Previous Blogs from David
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Two questions have dominated conversation this week. Well, actually one question, with another as 1B. The first, of course, is will Tiger Woods win the Grand Slam? The second is will anybody break par this week after Zach Johnson won with a 1-over 289 last year? In truth, both questions are a little silly, yet somehow justified.
The Woods question is silly because the Masters is just the first major of the year. Shouldn't we be waiting until he's won one or two majors before thinking about the Grand Slam? On the other hand, you can't win the Grand Slam without winning the first event. And considering that Woods's accomplishments and domination of the game are a bit silly themselves, maybe it isn't too soon to start thinking about it.
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Their opinions must be considered. They are the ones who have to play the course, after all, and they've seen it in practice rounds.
All of this talk is the result of the changes to Augusta National in the past decade: the lengthening, the addition of trees, and the "second cut" of rough. The fear is that, combined with the difficulty of the greens, this is turning into another U.S. Open where subpar scores are hard to come by.
But really what sent the scores over the edge last year were the wind and the super-firm greens. If we don't get those, scores should be lower, right? That's what logic says. I find it odd that many of those who fear the Masters is in danger of becoming a par slog and thus losing its air of excitement are also proponents of firm greens. Since firm greens are the main factor in increased course difficulty, shouldn't we be asking for greens that are reasonably accepting if we want players to have the ability to go on birdie runs while still retaining a challenge? Masters chairman Billy Payne didn't give a lengthy answer to a question about course set-up in his press conference on Wednesday, but he did offer a couple of hints. He called last year a "perfect storm" of weather conditions (and he didn't mean "perfect" in the sense of "great.") And he said that they want it to be "exciting over the weekend." The last comment indicates that if the course is to be had, it will happen on Sunday in order to increase the chances of a dramatic and exciting finish. That has been the apparent philosophy in recent years--even in 2007--and it brings a new meaning to the term "Sunday pins." As for the other days, there probably won't be a lot of mercy shown. But unless the wind blows harder than predicted, I'm not expecting the carnage of a year ago.
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Let's look at some of the events of the day.
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6:25 pm
A nice note from the Par 3 Contest is that 78-year-old Arnold Palmer earned nearest to the hole honors on the first hole at 22.5 inches. Of course, at the same age Sam Snead actually made it to a playoff in the Par 3, a remarkable feat even on a 1,060-yard course. There were four holes-in-one today, made by Paul Azinger, Charles Coody, Fred Couples, and Wayne Grady. Only Couples is playing in the Masters; 1971 champion Coody has stopped competing and the other two were special invitees for the Par 3.
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Rory Sabbatini has won the Par 3 Contest with a 5-under 22, withstanding challenges by Woody Austin and Miguel Angel Jimenez, who finished at 23. He's an appropriate winner since he avowedly doesn't believe in the Par 3 jinx, which has seen no winner of the Par 3 Contest win the main event in the same year since the Par 3's inception in 1960. David Toms came to the last hole at 4-under and hit the ball into the water, seemingly on purpose. It looks like he didn't want to "risk" winning again, having taken the Par 3 title in 2001 and 2003 (sharing it the latter year).
I'm not a believer in the jinx, either, it's just a matter of the improbability of it. Since the Par 3 isn't the same kind of test it gives no indications about a player's readiness to win on the big course, so it would be pretty much a random occurence for the same player to win the Masters that year. A few of Par 3 winners have come close, most notably Ray Floyd losing in a playoff in 1990 and Chip Beck coming up just short in 1993. One thing's for sure: Sabbatini, who tied for second at the Masters last year, has a better chance than 2005 Par 3 winner Jerry Pate, who wasn't even in the Masters field, or 2007 winner Mark O'Meara, who was 50 at the time.
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5:55 pm
Tiger Woods had to know what he was doing when he said on his website at the beginning of the year that the Grand Slam was "easily within reach." First, it showed how good he felt about his game heading into 2008. Second, it showed that he didn't mind putting pressure on himself. Normally guarded in his statements, he had to know that the comment--unsolicited, at that--would draw attention to his Grand Slam quest. Woods didn't back off in the least when asked about the "easily within reach" comment this week.
Of course, the idea of putting pressure on himself may be foreign to Woods. What he said beforehand, how he played in his last tournament, what happened a year ago, what others expect of him--none of it seems to affect him once the tournament starts, when his focus is solely on doing whatever is necessary to win.
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4:45 pm
Ever since the two-stage lengthening of Augusta National began six years ago, it seems that most of the voices in the chorus have been proclaiming that it plays into the hands of long hitters. Meanwhile, I and some others have tried to point out that the course changes actually make accuracy more of a factor than it used to be, thanks to tree plantings and bunkers that have been brought back into play for long hitters that they used to bomb it over. Well, with Zach Johnson winning last year and Tiger Woods talking in his pre-tournament press conference how the course doesn't favor him as much as it did when Jack Nicklaus predicted in 1995 that he would win 10 green jackets, it seems that the pendulum of opinion has started to swing. And, by the way, while dry conditions have been cited as paving the way for Johnson's victory, the other short-to-medium hitting winner in the new era, Mike Weir in 2003, did it in sopping wet conditions.
Frankly, though, I'm kind of tired of the whole subject. Yes, certain players seem to play well on certain courses, but that doesn't mean somebody else can't win. The whole horses for courses thing is overrated.
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Two of the more intriguing Masters rookies this year are Bubba Watson and J.B. Holmes, who rank 1-2 in driving distance. They hit it so far that they might be able to carry some of the fairway bunkers that were brought back into range for the big hitters by the course lengthening this decade. We're talking carries of some 290 to 300 yards, but they just might be able to do it. Of course, the new trees might see some action from them as well.
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4:10 pm
This is the 50th anniversary of Arnold Palmer's first Masters victory, but let's take it a step further and say that since this year ends in "8" we may be in for an exciting finish. In 1998, Mark O'Meara birdied the last two holes to surge past Fred Couples and David Duval by one. In 1988, Sandy Lyle birdied the 18th hole from a fairway bunker to beat Sandy Lyle by one. In 1978, Gary Player shot a 30 on the back nine for a closing 64 with a birdie on the last hole and watched his score hold up for a one-stroke win over Hubert Green and Rod Funseth. In 1968, the result was determined behind the final green when Roberto De Vicenzo signed for a score one shot higher than he actually shot to rob him of a playoff with Bob Goalby (both officially shot 66s). And in 1958, Palmer prevailed by one when Doug Ford and Fred Hawkins both missed reasonable birdie chances on the last hole.
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3:40 pm
The Masters reached a milestone of sorts last year when international competitors outnumbered those from the U.S., 51-45. They kept the edge this time, too, by a 48-47 margin. It could have been more if Daniel Chopra was counted as in international player, though for some reason he isn't. (He was born in Sweden and raised in India, maybe they couldn't decide which to list). Leading the way are Australia with nine, South Africa with seven, and England, in a revival of sorts, with six (the U.K. as a whole has eight). The U.S. may be losing ground against the world, but, hey, at least we have Tiger.
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3:20 pm
Who says he can't play anymore? Ian Baker-Finch, the 1991 British Open champion who was driven from the Tour a decade ago by a horrendous slump, shot a 2-under 25 in the Par 3 Contest. He was playing as a special invitee. I still don't think it would be a wise idea to give up his announcing career to hit the Champions Tour. But if he beats Nick Faldo at the Par 3, it will give him bragging rights in the CBS booth for the week.
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2:50 pm
Ever the crowd-pleaser, 78-year-old Arnold Palmer hit his tee shot to within a foot of the hole on the first hole of the Par 3 Contest, paired with the rest of the Big Three, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer. Not to be outdone, Nicklaus hit it to six inches on the second hole. Wonder if they have a bet on their match.
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2:30 pm
In a television feature about the Par 3 Contest yesterday I saw Rory Sabbatini say he would love to win it despite the Par 3 jinx that had some other players saying they would hit it in the water if they saw they had a chance to win (the Par 3 winner has never won the tournament in the same year). So perhaps it was no surprise to see him go out and shoot a five-under 22 today, with no balls in the water. But as an early starter he was finished before ESPN came on the air for the first-ever telecast of the event. Talk about posting a number early! He might just end up winning, and if he does, look for some interesting comments about his chances in the main event.
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2:00 pm
Augusta National chairman Billy Payne said that the course is "just about the way we want it," especially if the fairways, wet from weekend rains, dry up a little bit. That hasn't been the case very often since the course changes were made in 2002, as it has often been very wet but last year was cold and extremely dry. If it is indeed the way they want it, and we don't get any unusual weather, this year should give the best indication yet of exactly what they have in mind.
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We've heard a lot in recent years about the flattening of participation rates in the game and concern about the future. Apparently, the folks at Augusta National have heard it, too. Under chairman Billy Payne, they have embarked on a campaign to "help grow the game of golf worldwide," as Payne said at his Wednesday press conference. Children are a special target, as evidenced by the decision to allow spectators to bring along children from the ages of 8 to 16 for free. Even the decision to telecast the Par 3 Contest was couched as a way to show kids that the game can be fun.
The exclusive, private Augusta National might seem like an odd source for grow-the-game initiatives. In fact, all of these initiatives (including soliciting ideas from the general public via the Internet) are making me think that maybe the game really is in trouble! Who knows if Augusta's involvement will have any effect? It will be impossible to measure anyway. But what I find more interesting is Payne's intent to "communicate with [kids] and delivering content to them in the manner in which they want it delivered in this 21st century technological era." He even didn't dismiss the possibility of an Augusta National video game (though he made clear it would be under the club's control, not released as a company's product). Wow, Augusta National on the cutting edge of technology? You know that Hord Hardin is not in charge anymore!
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