OT: The Masters! Who do you like?
Stacked up Leaderboard heading into the weekend. Great weather predicted. This is one of my favorite sporting events each year. So, who do ya like?
--Love the final pairing of Freddie and Jason Dufner! Two super-laid-back guys. I would be really happy if either one of these guys gets the Green Jacket.
--Love the chances of one of the Euros to break through and win. Westwood, Garcia, McIlroy all look strong and they have the game. Any would be worthy champs.
--Don't forget Phil! He's in a great spot just three back and he knows the course so well.
--Finally, Tiger. Nope. I think he embarrassed himself today with his demeanor, dropping the club, even KICKING the club. Somebody needs to get ahold of that dude and teach him some composure. Even my wife said, "It doesn't seem like he has any interaction with his caddie." I think he misses Steve Williams very badly. And his Dad. He shows himself as a front-runner who cannot handle and overcome adversity.
--Not real psyched when a "guy from nowhere" wins, a la Schwartzel, Immelman, Oosthuizen. I like to see the trophy go to a guy who has paid his dues.
If not Freddy, I'm rooting for Rory or one of the other Europeans. I love how their interview responses don't seem rehearsed and they don't seem guarded about their personal lives (unlike Tiger). The all seem like guys that would be cool to hang out with.
dealing with the American press is refreshing to the Europeans compared the usual crap they have to put up with.
The European sporting press, particularly in England, is effing BRUTAL. Westwood would be cool.
I think he'll handle the spotlight better this year. On the first tee last year I told my bro Rory looked terrified and nervous and wasn't going to play well.
rooting for Couples though.
Bubba Watson is from about 15 miles from where I live so I will be rooting for him!!
My grandma was a huge Freddy Couples fan. Have no idea why. But for that reason I tend to pull for him in a sort of leisurely way.
With all the talk about Tiger's swing and getting in a groove, it's his putting that's been rather pedestrian. He'll hit some horrible tee shots, but he can recover from that better than anyone I've ever seen. It's been once he's gotten on the green that he's struggled. I hope he has it, but I don't think he'll win.
I don't really have a horse besides Tiger, but I'd love to see someone like Nick Watney get on the board. We'll see. Moving day should be great.
I like to see when the golfer who is playing their best wins. Oosthuizen dominated the field at St. Andrews and Schwartzel making birdie on the final four holes last year was ridiculous. The South African golfer success is great for the game worldwide.
Bubba Watson!
I can understand some people not enjoying golf, but I love relaxing and watching golf on Sunday afternoons. Baseball and Golf make the summer enjoyable from a sports watching standpoint, but nothing will ever beat the football season in the fall.
Good way to spend Sunday afternoons lazing around drinking a few cold ones and napping the whole afternoon away!
Fluff Cowan, Steve Williams and now Joe LaCava. That's fewer than in any great career in the history of the game.
The real story is that Couples is leading, without LaCava on his bag. I think this is the first Masters that Couples has played without LaCava since he won in '92.
Anyway, Woods is in no way a notorious switcher with his caddies. Before the '70's, tour players didn't even get to use their own caddies at majors.
If I had to pick a winner before the tournament, it would have been Lee Westwood. And now, on the weekend, it is still Westwood. Sorry for jinxing you this way, Westie.
Bryon Bell (Tiger's business v.p.) got the job precisely because Tiger didn't have another caddie. And Billy Foster filled in for a week because he's friends with Tiger off the course and his own guys (Clarke, Westwood, et al) didn't mind the temporary loan.
No "problems" whatsoever, apart from the obvious breakup with Stevie, which had happened previously with Stevie and Ian Baker-Finch, Stevie and Ray Floyd, Stevie and Greg Norman, Stevie and ... etc.
Williams is a sociopath anyway. If you tell Williams that there's a rule, he'll find a way to break it.
was 22 years ago.
the first black guy joined quite a few years ago, plus when you win the Masters you automatically become a member. i.e. tiger's been a member since 97.
Jose Maria Olazabal, Seve Ballesteros, Angel Cabrera (Hispanics) and Vijay Singh (Pacific Islander), as non white members too then. Macbru must not be a golf fan.
...mean the first woman. And as an FYI, don't hold your breath that she'll be granted membership by ending the day tomorrow atop the leader board.
Normally you'd be right you can't count tiger out any tournament..... when he was putting well but hitting the ball all over the place. His round today was just one missed putt after another. He missed 4 short (inside 10 feet) putts today. That's not the tiger of old, and if there's one aspect of your game you need working at Augusta it's the flat stick. Would love to see him return to dominance just don't think it's this year for another Green Jacket
This is shaping up to be a great Masters. Tiger is too far back, with 45 others tied with him or in front of him. Freddie would be a great story, but he hasn't been able to practice a lot for years because of his chronic back. That, added to age, usually bites you in the ass on Sunday in a major.
There are thirty guys at even or better, which is within five strokes. I think five strokes and twenty-nine other guys is the maximum comeback this time around. I just hope that whoever wins has an American flag next to their name this time.
If I was pressed to make a pick, I would take Phil Mickelson. On Thursday, his evil, risk-taking alter-ego, Phil the Thrill, made an appearance. Friday, Mickelson was back. If he can subjugate Phil the Thrill for two more days, he could win. If he can't, at least he will be a lot of fun to watch.
If I could be king and choose the winner, it would be Jason Dufner. I love redemption stories.
Love Dufner. Auburn kid. And even though I don't condone the dip, it's pretty cool to see him swinging with a dip under the cheek and gum.
I'd love to Sergio finally break through and win his first major. Dude is one of the best ball strikers in the game and he's been so close so many times. I was really hoping he'd beat Padraig at Oakland a few years ago, but obviously that didn't happen. He just needs some confidence and he'd be contending day in and day out.
Realistically though I think McIlroy wins it. He's been in this position before. He'll want to make up for that atrocious back nine last year and with a major win already he's got the confidence to go out and do it.
who's wife golfs with him at Augusta.
Always been a big fan of Phil, does a lot of charity work that he makes sure the whole family is involved in. Read a story a while back where every year at back to school time, he takes his wife and kids to the local Walmart in San Diego at 6am and helps stock shelves and pass out school supplies to the poor, he wants to make sure that his kids realize how lucky they are. Plus he just seems like a genuinely nice guy. If not Phil would like to see Couples win.
Freddy probably doesn't have many more years of competing on the regular tour in him. Love to see him get one more.
Rick Reilly is a complete piece of shit. Boo hoo Mitch Albom bullshit journalism. What a fucking hack. I like Fred Couples and all, but why is it that every male over 40 talks about his "walk" and his "good looks." It really weirds me out.
I'm 52 and pulling for one more major for Freddie "Bam Bam" Couples.
Why? Well obviously because of the way he walks and him being good looking and all that.
Watney... sneaking up on everyone.
Lion Kim
Great Story. Loved the piece Rick Reilly did on him (edit: already beaten to the punch on the Reilly crack).
Honestly, and obviously, I have no idea. I'm not an avid golf watcher, started playing it last summer and loved it. But I still can't watch too much of it. I'll "keep an eye" on it over the weekend, out of curiosity and because everyone will be talking about it Monday.
Zach Johnson is a fellow Iowan (Cedar Rapidian, he is), so there's that. Otherwise Fred Couples would be cool to see.
FRED-DY! FRED-DY! FRED-DY
He's not in it, but I'm a Tiger fan to the end.
I am a fan of the HGH-taking, womanizing Tiger, not this shadow of a man. Is it too much to ask for a guy to just have some fun out there? Tiger looks like he hates his life every weekend.
LOL too funny. I think the media took all of the fun out of his life. Before he was probably out there all hopped up on roids thinking about brunettes. Now he's got nothing but alimony payments when he steps off the 18th.
I thought the same thing. Dude should look around, realize he's a gazillionaire playing in the greatest tournament in the world at a game he loves. Loosen up! Enjoy it! It's a game of golf fergodsakes!
Only golfer I've ever actually rooted for. Met him briefly once and if he's not a genuinely good guy, he sure fakes it well. Plus we share a name.
More objectively, he looooooves Augusta.
Best fake nice guy in history. The notion that Phil is playing with Vijay today, with whom he almost came to blows inside the Champions' Locker Room, is hilarious. (Vijay was right, then, about Phil and his long spikes and his ridiculous old routine of practice-putting all around the hole. Spike marks everywhere. Wasn't so bad in the Bermuda grass days at ANGC; now with bent, it is terrible.) My guess is that if Phil had thrown a punch at Vijay, there would have been 20 retired old champions all beating on Phil.