Midweek Musings - Final Countdown Edition

The good news is that the weather forecast is so bad there will no need to juggling the playing with the watching.  And ay Yankees have eliminated themselves as viewing competition, so the decks are cleared.

So, what shall we speak of:

Everyone Talks About The Weather - But few report thereon:

In case you're sensing issues, the weather is fine for today's Par-3 as well, though the course took on lots of water on Monday.

Would love to see more wind in those forecasts to dry it out.  There's only one player that I think of in conjunction with the weather, and Rory's believers will be quite happy with this outlook.  Not enough wind to bother him, though in a perfect world they'd like their workspace softened up each night.

For us it just means the schedule will be uninterrupted.

The Vibe - It's not a bad place, for sure:

The happiest place on Earth? Tuesday at Augusta National makes its case

I'll go way out on a limb and guess that we'll hear about a certain oak tree....

Shane Lowry stood and spoke to a dozen reporters on Tuesday, his eyes fixed on the writers in front of him while occasionally wandering off to the course behind them.

From the media flash area — right of the 1st fairway, outside of scoring, next to the big oak tree — you can see everything. It’s nearly the highest point of the golf course, and the sprawling property unfolds in front of you.

Giddy patrons trudge up and down the hills. One man double-fists a couple of Azalea cocktails. Another already has his collectable plastic drink stack three-cups high. Michelle Wie West and Mel Reid and Jim Furyk — not together, but all out here — mix it up among the patrons. Lions star Aidan Hutchinson is out on the course. So is two-time NBA champ J.R. Smith.

A fan snaps a photo of Lowry. Behind him a man takes a photo of his friends and behind them a woman snaps a photo of her crew. Under the big aforementioned tree, Stefan Schauffele greets his son, Xander, who walks by with a TrackMan in hand. Xander hasn’t won a green jacket yet, but he could this week.

Today, Augusta National is the place to be — for players, for patrons, for instructors, for agents. There’s something magical about the Masters, and that gets magnified early in the week.

Yeah, long known as the best hang in golf.  For those within the gates, that is.

On Thursday and Friday, the scores count. Some players will be promptly ejected while others stay in contention. But today? It’s Tuesday. There’s nothing but optimism and good vibes and hope. It’s mid-60s and blue skies. When it’s sunny, like it is today, the Crow’s Nest tastes better.

Didn't know that the Crow's Nest had a taste....

It's Christmas in April.... If for no other reason than this:

Of course, if you're lucky enough to be invited, wouldn't you get your butt there?

Thirty-two of 35 chairs for past champs were occupied on the second floor of Augusta National’s clubhouse, as only Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh and Sandy Lyle failed to make the Georgia trek two nights before the start of the 2025 Masters.

Because it's such a long trip from Jupiter?  Notice that Jack got himself there, it's a respect thing.

Players - I don't waste too much time picking winners, maybe because I never have....  Dylan Dethier devotes his Monday Finish column to this premise:

The 10 most compelling golfers at the 2025 Masters

Each of the 96 competitors [editor’s note: 95, following Vijay Singh‘s WD] at the 2025 Masters has a journey that’s compelling in its own right, from the oldest (Bernhard Langer, 67) to the youngest (Noah Kent, 20) to the most recent winner (Brian Harman) to the twins (Nicolai and Rasmus Højgaard) to the comeback kids (Daniel Berger, to name one) — you get the idea. Everybody in the field has done something special to get here.

There’s Langer, playing in his final Masters on the 40th anniversary of his first Masters win. There’s Angel Cabrera, who missed several Masters after being in prison and just won on the PGA Tour Champions. There are trending PGA Tour pros who keep contending and are hunting a third major, like Justin Thomas and the probably-currently-underrated Collin Morikawa. There are past Masters champs coming in from LIV and showing some form, like Sergio Garcia and Patrick Reed. There’s Joaquin Niemann, who has shown worldwide just how good he is but hasn’t necessarily done so in major championships. And there are a couple of European Ryder Cuppers I expect to contend in Tommy Fleetwood and Shane Lowry. There’s everybody else, too.

Enough waffling. Let’s get to the top 10.

He seems to be implying, without actually saying, that the field is more compelling than u usually is....whereas I'll just say that one of his bottom does compel, the other not so much (whether you'll agree as to which is which is quite another matter):

10. Jordan Spieth. This year marks the 10-year anniversary of Spieth’s 2015 Masters win; it feels like he’s won at Augusta three or four times but, so far, just the one. That Spieth was different from this Spieth but he’s shown just enough recent form — three top-12s in his last six starts — to get the Spiethians to believe. In his last four Masters he has two top-fours and two missed cuts. Which version will we get this week?

9. Ludvig Åberg. Yes, the guy from the YouTube video! The Swedish sensation finished runner-up in his Masters debut last year — the first major of his young career, by the way — and claimed one of this year’s top trophies at the Genesis Invitational. But he enters the week off two consecutive missed cuts. Which direction is Ludvig trending?

I guess Dylan didn't hear that the last Spiethian died off in 2021.... He had suffered enough.

But Aberg is compelling.... I though his facial reactions were the best thing about the TGL, and his performance last year was truly compelling.

Dylan is listing the best-known players in the world, so not completely shocking that they're of interest.... though I do agree with him here:

1. Rory McIlroy. If you’re a golf fan you can probably recite this paragraph with your eyes closed: McIlroy hasn’t won a major in over a decade but has won everything else in the meantime. He possesses incredible longevity but also owns deep heartbreak. He remains just one Masters away from the career grand slam. This year seems to be set up perfectly for him, too: he’s entering with terrific form and plenty of winning mojo, with titles at Pebble Beach and TPC Sawgrass. Now all that’s left is the pesky task of actually playing the tournament in the fewest number of shots…

Let's see, there's Augusta, Pinehurst, The Old Course and LACC..... the manner of his demise will be Appointment TV.

This return is obviously a bit awkward:

Does Angel Cabrera belong at this Masters? Not everyone’s convinced

On a bluebird Tuesday afternoon at Augusta National, 55-year-old Angel Cabrera was banging balls on the right end of the gleaming practice range in preparation for his 21st Masters start but

first since 2019. Gone were the Ping and South Africa Airways logos he wore on his hat and shirt, respectively, when he won here in 2009, replaced by his interlocking initials, AC, in both spots. Attentive golf fans might recognize Cabrera in this environment but perhaps not if they strolled by him on the street. He’s wider around the middle than he was when Trevor Immelman slipped the green jacket over his shoulders. The bags under his eyes have grown heavier, and his neatly cropped beard is mostly gray.

Cabrera’s swing lacks some of the pop that you might remember from when he beat Kenny Perry and Chad Campbell in a playoff to become South America’s first Masters champion, but you don’t need to watch him groove drivers for long to deduce that he can still golf his ball. He proved as much just last week when he shot 11 under in a 54-hole PGA Tour Champions event in South Florida to win by two over K.J Choi.

That victory garnered much attention because it was Cabrera’s first since he was released on parole from an Argentine prison in March 2023. Over the previous 30 months, Cabrera had served time in three different prisons for various charges, including domestic violence allegations filed by two former girlfriends; in one instance, Cabrera admitted to hurling a cellphone at his partner’s head.

Hey, if Phil is allowed back, I have no issues....

We can agree that the scripting is out of hand, but this one is awfully cute:

Nike sent a care package for Bennett’s first Masters pic.twitter.com/CM7S0tW9Jg

— TrackingScheffler (@SchefflerLegion) April 7, 2025

Kinda cool when your Dad has one two of them before you're even born...

You know how I feel about the small size of the Masters field, but in no way, shape or form is it THAT small:

The definitive list of 9 golfers who can win the 2025 Masters

Though this list of rules is pretty amusing:

Our good friend, Golf Lock Guru, has six hard and fast rules for picking a Masters champion that have served us quite well over the years (they correctly identified Scheffler last year, though that really didn't take much convincing).

Here's a quick refresher:If you are not in the upper-quartile of the field in recent tee-to-green play, you are not winning. Let’s call it in the last 20 rounds.

• If you are a debutante, you are not winning. If you have never shown an ability to compete for a win at Augusta, you are not winning.
• If you have shown the ability to compete for a win at Augusta too many times without winning, you are also not winning — unless you are chasing the career grand slam. (Let’s call this one the Xander Schauffele Rule).
• If you have replaced your putter for no apparent reason in the last month, you are not winning.
• If you have fired your caddy or swing coach in the lead up to Augusta, you are not winning (sorry Matthew Fitzpatrick and Max Homa).
• If you have ever referred to Augusta as a Par 67, you are not winning.

What if you've replaced your putter for cause?  Though I'm a little confused as to where Rory stands on the Xander Rule, thinking he deserves his own rule.

And yet, the list includes Keegan, Corey Connors and Sepp Straka.....  I wouldn't say those guys CAN'T win, but none of them rock my world.

Dress Codes - You'd think someone could have warned him:

College coach escorted off range for wearing shorts at Augusta National: 'Pants tomorrow'

 Still not as embarrassing as this guy:

Why Masters told Jason Day to change his outfits for 2025: 'It'll be toned down'

Day revealed he had to alter his outfit choices for this year's tournament when the initial look he and Malbon came up with was not approved.

"If they would have let us do what we first put the scripting through to them, it would have been a lot crazier than last year," Day said during a recent appearance on Skratch's "Dan on Golf Show" with Dan Rapaport. "But it'll be toned down just because they have a little bit more, they asked to see the scripting before. The funny thing was, they've never asked to see scripting of mine because I've always been pretty neutral and down the middle. This year they asked, obviously, with what happened last year."

He was paired with Tiger when he wore that, so would have garnered way too much airtime for the Lords of Augusta.  But I don't want to see anything crazier than that vest from last year, do you?

I'm running out of steam and have a lengthy To-Do list to dive into, so enjoy today's Par-3 and what follows tomorrow.