THE PLAYERS is the Next Major

Some will have you believe that the next scheduled Major for the 2008 PGA Tour season is the U.S. Opon at Torrey Pines in San Diego, California. It’s not.

THE PLAYERS Championship is the perennial “fifth-major.” I’m using this post to make it official, as it clearly should be.

The Purse — It has the largest purse of the season at $9,000,000 with $1,700,000 going to the winner. The field is stronger than in any other tournament all year.

The Field — It has the strongest and purest field. The Masters is notorious for it’s small field. Qualifiers and unwilling travelers dilute the fields at the U.S. and British Opens. Same for the PGA Championship with PGA teaching pros taking up spots.

Fan Factor — Besides having a huge purse and top-notch field, the TPC Sawgrass is the single most exciting tournament to watch either live or on TV. The course is designed for spectators. And the par-three 17th hole with the island green followed by the 18th with water up the left is an impressive finishing stretch. There is risk-reward around every dogleg on the TPC Sawgrass.

What does this mean? Tiger Woods has another major, which puts him at 14. More importantly this adds three to Jack Nicklaus’ total of 18. He’s got 21 now. Get a move on Tiger. Numerous other golfers now have a major. Congratulations, guys!

The U.S. Open, British Open and PGA Championship have nothing on THE PLAYERS — except maybe that they’re official majors. I’m changing that, though. By Yugflog standards, there are five majors now.

Post-Masters Blues

The only things left from the 2008 Masters are a few highlights and some half-hearted coverage on the golf channel.

The final round was plain and simple. The leader backed up and no one wanted it badly enough to make up the difference. Brandt Snedeker’s disappointment was made too clear by his weeping during the news conference. He couldn’t explain his emotions, and many won’t understand. But I would imagine the pressure of leading or being near the lead was increasingly suppressed. Smiles on the course in the face of good and bad breaks come at a cost.

Trevor Immelman played as well as he needed to. If he hadn’t hit the ball in the water on the par 3 16th hole, I would have been able to stand by his win and say that it’s what was supposed to happen. However, that’s not the case. Instead of him winning the Masters, everyone else lost it. Snedeker, Flesch, Casey, and Woods could have walked away with the tournament. All but Woods backed up with miserable rounds on Sunday.

You win some, you’re handed some. There’s no doubt that Immelman worked hard to fulfill his dream of winning the Masters. It’s a fact that someone had to walk away the winner on Sunday. But, as a viewer, fan and participant in the game of golf, I was hoping for more… excitement… tenacity… drama.

The Masters Round Four Preview

Early Bird

Round four begins at 10:35am when 1988 Masters champion Sandy Lyle tees off by himself. With no one in his way, he should be able to finish before the leaders tee off at 2:25pm. Despite finishing last, it would be nice to get the final round out of the way early and kick your feet up to watch the part of the tournament that actually matters. I wonder if he’ll watch.

Phil Fades

Phil Mickelson, who had been dubbed the “true leader” after the second round, decided he didn’t want to win after about fifteen holes today when he missed a four-foot birdie on 15 and double bogeyed 16. Look for more of the same from him tomorrow as he pushes to make up ground early.

Youth Challenges

Youth has led the tournament for three rounds now. Can it hold up on Sunday?

That Trevor Immelman and Brandt Snedeker are paired together again will only be a positive if they are both playing well. If one of them tightens up under the final-round pressure, then the other is going to be dragged down. Their post-round interviews were impressive. Neither player admitted to being bothered by the pressure of leading the Masters.

We’ll see if their play tomorrow is as smooth as their talk.

Woods’ Chances

Tiger Woods has to blitz the front nine, dominate Amen Corner and catch a few lucky breaks on the closing holes to have chance. Even then, Immelman is going to have to back up for Tiger to have a chance. The lowest round this week was a 67 shot by Steve Flesch on Friday. The lowest final round ever shot at the Masters is 64. Shooting that would put Tiger at -13. If he gets there, he wins. Anything short of that and say goodbye to the Grand Slam for 2008.

Why Tiger Woods Has No Chance

If anyone other than Tiger Woods was six shots behind with one round to play, they would not be considered to be in contention. However, when it comes to Tiger, six shots might as well be one shot according to the mainstream media. Why? Because in-contention Tiger means better ratings and more reads. It does not mean he has a chance to win.

What doesn’t align with the media hype is that Tiger has never come from behind at the Masters to win. Tiger’s 54-hole lead in the years he has won the Masters:

2005 – Three shots ahead of Chris DiMarco
2002 – Tied with Retief Goosen
2000 – One shot ahead of Phil Mickelson
1997 – Nine shots ahead of Constantino Rocca

It’s clear that Tiger wins when he’s even or ahead, but even when presented with the chance to catch the leaders from only one or two shots back, he has not capitalized.

Tiger’s round today may have been a glimpse of hope in an otherwise shadowy recent past at Augusta. It was his first round under 70, and his second under par in two years of competition. To find his last round in the sixties, you would have to look back as far as the third round of 2005 when he posted a flawless 65. Unfortunately for Tiger and the mainstream media, hope does not guarantee a miracle, and that’s what it will take for Woods to overcome a six-shot deficit on Sunday at the Masters.

Tiger said it best on Thursday:

You don’t really shoot low rounds here anymore.

The Masters Round Two

The Cut

The cut came a three over par, which leaves a lot of big players out of weekend play. Ernie Els’ coaching switch from David Leadbetter to Butch Harmon wasn’t enough to keep Ernie in contention this week. Sergio Garcia continues to search for his competitive spirit and once-superb shot-making abilities. Both missed the cut by one shot.

Freddie Couples has made the cut every one of the 23 years he’s played the Masters. That streak came to an end today when he, too, missed by one. He will share the cuts made streak with Gary Player, who broke records of his own this week.

As previously mentioned, Gary Player set the record for most consecutive Masters played in at 51. One more than Arnold Palmer, who opted for the honorary starter position this year.

My prediction for the player to break the 23 consecutive cuts made streak is Tiger Woods. He’s at 11 and counting. Though he never plays well the first two days at Augusta, he doesn’t shoot himself out of the tournament, either. If and when Tiger breaks this record, he’ll be 44 years old.

Almost Moving Day

Saturday is usually moving day, but there were quite a few solid scores today. Leader Trevor Immelmen posted another four under par 68. Other low rounds include Steve Flesch shooting the low round of the tournament, a five under 67. Others posting second rounds of 68 include Phil Mickelson, Brandt Snedeker, and Mike Weir.

Saturday is Moving Day

Tiger Woods has the most to lose on Saturday. He’s at one under par for the tournament and seven back of the leaders. He needs to get off to an early start and finish within three or four of the leaders. The largest 36-hole comeback was Jackie Burk from eight back in 1956.

If Woods can’t make the charge, my money is on Mickelson come Sunday.

I’m looking forward to the extended coverage tomorrow and Sunday. Who do you think will win?

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!

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.