The Rogers News

Category: Golf

  • Best of the Masters

    Pure Domination – 1997

    Tiger Woods’ 1997 record-setting victory. I was and still am a huge Tiger Woods fan. Just that past summer I watched and rewatched on tape Tiger’s 1996 U.S. Amateur victory over Steve Scott. Those two tournaments may still be the two best golf tournaments I’ve ever seen.

    Win One for the Oldies – 1986

    This is a tie between Jack Nicklaus’ win in 1986 at the age of 46 and Tiger Woods’ 1997 victory. Although I am a huge golf fan, I don’t have the appreciation for Jack Nicklaus’ greatness that others do who saw him play in his prime. Although, without Nicklaus there might not be a Tiger Woods.

    Most Depressing – 1996

    Greg Norman’s meltdown to Nick Faldo in 1996 was extremely tough to watch. I’m still not sure what happened there. On a much much smaller scale, I’ve lost tournaments down the stretch and been disappointed. I can’t begin to imagine the self-doubt that Norman experienced after that tournament.

    It’s those situations where remembering that golf is just a game is both the best and hardest thing to do.

    Tear-Jerker – 1995

    Ben Crenshaw’s victory in 1995 could also be known as “Chicken Soup for the Golfer’s Soul.” He won that tournament for the late and great teacher Harvey Penick. Penick, who taught Tom Kite and Crenshaw among many other greats, passed away just a week before the 1995 Masters.

    If you’ve never read Penick’s Little Red Book or Little Green Book, you’re not a true golf fan.

    Clutch Finishing Hole – 1998 & 2004

    I was happy for Phil Mickelson when he won for the first time in 2004. It was his first major and has changed him as a player. He earned it, too, with a great birdie putt to win by one over Ernie Els on the final hole. And the unforgettable six-inch vertical victory jump.

    Mark O’Meara should get a nod here, too. He birdied 18 on Sunday to win by one, a feat that’s only been done four times in the history of the Masters.

  • Good and Bad of ESPN’s Coverage

    The Bad – Chris Berman may butcher the broadcast.

    This is a new and interesting year in Masters television coverage. For the first time, ESPN is broadcasting the first two days of the tournament. Chris Burman, in particular, has received a tremendous amount of negative feedback from traditional golf patrons. He’s a bit rough around the edges. More of a professional football guy than a Masters broadcaster. However, he’s sat through his share of U.S. Open tournaments with NBC.

    The Good – The Par 3 Contest will be on TV.

    For the first time ever, the Par 3 Contest held on Wednesday will be broadcast live. If the players were political candidates, the Par 3 Contest would be a can’t-miss photo op. It’s pure fun to see the players kids caddying and to see the old champions hack their way around a few short holes. More often than not, someone makes a hole-in-one. The cure of the Par 3 Contest remains alive, however. No player has won both the Par 3 Contest and the actual tournament in one year.

    Broadcast time: Wednesday, April 9th from 3pm to 5pm.

  • My Masters Picks

    MY PICKS: I’m making my picks early. This is my order of likely winners.

    (1) Tiger Woods – The loss to Oglivy at Doral a few weeks ago will have Tiger fired up. Augusta is perfect for his game. The only thing that might hurt is chances is if the course it too soft. That will balance out the field and allow some of the less skilled players to play target golf on the tricky greens.

    (2) Phil Mickelson – He’s been playing well for the most part with one win, one second, and seven of eight cuts made. He’s got the length and is gaining more discipline. Despite Phil being a former champion, this is the riskiest top-six pick for me. He’ll definitely make the cut, but will he be in contention come Sunday?

    (3) Geoff Oglivy – This guy is playing great. Last time I saw him he was staking everything from everywhere at Doral. His funny looking swing holds up under pressure against even the most formidable of opponents. He’s won a U.S. Open, so we know he can close.

    (4) KJ Choi – He won early in 2008 and has played consistently well since then. I keep pulling for this guy to win a major, and I think Augusta is a great chance for him. K.J.’s putting is a little suspect, but he has a great greens-in-regulation percentage. He should probably be higher than 4 on this list.

    (5) Vijay Singh – I don’t know what to make of Vijay lately. He’s got this funky new swing where he drags the club inside and tries to draw the ball more. That’s a good shot for Augusta, which is known as a right-to-left course, if he’s got it under control. Singh has won before, can hit the long ball, and has been practicing and resting at home in preparation. He should be close come Sunday.

    (6) J.B. Holmes OR Steve Stricker

    Kentucky native J.B. Holmes hits the ball a long long way, which is great for Augusta. He’s won once already this year and has been playing well. However, this is his first Masters.

    Steve Stricker has never won a major, but he’s got a lot of experience and has been playing very consistently for the past year. I definitely think he’ll make the cut and be near the top come Sunday, though I’m not sure he’ll threaten the leaders.

    I got rid of Padraig Harrington from my top six because he’s not playing well, and has let me down when I’ve picked him before.

    WINNING SCORE: -9

    It’s been raining and the course is very soft, which eliminates Augusta’s main defense of hard and fast greens. Zach Johnson’s winning score of +1 last year was an anomaly. The weather was cold and tricky. Since 2002, excluding last year, the highest winning score has been -7 and the lowest winning score -12. Look for it to fall within that range this year.

  • Masters’ Week Coverage

    I’ll be covering the Masters from my living room. My inside sources will be the ESPN / CBS television broadcast and anything I can read online. I figure if I keep my clubs nearby it’ll be better than being there. Now if I could just get my hands on a pimento cheese sandwich.

    Here are some good places aside from The Yugflog Blog that you can keep up on the latest Masters news:

    Masters.org – They have a great customizable live leaderboard I use every year. Also, they stream Amen Corner live as well as holes 15 and 16. If you can’t watch on TV, or if you want to supplement your TV, this is the place to go.

    GolfDigest.com – They have some good “now and then” and “coming of age” stories.

    Geoff Shackelford will be writing in to locations – the usual blog posts which pick apart the interview transcripts beautifully and also on a GolfDigest special called Dateline Augusta.

    ESPN, of course, has some coverage, but they shuffle most of the work off to Masters.org.

    If you’re visiting Augusta or, like me, trying to channel the Augusta experience to your living room, you should check out Augusta.com. They have tips on getting around Augusta, how to rent a house, and golf coverage, too.

    Finally, the PGA of America has some cryptic coverage. Best thing about their site is the countdown clock.

    Do you know of any other great sites to watch?

  • Tiger’s Threat

    Tiger Woods made the following comment during the final round of the CA Championship last weekend when a photographer took a shot in his backswing:

    The next time a photographer shoots a f****** picture on my backswing I’m going to break his f****** neck.

    He apologized for the threat, but not the language. That sounds about right. I don’t have an issue with cussing, especially when playing a competitive sport. It’s just not a big deal. I’ve never sat courtside at a professional basketball game or stood on the sideline of a football game, but I would imagine language can get a little uncouth.

    Golf being tagged as a “Gentleman’s Game” is a blessing and a curse. On one hand the visual is anything but that of what you would imagine fierce competition to look like. There’s a bunch of men in khaki pants and tucked-in shirts that can’t even carry their own bags a few miles. On the other hand, there is no other sport that demands so much of a player and, more importantly, fans and media.

    There is a huge burden to shoulder as a golf fan. You have to be conscious of when and where you move at all times. Especially, if you are a photographer inside the ropes late on Sunday.

    The photographer failed last Sunday and Tiger didn’t handle it well.

  • Mania This and Mania That

    Golf Digest’s Jaime Diaz has in interesting proposition: that pre-1997 Tigermania paved the way for the Barack Obamamania we’re experiencing leading up to the 2008 Presidential Election. He writes:

    Obamamania really isn’t all that different from Tigermania pre-1997 Masters. Woods was still mostly promise, although there was a certainty and presence and sense of destiny to the young man, the kind Obama increasingly has demonstrated in his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. Both manias reflect an America willing to trust its gut more than its head. But tellingly, with Woods there was no second-guessing, and the same seems to be true with Obama.

    Without getting too political here on Yugflog.com, if Obama is elected President, he will have a lot to live up to. Tiger has far exceeded the pre-1997 hype with his incredible on-course success. On top of that his image and influence reach far beyond the course and affect many reaches of life. By default, Obama will have the reach if he were to take office. The tough part would be backing it up with results.

  • Looking Ahead to the Presidents Cup

    It’s safe to say that the 2009 Presidents Cup will be different from any we’ve experienced to date.

    The first big change is the venue. Harding Park, a municipal course owned by the city of San Francisco, will host in 2009. The Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Virgina has hosted on the four occasions the Presidents Cup has been played in the United States since its inception in 1994.

    Second, each team will have new captains. Freddy Couples will lead the U.S. against Greg Norman’s International team. They’re shaping up to be very different personalities than the former captains, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player. While Freddy and Greg are capable and deserving of the roles, they don’t possess the same golfing gravitas that Jack and Gary do.

    When asked who he was considering as an assistant captain, Freddy’s response was:

    I’ve mentioned Michael Jordan as an assistant, assistant, assistant. Lately I’ve mentioned Robin Williams and the reason I say that is as Greg mentioned earlier, we’re not on any teams when you’re in the locker room. And you have people come in when you’re in the team room, I think, first of all, I love Michael Jordan, I’ve been around him. He does some things in Santa Barbara. A lot of our players know him. He’s at these events. So that’s why I bring his name up because as a team player, there’s no one any better. And I think that’s what’s the fun part.

    Now the challenging part is when you’re sitting around and you’ve got nothing but time, I would like a guy like Robin Williams there to keep us loose, and that’s why I say that. Whether they are there or not, I don’t know, but I do have a great friend in mine mind to play as my teammate and hopefully pick some good guys and get some good pairings. (Link)

    Possibly topping that off was Greg Norman hinting that he might select his fiancée as his assistant.

    We’ve got the Ryder Cup this year, a couple FedEx Cups, eight majors, seven WGC events and about 60 PGA Tour events before the Presidents Cup is set to be played. But it’s shaping up to be an interesting tournament already.