, no, I can do this.’"

It just seemed like every bad drive, and there were many, left him with an opening.... But, Geoff, Rory lost at those three venues the good old fashioned way, or were you not watching that putting exhibition at Pinehurst?

Not only did he hit that risky shot, but after the layup on No. 13, he did this from No. 15 (though admittedly he wasn't protecting a lead any longer):

Not like that green was firm or anything....

Shall we see what the Tour Confidential gang thought?  Actually, that was rhetorical, otherwise it's a bit much work for your humble blogger:

Rory McIlroy beat Justin Rose in a playoff to win the 2025 Masters, claiming his first major since 2014 and, more importantly, his first career green jacket, making him the sixth player ever to secure the career grand slam. How would you start to unpack that crazy finish?

Jessica Marksbury: I feel absolutely wrecked, and all I did was watch! I cannot recall a Masters,

or any tournament, for that matter, with so many twists and turns, ups and downs, and emotional investment. It was a nail-biter from the first hole. Jack Nicklaus said — and I’m paraphrasing— that he’s never seen so many good shots mixed with so many bad shots. He nailed it! It was outrageous, exciting, excruciating, like nothing I’ve ever watched. What Rory achieved was so wonderful. I think everyone watching wanted it for him. And his ultimate moment of catharsis on 18 — down on his knees, sobbing into the green — brought tears to my eyes too. It was inspiring and awesome, literally everything you ask for in a sports story, or any human story, was on display today. I’m still in a state of recovery.

Josh Sens: By far the craziest tournament I’ve ever watched. It was hard to tell whether the golf gods were in an especially mischievous mood or if McIlroy was just messing with us. I think it’s fair to say by the wild swings in his play–and his intense emotion after–that playing with the weight of history – and with so many painful memories in the majors– isn’t easy. Fans have good reason to feel elated for Rory. And also maybe a little bad for Justin Rose.

Jack Hirsh: How do I unpack that? I just had my heart ripped out of my chest only to have it sewn back in multiple times over the last several hours. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so strongly about a sports event since Tiger in 2019 and there wasn’t near as much drama as today. First McIlroy was blowing it, then he rallied, then he was dominating. Then he was playing safe, then he blew it. Then he rallied again. Then he blew it and then he finally won it. I’m tired just typing that. I think the important thing is this. Had McIlroy lost today, there was a real argument to be made that he might never have been able to recover from it. Now? He might be set up to win 10 more majors before he’s done (and maybe three more this year)!

Yanno what would be great?  If golf writers heard the words as they come off their keyboard.  Sure, Jack, it was eleven years in the desert between Nos. Four and Five, but by all means concede him Nos. 6-15.....  Because that's how golf works.

The point Hirsh was trying to make isn't much better.  To wit, that had it gone pear-shaped for Rory it might have been sufficiently devastating that he couldn't recover.... You mean, like Pinehurst?  But didn't he sort of recover from that, Jack?  

Rory made this a crazy day, but it would also be nice if these writers knew some history, because there have been far crazier Masters.... The year Charl won jumped out at me, as well as the one they honored with that 16th hole pin placement.  And someone mentioned 2019, but wasn't there all sorts of mayhem in 1986 as well?  It's this event's signature move, but when your writers are all 22 years old...

McIlroy rebounded from a double bogey on the 1st hole, escaped some tree trouble with some magnificent approaches on the first nine and overcame a late double bogey and short missed putt on the 18th to eventually beat Rose in a playoff. What most impressed you about his victory?

Marksbury: McIlroy showed some serious fight, but he didn’t appear to get too up or too down during the round. He stayed cool and collected, and that enabled him to continue hitting those

miraculous shots. Even though he missed some makeable ones down the stretch, he still hit the shots he needed to give himself the opportunities.

Sens: There were so many moments where he could have just slumped his shoulders and slinked away. What must have been swirling through his head as it all seemed to be slipping away from him again. The fact that he was able to pull out of what looked like a self-inflicted death spiral is pretty remarkable.

Hirsh: My colleagues touched on the mental, but the physical is just as impressive. When we talk about 15 yesterday as well as 5, 7 and 15 today, he hit shots that I firmly believe he is the only human on the planet capable of hitting. Tiger used to do the same thing. No one was even thinking about going through some of the windows he tried on 5 and 7, his caddie even tried to talk him out of it, but he has so much speed and is able to elevate the ball so high, it’s truly remarkable. We’ve compared Scottie Scheffler’s winning ability to Tiger Woods, but we haven’t talked about (at least lately) how Rory is the closest thing physically we’ve seen since Tiger in his prime.

His good golf was simply better than anyone else's....  I was struck by the improvement in his wedge play, which combined with his other-worldly driving....

What do you think was the difference between this Rory and the version that’s had so many major close calls over the last couple of years?

Marksbury: In his past near-misses, McIlroy’s body language was always very indicative of his mood — the lack of bounce in his walk, the pained expressions, the downcast eyes. I didn’t notice that on Sunday, although he had plenty of reason to be negative! But he stayed the course, which enabled him to ultimately capitalize on his final opportunity. He seems like a changed player in that sense, which is an impressive evolution.

Sens: I agree with you there, Jess. After he missed the putt on 18 in regulation, he grinned in a way that seemed pained but also borderline amused by the absurdity of it all. He’d said it all week—that this wasn’t a matter of life and death, that even the most brutal heartache can be overcome, and that he still believed in himself. His comportment all week suggested that those weren’t just empty words.

Hirsh: To be honest, he finally got lucky. He still hit the bonehead wedge on 13 and missed the putts on 15, 16 and 18 in regulation, but this time there was no Cam Smith to boatrace him or Bryson DeChambeau to outduel him. That’s not a knock on McIlroy because winning major championships is simply hard and you need luck to get there. But when he hit his second at 11 and it stopped just inches before the water, I was convinced it was just his day.

The internal and the external.  Rory did a great job of bouncing back from all the doubles, of course he had the benefit of lots of experience there.  He was the best player out there, only making it closer with the boneheaded stuff...

On the flip side, he banked all those lucky windows out of the trees, and also benefitted from the biggest break of all, to wit, that nobody really came at him hard.  Rosie made the big putt on No. 18 and clawed his way back top relevance, but had let himself lose contact with Rory in the middle of the round.

But am I the only one that saw echoes of 2005 in yesterday's end game.  What most folks don't remember about Tiger's famous chip shot is what ensued immediately thereafter.  With a two-shot lead, Tiger proceeded to make ugly bogeys at both Nos. 17 and 18 to force a playoff with Chris DiMarco, which he birdied the first hole of to win.  Those were two great swings Rory made on the playoff hole, so all credit there.

This will be a tough one to answer:

Which non-winner is still leaving Augusta National pleased with their week, and which pro leaves still searching?

Marksbury: Patrick Reed has to be thrilled with his performance this week — an out-of-nowhere 3rd-place finish, only two shots off the lead? That’s wild! He does have an excellent record at Augusta overall, but since the majors are the only opportunity we have to gauge LIV players against their PGA Tour peers, this has to feel like a big statement for him.

As for a searching pro, my heart aches a bit for Justin Rose. Man, what a performance, and so brutal to come up short yet again. And at 44 years old, he knows he’s on the back-nine of his already Hall-of-Fame worthy career. But I’m sure this one stings.

Sens: Max Homa has to feel pretty good. It’s been a rough season for him so far. Five straight missed cuts heading into Augusta. Nice to have him back.

Hirsh: Yeah, I’m jumping on the Justin Rose bandwagon. He’s now finished runner-up in the last two majors and he had to go through qualifying to get in the Open Championship! He’s clearly still got something left in the tank. It would be awesome to see him win again, especially after showing such class in defeat.

Gotta wonder where Nick Dunlap is at right now. His rally on Friday was inspiring, but 90 is a shocking score for a guy who won twice last year. Hard to remember he is still just 21.

If he hadn't gotten that 18th hole reprieve from Rory, not sure he'd come in for much sympathy this morning.  He's a good guy and a good player, but after that strong opening round he seemed to hanging on for dear life.  he was never gonna win it unless Rory coughed it up to him...

I refuse to concede that Patrick reed was even in the field, and Max Home seems to be able to play just this one golf course these days.... So, not too many happy campers leaving Augusta.

What did you learn at Masters week?

Marksbury: I had an idea that double-bogeys at Augusta equalled death, and winners need to shoot under par on Sunday. And Rory proved all of that wrong!

Sens: Great way to put it, Jess. I can’t top that. What I learned wasn’t so much a lesson, but a reminder. In golf–and in this golf tournament in particular–expect the unexpected.

Hirsh: That Rory McIlroy can hit a golf ball very, very high.

 And from the "Way too soon" department:

Come 2026 Masters week, there’s no more storyline focusing on Rory and his quest for the career grand slam. So, what will be the biggest storyline?

Sens: Can Rory win his fifth straight major?

Marksbury: YES, Josh! Another one: Will Tiger play, and will he make the cut, is always a favorite. Other than that, I think it will be fun to track this growing contingent of players who are playing awesome at Augusta year after year. Scottie was three shots away from winning a third green jacket. Ludvig was in the mix again, and you have to think that Rory will continue to be a factory for years to come. Who will be the Masters king of the next generation?

Hirsh: Yeah, I agree with Sens too, and there’s more to unpack with that. McIlroy is setting himself up to have a Scheffler-like year, but maybe with more majors?! He’s won four times at Quail Hollow, site of the PGA Championship. The U.S. Open is at Oakmont, which should be tailor-made for a bomber like him. And the pièce de résistance? The Open Championship returns to Royal Portrush in his home country, where he owns the course record. He clearly has his sights set on leaving little doubt that he is Europe’s greatest player.

Lost in the shuffle is what a good week it was for Europe.  For a while it was a three-way tie that included Ludvig, and guys like Rahm and Tyrell redeemed their weeks.  I'm gonna focus on Bethpage before worrying about Rory's title defense.

And I'm going to exit on a minor story, just because it's so hard to understand people:

Former Masters champ’s secret gesture was ‘nice touch’ for Rory McIlroy

Who it was might surprise you:

Angel Cabrera, present at Rory McIlroy’s collapse, was one of the reasons behind his rise.

With McIlroy up by two heading into Sunday’s final round of the Masters, and in search of his first green jacket, he opened his locker upon arriving at Augusta National and found a note from the 2009 Masters winner. Fourteen years ago, they’d been paired together when McIlroy entered the final round of the Masters up two, only to shoot a near-unfathomable 80 and exit Augusta National in a fog.

The message was short. The message was remembered. McIlroy won this year’s Masters a few hours later, in a playoff with Justin Rose, and McIlroy specifically noted the note in his press conference opening statement.

“And honestly, you know, what came out of me on the last green there in the playoff was, you know, at least 11 years, if not 14 years of pent-up emotion,” McIlroy said. “You know, since 2011, I think it’s so ironic, as well. I got to my locker this morning and I opened it up, and there was a note in there from Angel Cabrera, and just wishing me luck.

“And Angel Cabrera was the player I played with on the final day in 2011. It was a nice touch and a little bit ironic at the same time. It’s been 14 long years, but thankfully I got the job done.”

And not the first such story about Cabrera, a man who has generated some horrible stories in recent years.  But, to appreciate Cabrera, talk to Adam Scott.   Not only did Cabrera help Scott regain his confidence at a Prez Cup many years back, but he also exhibited some of the most genuine sportsmanship I've seen in losing a playoff to Scott at Augusta.

It's just the yin and the yang of human nature but, without discounting those accusations against him, I can't help but feel that he's earned a second chance.

That's it for today.  Hope you enjoyed that wild Sunday, and we'll have further thoughts as the week progresses.