Weekend Wrap

I don't know about you folks, but I may have watched enough golf for a while...  With the weather not conducive to the playing of golf, a little too much golf was watched...

But where to begin?  With the most important issues, of course.  The winner from earlier in the week:

But should Reed make it to Sunday at Augusta National, he won’t be in his usual final-round attire, The Forecaddie has learned. 

“Nike … they’re doing a new thing where all the players stay in the same kind of storyline,” Reed said. 

This storyline, which included navy and dark gray options for Thursday, will continue throughout the tournament. So the only player who will wear red on Sunday, should he make the cut, will be Tiger.

So a classic piece of misdirection, eh?  He seeds the trap with thoughts of navy and dark gray... Shack actually had a good one early Sunday, with his five crazy scenarios for the final round:

5. Patrick Reed struggles without Sunday red…

Reed, who shed his Tiger-homage Sunday red shirt at Nike’s request, opens with a front nine 44 and superstitiously blames his play on the change in shirt color. Upon putting out at the ninth, Reed sprints to the clubhouse where Tiger is packing up his locker, asks to borrow some Sunday red, and shoots a back-nine 30 to hold on for his first Masters victory. “TW’s red shirt was a little tight, and really kind of smelly to be honest, and it felt like it almost cut off my circulation,” Reed said, “But I needed red so bad.” During the green jacket ceremony Reed took a swipe at his sponsor . “I guess as usual, Nike was wrong and I was right.”

Quite clever, even recognizing that when Tiger finished Patrick and Justine were still enjoying their post-nookie cigarettes.... My point being that I didn't see the power pink shirt coming.

Ryan Lavner on the history of the man in pink:

Carrying a chip the size of Texas, Reed’s abrasive personality has rubbed others the wrong way for the past decade.

Alienating his teammates at Georgia with his brash attitude and me-first approach (along 

Reed with Gregory

with other unconfirmed misdeeds), he lasted only a semester with the Bulldogs, his dismissal expedited by a 2008 arrest for underage possession of alcohol and possession of a fraudulent ID. 

In need of guidance, Reed found a willing mentor in Josh Gregory. Then the coach at Augusta St., Gregory convinced the brooding 20-year-old to eschew another big program for a Division II commuter school with a $30,000 operating budget. “I told him, ‘Let’s be the big fish in a small pond. Come to a smaller school, play for a coach who will be very hands-on and involved in your life,’” Gregory said. “That was something I thought he needed.” 

The honeymoon phase wore off quickly there, too. Reed immediately clashed with team members and was suspended for the first two events of the semester for an undisclosed violation. Pushed by the team’s other standout, Henrik Norlander, however, Reed blossomed into the blue-chipper that all of those powerhouse programs had envisioned during recruiting. He helped carry little-known Augusta State all the way to an NCAA title, toppling Oklahoma State, one of college golf’s blue bloods. Afterward, Reed rushed over to Gregory, swallowed him in a bear hug and lifted him into the air.

Bu wait, there's more:

The lone-wolf mentality may have created friction at the college level, but his intense single-mindedness immediately translated to the pros. After earning his 2013 Tour card, Reed took down Spieth at the Wyndham Championship for his first title. The next year,

Reed outlasted the field at the World Golf Championship event at Doral, where he memorably claimed afterward that he was a top-five player in the world, when in fact he was barely top 20. Though his statement had some merit – he became only the fifth player in the past quarter-century to win four Tour events before age 25 – his delivery missed the mark. On a Tour full of straight-laced, PR-conscious automatons, Reed came off as unapologetically cocky. 

To those who knew him, though, the bravado was familiar. “I genuinely have never met anybody who wants to win as bad as he does, at all costs,” said a former teammate. “I genuinely think he plays with hatred.”

The Top Five thing finally died off, though he had a point it seems.

Most of us think about protein and such to get through a long round, for Patrick it's always Festivus:

On Sunday morning, when he wasn’t watching the Disney Channel with his two young kids, Reed listened intently to the TV analysts breaking down the final group. Not one to forget a slight, he drew even more motivation when all but one picked McIlroy to win. 

The first tee was another eye-opener. “His cheer was a little louder,” Reed said of McIlroy. “But that’s another thing that played into my hand. Not only did it fuel my fire a little bit, but it took the pressure off of me and added it back to him.”

OK, I guess, but most of us just use Brandel for comic relief....

 I'm sure this Mike Bamberger piece is worthy, but the header put me off:

Last man standing: The intense and talented Patrick Reed never faltered and won his first Masters

Of course he faltered.... We all saw that opening tee shot and the ensuing bogey.  But he played with grit with the lead, perhaps the most difficult thing to do in our game.  He never put himself in a spot where the faltering could cost more than a stroke, and he was able to bounce back virtually every time.

The Tour Confidential panel sees it similarly:

Josh Berhow: I think it was simply him maturing and becoming a better player. This was his time. The last two times he held a 54-hole lead, he shot over par. He almost did that again today, but he gave himself enough of a cushion where it still worked in his

favor. More importantly, he never blew up and lost his composure. When he needed to make a putt, he did. 

Jessica Marksbury: I really think he gained a bit of a mental edge being paired with Rory — someone he's tangled with and gotten the better of in an intense environment. Reed is as gutsy and gritty as they come, and what's really surprising is the fact that he hasn't been in the mix more often at a major championship. I did not expect to see him let this one slip away.

Dylan Dethier: The guy was just relentless. Even when he faltered — and he did on Sunday — he came back with birdies at just the right times. He bogeyed No. 1 but made one from the back fringe on 3. He bogeyed 6 but then stuck it for a kick-in bird on 7. Bogeyed 11 and then made the putt of the day on 12. All that plus some good luck: his ball staying up on the bank on 13 and then catching enough of the lip to slow down on 17 made a huge difference.

This will not be a Masters to remember, middle of the pack this century per this observer.  For sure the right guy won, but the Sunday fireworks came from the chase pack....  Reed had his own pyrotechnics, but they came on Friday and Saturday.  Perhaps the most significant stretch included the two eagles on the Par-5's on Saturday...  and when we look back at this win, it may be that the decision to go for No. 15 on Saturday was the most crucial bit....

Shall we get to chasers?  You'll instinctively know where I feel compelled to begin.  Ryan Herrington  does his winners/losers birdie/bogey thing, and he won't draw any criticism for this:

BOGEY: Rory McIlroy

The man just about everyone was picking to win on Sunday wasn't even a factor by the

time the back nine rolled around. Emphasis on "rolled" because, well, let's just say Rory's round certainly won't be used as part of any putting instruction videos. McIlroy's woes on the greens began on No. 2 when it looked like he would wipe out the three-shot deficit to Reed he began the day with after sticking a towering iron to four feet. But he whiffed the eagle putt and never gave his playing partner anything like that match between the two at the 2016 Ryder Cup. At 28, McIlroy still has plenty of time to complete the career Grand Slam, but he now has two disappointing Sundays at Augusta in the memory bank. And he'll be reminded of this one every time he faces Reed in this year's Ryder Cup.

So, picture the first tee at Le Golf National on a certain Sunday in September.  The captains accommodate public demand and put Patrick and Rory out first....Who do we expect to get the louder cheers?  You see the issue?

Shack had this take:

2. Rory McIlroy reverted to Augusta National (putting) form

A disappointing final round for McIlroy still should not discount the strength of his showing. But McIlroy’s final-round 74 demonstrated signs of his previous struggles with

Augusta National’s greens, where he’d averaged 29.9 putts per round in his nine previous appearances. After three 2018 rounds, McIlroy was averaging 26.3 putts per round. 

Sunday McIlroy hit 31 putts but chalked up his issues to poor placement of his approach shots. 

“I was trying to hit good shots and good putts and any time I felt like I hit a decent shot, I either left myself on the wrong side of the pin or gave myself a tricky one behind the hill,” he said. “And then when I did get some opportunities I didn’t take advantage of them. Yeah, tough day, but I’ll be back. And hopefully I’ll be better.”

Repeat after me, kids, hopefully is not a strategy!

The putting was, for sure, dreadful, and it began with that eagle putt on No. 2.  But I'd suggest that the second on No. 3 was when I knew what was to come....  That's the mistake that you can't make, and yet our Rors keeps making them.   

Those TC guys take a shot at it as well:

Bamberger: After the first two holes, he was only one behind Reed and should have been primed to go on a run and turn it into match-play. I don't know why that didn't happen. I don't think it has ANYTHING to do with the 2016 Ryder Cup, that's for sure. It could be an Augusta thing for him. For one thing, he may want it too much. Getting out of your own way is not an easy thing.

Ritter: I don't know how much 2011 haunts him, but my guess is not much. It's not like he's still snapping drives off No. 10 into the cabins. I think missing that shorty for eagle Sunday on No. 2 short-circuited him, and he just couldn't get it back. It really is shocking that he turned out to be such a non-factor Sunday afternoon.

Is it really so shocking, Jeff?  

John Huggan is worth reading on this subject:

In truth, this wasn’t just a disappointing performance—six strokes behind winner Patrick Reed—from the man many believe to be the most naturally talented golfer on the planet, 

The body language tells all.

never mind what the rankings might say. It was worse that that. Much worse. 

On a card littered with errors of varying magnitude, all of the faults that have contributed to McIlroy’s descent from golf’s summit were in evidence. The peerless driving was suddenly erratic. The approach shots equally so, distance control sorely lacking. The short game was blunt. And the putting? Well, that was bloody awful. Standing on the 15th tee, McIlroy had already missed seven putts inside 10 feet and four inside six feet. It was ugly stuff.

And listen to the man himself:

“There is always pressure,” was McIlroy’s opening admission. “But I had a decent warm-up. And I felt like I settled down OK. It wasn’t as if nerves got to me. But I just didn’t have it right from the first tee-shot. Even then, given where I was in one on the first hole, I would have taken one under after two holes. 

“Still, momentum is huge in the last round of a major,” McIlroy continued. “Look at what Jordan [Spieth] and Rickie [Fowler] did. They got on a roll and I just didn’t. Patrick didn’t either. We were in and around even par and just grinding out there—not quite what we both had in mind. He just hung in there a little better than I did and got the job done.

Any interest in discussing why the other guy always hangs in there better than you do?  Or we'll just chalk it up to that momentum thingee?

But, let's revisit a common theme, common at least here at Unplayable Lies.  In the course of a pressure cooker like Sunday at Augusta, in the final group, you have one resource available to you, the guy toting your luggage.  Now perhaps we overstate what that person can accomplish there in the moment, but it's the only guy in your ear.  For Rory these days that is Harry Diamond, his boyhood chum from Holywood, County Down, Northern Ireland.  I'm certain that Harry's selection was because he was the most qualified for the position, but I ask, is that the personnel decision of a deadly serious warrior?  Is that the guy that's gonna put the right club in your hands in the third fairway?

Now you might note that the winner had his brother-in-law on the bag, but Rory wasn't accumulating grievances to fuel him out there.  Rory needs a jockey unafraid to go to the whip... also one who can read greens.

Udder guys?

Back to Shack:

4. Rickie Fowler can close

While he didn’t win the Masters, Fowler’s closing weekend 65-67 should quiet the critics who look past his 2015 Players performance and brand him unable to seal the deal. The final-round 67, with a second shot at 17 just inches from having a short birdie putt and an 18th hole birdie, gives Fowler an unforgettable week. 

“I am ready to go win a major, but this was kind of the first major week that I understood

that and known that and felt that,” Fowler said. “I would say previously, still feeling the nerves and dealing with, you know, tough rounds and things not going your way, but I think the big round for me was yesterday.”

Fowler said nothing felt right and yet a 65 appeared beside his name.

“I felt like I had to just really stick to my game plan and kind of fight through a few times where I may not have felt comfortable and just trying to gut it out, and obviously you could see, with a 65, I was very pleased with that,” he said. 

Fowler’s dejected voice suggests he leaves Augusta heartbroken but also more confident than ever as he heads to one of his favorite golf courses. 

“I’m ready to go. So I’m really looking forward to this year and the three majors that are left. You know, Shinnecock is one of my favorite golf courses in the U.S.,” he said.

After that Players' win, I don't think that was really at issue.... He gave himself a chance and that was a big time birdie on No. 18, but these tourneys cover four days.. and playing from behind is in many ways easier.

See if you think this guy nails it:

Berhow: I always thought that if Rickie was gonna win a major it would have to come from the fourth- or third-to-last group. He posts 65 and hangs out in the clubhouse as others fall to catch him. But he still had plenty of pressure being in the penultimate pairing today; this is the Masters — it's not like you can hide. So, yes, I was pretty surprised of his 67 — especially since he played the first seven in one over par — and he changed my opinion about him. A major is in his future. Rickie you made me a believer!

Exactly.  It's damn hard to win these things, but it's unimaginable that he won't bag one soon.  Well, perhaps, pretty soon.

Shack again:

3. Jordan Spieth exorcises his 12th-hole demons

The Spieth clan knew early on that Jordan was in a special place heading into Sunday’s final round. What happened next — another 18th hole nightmare — cost him a chance at

a course-record-tying 63 or, considering the round Spieth had pieced together, a 62 and a playoff spot with Patrick Reed.

“What we did on 12 today was really cool,” Spieth said. “To play a disciplined shot, probably the most pressure‑packed shot I’ve ever hit, again, I had no idea where I stood, but still the Sunday pin at Augusta and I know what I’ve done, and my history there, to stand in that kind of pressure and hit the shot to the safe zone to knock that putt in was massive for me going forward. And in general this round was fantastic.” 

Spieth’s tee shot at the 18th was listed as having traveled 177 yards after catching a tiny limb of the towering pine to the left. The tough break, combined with a dreadful pull in Round 1, leaves the finishing hole as the only unanswered question for Spieth whose record at the Masters is remarkable: T-2, 1, T-2, T-11, 3.

What a concept, playing a disciplined shot....  The drive on 18 was curious, for sure, but perhaps the more vexing questions relate to Friday and Saturday?

Shall we discuss a couple of also-rans?  Early in the week I quasi-predicted that, if they were to play together on Sunday, it would be as dewsweepers....  Missed it by that much....

4. Both Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson came into this Masters carrying big expectations but had disappointing performances; Tiger closed with a three-under 69 to finish at one over in a tie for 32nd place, while Mickelson shot 67 on Sunday to finish T-36. Which player had the more underwhelming week?

That's a very competitive category...

Sens: Mickelson. As impressive as Tiger has been since his return, the expectations around him headed into Augusta were ridiculously out of whack, even by the usual out of whack Tiger-related expectations. It was more realistic to expect a better showing from Mickelson, who has looked good for much of the year and had the good fortune of not undergoing spinal fusion surgery less than a year ago

Berhow: They both can't land a driver on this planet. But yeah, it's gotta be Phil. Tiger might have had more hype around him, but Phil was still the guy I expected to play better. He showed signs early but faded away with a Friday 79, tied for his worst-ever score here. I thought Tiger played worse than a 32nd-place finish represents, but there's nothing wrong with that. He just played 72 holes at the Masters and could be in the mix next month at the Players. Let's not get greedy about this comeback!

I think that's about right.  Plus two other factors... Tiger has more time and at least Tiger didn't whiff on a shot.   

Loose ends - Just a couple of minor points of amusement...  Despite how far these guys bomb it off the tee, No. 11 continues to be all you want in a Par-4 these days.  In fact, on Saturday there was only one birdie all day, and in a schadenfreudalistic moment, it was made by that guy:

When he got to the challenging 11th hole, Knox took an aggressive line with his approach shot, which rolled past the hole and settled some 25 feet away from the flag.

His putt broke like mad from left to right towards the pond guarding the green, but rolled true into the center of the cup for a birdie three. 

"It was beautiful speed, right bang in the middle," Casey said of the putt. "I was too busy trying to figure out how to make my 12‑footer for par."

As it turns out, the 505-yard hole played as second-hardest of the day. Officially, there were no birdies recorded on the hole, just 41 pars, 9 bogeys, and 3 "others." But fans of Knox — including Paul Casey — will know better. 

"If I played with him enough there would be a lot of things I can glean from his golf game, for sure," Casey said.

The legend grows.  

Did you catch Charley's ace?  He nailed the celebration for sure, but has anyone ever seen a ball bounce right on the 16th green?

Best part?  He was paired with Tony Finau.....

Exit question from the TC panel:

5. In 30 years, what will this 2018 Masters be remembered for?

Berhow: Despite all the great storylines we had coming in and the dream final four on Sunday, I'll probably most remember Sergio's 13 (I would say Spieth if he made that putt on 18).

 That's very hurtful, Josh.

But the actual answer is, alas, nothing.

I'm sure we'll have more tomorrow....