Tag: Golf

Cut Day at The Masters

How the cut works:

The field is cut to the low 44 and ties. Anyone within ten shots of the leader gets to play the weekend, too.

Projected Cut

The cut should fall at +3 or +4. Unless something really funky happens, then the ten-shot rule won’t come into play. There are currently ten players tied for 42nd at +3.

Player Projections

My not-so-early prediction is that Trevor Immelman’s eight under par will hold-up through the end of the day. Phil Mickelson is three under through 13 holes, but is still four back of Immelman. Tiger birdied his first hole, which bodes well for his round. Yesterday his play was boring consistent. He needs to make a move to position himself for the weekend.

Defending champion Zach Johnson is even par through two holes and two under for the tournament. Looks like he’ll make the cut unless he implodes this afternoon.

Why Twitter Is Great for Golfers

I use a micro blogging service called twitter. Twitter prompts you with the question, “What are you doing?” You then respond with a short message of 140 characters or less. (Same limit placed on text messages from your phone.) The typical use of twitter is much broader than this question. People take notes on it, converse with each other and track things.

My username is guyrogers and you can find my profile and posts here. While most people find the service to be completely pointless, I see great value in twitter for golfers.

Five great ways golfers and fans can leverage twitter:

1. Track shots during a practice round
2. Update friends and family about a player
3. Chat with one another about TV tournaments
4. Follow PGA Tour twitter updates
5. Track and create a record for friendly bets on the course*

*No comment on the intelligence of creating a public record of potentially illegal activity.

I’ve only found one other twitterer who will admit to being a golfer. Do you twitter? Do you twitter AND golf? If you do, find me and follow me. Happy twittering!

The Masters Round One

I was busy with class and such, so I did what I could to keep up with the Masters today. Thanks to the live online coverage via Masters.org I was able to see the groups passing through Amen Corner and holes 15 and 16. While I was driving around, XM Radio had some decent coverage.

My first thought right now is that I’m going to have to do more than one post per day because there’s just way too much to write about here. For now, though, you get it all lumped together.

The Beginning

Honorary starter Arnold Palmer kicked off the tournament with a drive into the early morning fog. (Video via ESPN) The first competitors, former major champions Ben Curtis and Sean Micheel, were off an hour late because of the fog. This year marks the end of their five-year exemptions to the Masters. Next year, you won’t see them playing unless they qualify.

Following the Defending Champion

It’s not unheard of for the defending champion to miss the cut. Mike Weir missed it in 2004 after winning in 2003.

That’s why it’s awesome that defending champion Zach Johnson shot a solid round of two under par. I don’t see him going low tomorrow with the mounting pressure and dryer course, but he’ll definitely make the cut.

The Assumed Champion Tiger Woods

I’m pretty sure every single person who has made a prediction about who will win the 2008 Masters picked Tiger Woods to win. If they didn’t, they obviously didn’t get the meme.

Tiger Woods was Mister Consistent for twelve holes before thoroughly botching the 13th hole. It took him two chips to get on the green. Still angered by bogeying a par five, he bogeyed the 14th hole, too. The chip-in eagle on the 15th brought him back to even where he finishd the day. All in all, a typical first round for Tiger. He never plays well on Thursday at the Masters.

Here’s the ESPN recap of Tiger’s first day.

Here’s Tiger’s post-round interview:

* “You don’t really shoot low rounds here any more.”
* “I only heard one roar all day” (Referring to Poulter’s hole-in-one)

What Others Have to Say

Clarification of the Mickelson gambling story. (GolfWeek)

I had no idea Hank Kuehn and Venus Williams were dating. Hanks brother Trip is playing as an amateur in his last Masters.

The Golf Blog asks who Butch Harmon’s best student is: Ernie Els, Phil Mickelson or Adam Scott?

More soon!

How to Follow Your Favorite Players

The first thing I always look for when I see the pairings for the first time is what time Tiger Woods is teeing off. If it’s early, the broadcast will usually do an extensive highlight reel of his round at the beginning of their coverage and I need to be sure I turn it on promptly. If it’s late, then he’ll be live on TV.

There is, however, pretty substantial online coverage of the play this year. Additional live coverage before the TV broadcast and live coverage online of Amen Corner and Holes 15 and 16 will ensure that you can at least catch a glimpse of your favorite picks.

Tiger’s teeing off at 10:45am on Thursday. Assuming a 4.5 hour round, that means he should be finished before the ESPN broadcast begins at 4pm. However, there is an hour of live coverage online at Masters.org from 3pm to 4pm.

Amen corner will be shown live online from 10:45am to 5:45pm on Thursday and Friday and starting an hour later on the weekend.

Holes 15 and 16 will be shown live online from 10:45am to 6:45pm.

So, if your favorite player is teeing off too early for TV, there’s always the internet. The online video works beautifully and gives you the option to create a customized leaderboard.

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.