Welcome to The Masters on HooperstarGolfer.blogspot.co.uk
A unique series of blogs taking you inside the history of Golf''s First Major and looking ahead to the 2013 Masters, as well as providing updates on the play and reports from each day of the first major of the golf season.
I hope you enjoy the series which will publish articles each day between April 1 and 15 EXCLUSIVELY on www.HooperstarGolfer.blogspot.co.uk
All feedback is appreciated.
Enjoy.
Matt.
The
date is Sunday April 10, 2005 and I have made my return to Preston
following the Easter break to begin the spring term at University,
and it is also the final day of The Masters. I start by watching the
final round in my room before making my way into the common room with
my flatmate Nick, the girls Faye and Katie arrived later in the
evening and we were all chatting while the golf unfolded, being
polite I chatted and caught up with them all but kept one eye on the
golf. Towards the end of the night our larger than life class mate
Gareth comes wandering into the flat making the usual racket
associated with his more than friendly personality, before I know it
and for reasons I cannot quite explain he is bundling myself at
exactly the time Tiger Woods is lining up his chip from behind the
16th green at Augusta. I can catch a glimpse of the ball
reaching the top of the slope and then beginning to role to the
hole's edge, it paused and myself and Nick took a sharp in-take of
breath and then ball drops! I start shouting it's in! It's gone in!
Nick is excitedly saying the same and all the while I have a 16-stone
Scot on top of me, it was quite a surreal scene I am sure and one of
the more memorable Sunday evenings of my University life. Once Gareth
had departed I settled down to watch the finale and of course Tiger
went on to win and end a barren run of 10 Majors without a win and
claim a fourth green jacket.
Who
would have thought that to this day it would be the most recent win
for Tiger Woods at Augusta National Golf Club?
8
years have passed and only Phil Mickelson has claimed multiple wins
in that time.
But
Tiger I am sure is not panicking, Jack Nicklaus went 11 years without
adding to his five Masters titles before the 1986 tournament, and
Woods will be expectant and excited ahead of his campaign to become
just the second player other than his hero to win five Green Jackets. Tiger
is the overwhelming favourite with the media and the bookmakers going
into the 2013 Masters following his wins at Torrey Pines, Doral and
Bay Hill and re-claiming the World Number One spot from his new buddy
Rory McIlroy. But
despite some very good finishes in the last 8 years Tiger has yet to
feel the heat of Sunday when in the final group at Augusta and at
times in the recent past he has struggled on the weekend of a Major
Championship, so it is folly to give the title to him before a shot
is hit. For
the current generation of young American golfers Tiger is the man
they look up to and that inspires them, and this week many of them
will get the opportunity to emulate him by winning The Masters.
Brandt
Snedeker was the low amateur at the 2004 Masters and is now the
second highest ranked American on the world golf rankings following a
consistent few years including wins at Torrey Pines and Pebble Beach
in the last 14 months. In 2008 a 27-year-old Snedeker was in
contention for the title throughout the tournament and played in the
final group on Sunday with the eventual champion Trevor Immelman; the
Nashville, Tennessee man shot rounds of 69, 68 and 70 to put himself
in position but a final round 77 saw him finish four strokes adrift
of Immelman, but still in a respectable tie for third place. His
start to the 2012 Open Championship was the best ever before fading
to another third place finish with rounds of 73 and 74 over the
weekend. His season has somewhat stalled with an injury but he still
has the game to contend at Augusta and he may actually have benefited
from the time off before The Masters.
Matt
Kuchar has followed up his Players Championship win with a first
World Golf Championship title this year and despite only two Masters
appearances in his first 11 years as a professional Kuchar has gone
on to enjoy three very solid years at Augusta, and he tied Lee
Westwood for third in 2012. I heard David Howell say that he feels
Kuchar's game is more suited to a US Open but with a third place
finish under his belt he will surely feel that he is very close to
being a contender at Augusta as well. Keegan Bradley's major bow was
in the state of Georgia and he amazingly came away the champion, the
2011 PGA Champion has since added a WGC crown at Firestone and been
an integral part of the United States 2012 Ryder Cup team and has
shown time and time again he can compete on the greatest stage.
The
US Open Champion Webb Simpson finished in a tie for 44th
in his only Masters appearance last year and his putting touch,
helped by the use of the belly putter, means he can contend for any
title but 2013 may well be too soon for him given his lack of Augusta
experience. Jason Dufner finished second to Bradley at the Atlanta
Athletic Club in 2011 and was the 36-hole leader at Augusta in 2012
before a poor weekend saw him finish in a tie for 24th,
but the man with the waggle has shown an ability to compete in the
games greatest championships. Dustin Johnson is a man that many
experts reckon has the game to win at Augusta with the power hitting
and has shown he can contend for all different majors on different
courses including Pebble Beach, Whistling Straits and Royal St
George's. Hunter Mahan has won two World Golf Championships and last
year won the Shell Houston Open on a course prepared to mimic the
set-up of Augusta National for The Masters. Nick Watney has never
missed the cut at Augusta and finished in the top ten in 2010, he has
won five big tournaments on the PGA Tour and has shown in streaks
that he can compete with and beat the best on some of the truly great
courses of America.
Aside
from the youngsters two American veterans will still feel they have
what it takes to be wearing the green jacket on Sunday evening, Steve
Stricker has played in 12 Masters but has only finished in the top
ten on two occasions and the added length of the Augusta National
Golf Club will always make it very difficult for him to win but his
putting touch and short game make him a threat around most golf
courses. The three-time Masters winner Phil Mickelson has arguably
the best record of any golfer since Nicklaus at Augusta, with 11 top
tens in addition to 3 wins out of 20 Masters appearances and only one
missed cut, and could easily have won in 2012 bar a disastrous
double-bogey at the par three fourth hole.
And
of course there is the defending champion. Bubba Watson hasn't won
since his dramatic play-off win over Louis Oosthuizen but the
“American Seve” will surely continue to contend on a golf course
seemingly built for his flair and shotmaking.
Those
are the contenders for the host country but back to the favourite in
many people's eyes. Tiger Woods has won three times this season at
Major standard courses so he merits in many ways his status, even
though I believe Lee Westwood will break his duck this week. A win
for Tiger will give him a fifth green jacket and move him on to 15
Major Championships, putting himself in with a real chance of
matching and breaking the records of Jack Nicklaus over the next few
years just a few months after many good judges had reckoned he would
not do so. This shows the complete unpredictability of the sport and
nowhere is the drama, skill and unpredictability of golf showcased
more often than at Augusta National Golf Club, only one man can be
favourite but 80 or 90 others will have a chance to walk away wearing
a green coat on Sunday evening.
Tomorrow on
The Masters on HooperstarGolfer.blogspot.co.uk
– Red hot Oosthuizen and Schwartzel lead global attack on Augusta
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.