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.
Before
I move on to today's feature here is today's news ahead of the 2013
Masters beginning tomorrow:
The
draw for the first two rounds of the 77th Masters
Tournament was made on Tuesday and it threw up some intriguing
groups. The tournament will of course get underway with the honorary
starters but the first shot of the competition proper will come from
a man celebrating the 25th anniversary of his Masters
triumph, Sandy Lyle will be joined by John Peterson and Nathan Smith
in the first of 31 groups playing from the first tee on Thursday.
Play
begins at 8am EDT (1pm BST).
The
marquee groups of the morning begin at 9.06am EDT (2.06pm BST) with
2003 Champion Mike Weir joining 2003 US Open Champion Jim Furyk and
former World Number One Lee Westwood, followed by Brandt Snedeker,
Ryo Ishikawa and Justin Rose at 9.17am EDT (2.17pm BST). 2011 Masters
Champion Charl Schwartzel plays with the 2012 US Open Champion Webb
Simpson and 2012 Masters contender Peter Hanson at 9.39am EDT (2.39pm
BST) and these three are followed by the group of 2007 Masters
Champion Zach Johnson, KJ Choi and 2010 US Open Champion Graeme
McDowell at 9.50am EDT. The defending champion Bubba Watson begins
his defence alongside the US Amateur Champion Stephen Fox and
European Ryder Cup hero Ian Poulter at 10.34am EDT (3.34pm BST), with
Tiger Woods beginning his quest for a fifth green jacket alongside
Luke Donald and Scott Piercy 11 minutes later and just before 11am
EDT 3-time Major Champion Padraig Harrington is joined by two
precocious young talents in Rickie Fowler and Jason Day.
The
afternoon comes to a close with three massive groups featuring Phil
Mickelson, Louis Oosthuizen and Martin Kaymer at 1.30pm EDT (6.30pm
BST), 2012 PGA Champion and World Number Two Rory McIlroy will play
alongside 2011 PGA Champion Keegan Bradley and Sweden's Fredrik
Jacobson and the day will conclude with the all-American trio of
Jason Dufner, Bill Haas and Matt Kuchar at 1.52pm EDT (6.52pm BST).
Before
the stars of world golf take to the fairways for Golf's First Major
many of them will be joined by their sons, daughters, boyfriends,
girlfriends, wives and husbands at the traditional Par three contest
this afternoon. Caroline Wozniacki will caddie for Rory McIlroy in
the light-hearted starter to the world's greatest invitational
tournament on arguably the world's greatest par three courses. You
can watch the Par 3 contest live on ESPN in the United States and on
Sky Sports 1 in the United Kingdom, for details see the blog banner
at the top of the page.
If Augusta National Golf Club has
arguably the world's greatest par three course it certainly has the
greatest practice facility anywhere on the planet, built on the site
of an old car park the range
is on a level never seen before at any major championship venue in
the world and will stage one of the world's unique events from 2014.
Participants
in the inaugural Drive, Chip and Putt Championship will advance
through local and regional qualifiers conducted throughout the United
States. Competitors will be comprised of boys and girls ages 7-15,
and they will compete in separate divisions in four age categories.
The regional champions in each of the boys and girls divisions from
the four age categories will advance to the finals to be held at
Augusta National the Sunday before the Masters Tournament, April 6,
2014. The Championship finals will be produced and broadcast by Golf
Channel.
“Generations
of players have been inspired by the dream of sinking a winning putt
on the 18th
green at Augusta National,” said Billy Payne, Chairman of Augusta
National Golf Club and the Masters Tournament Foundation. “Now an
exciting opportunity exists to make that dream a reality. I am
confident that our collective efforts with the USGA and The PGA of
America will showcase the talents of kids who already play this game
and motivate others to give the sport a try.”
Said
Glen Nager, President of the USGA: “Among our many responsibilities
as a governing body is finding creative ways to make the game more
accessible to our nation’s young people. The Drive, Chip and Putt
Championship is an exciting new opportunity to fulfil this role, and
together with our partners at the Masters Tournament Foundation and
The PGA of America we look forward to leading its long-term success.”
“The
game of golf is built on several fundamental skills, which our 27,000
PGA Professionals around the country teach players of all ages every
day,” said Ted Bishop, President of The PGA of America. “The
ability to successfully drive, chip and putt a golf ball are some of
the basics to the enjoyment of the sport, and we believe this
competition will motivate young players to work hard, practice these
principle skills and learn to make golf a game of a lifetime.”
Local
qualifying events will take place at courses in 19 states and
Washington, D.C. In total, local qualifiers will provide more than
17,000 opportunities to compete. An extensive network of PGA
Professionals and USGA professional staff and volunteers will conduct
these competitions around the country. Regional qualifying will be
conducted at courses in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia,
Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Texas (2), Virginia and
Washington.
(Courtesy
of www.drivechipandputt.com)
On
Tuesday I caught a bit of the On the Range coverage via Masters.com
on the red button on Sky Sports and the commentary and pictures
brought to life for the viewer a practice facility that really has to
be seen to be believed. Nothing has been forgotten, it is the first
and only practice facility which actually prepares players to play
the golf course which they about to walk on to and it makes going to
the range for spectator or patron actually worth it. There is no
question that the Drive, Chip and Putt Championship will be one of
the most compelling tournaments in golf, let alone junior golf and I
for one am looking forward to it in 2014 and I hope Sky Sports choose
to show it to us on this side of the Atlantic.
The
fiftieth anniversary of Gary Player's first Masters victory was
marked by Charl Schwartzel in the grand manner, by birdieing the
final four holes to claim the title and continue a golden period for
South African golf. He was so nearly joined at the champions dinner
by Louis Oosthuizen in 2012 and the two are without question the
leading candidates to challenge for the title for players born
outside of Europe and the United States of America. In my review of
2012 I stated that I believed Schwartzel and Oosthuizen were the new
Els and Goosen, Schwartzel has achieved something Els and Goosen
failed to do and Oosthuizen came close last year but both are every
bit the global golfer that Els and Goosen have been in their 20 years
on the tours.
Schwartzel's
win at the 2011 Masters was the second of three consecutive years in
which South Africans have won Major Championships, with Oosthuizen
winning the 2010 Open Championship and their mentor and idol Ernie
Els claiming a second Open title at Royal Lytham and St Anne's last
July. The pair have won tournaments in 6 countries on 4 continents
and by some truly bewildering margins including 7 for Oosthuizen in
the 2010 Open and 14 in the 2008 South African PGA and Schwartzel
left the opposition reeling with wins by 11 and 12 shots in
consecutive tournaments at the end of 2012. Their picture-perfect
swings, effortless power, beautiful rhythms and deft touch around the
greens make them two of the most admired golfers in the game, and
make them serious contenders at Augusta National for many years to
come.
Immelman
and Schwartzel have followed Gary Player in wearing the green jacket
and the likes of Tim Clark, Retief Goosen, Rory Sabbatini and Louis
Oosthuizen have finished in the top two at Augusta in the last 13
years, but the modern great that is Ernie Els is still waiting for
his first Masters win to add to the four majors he has won in his
incredible career. After missing the first Masters he was eligible
for last year Els returns for his 19th appearance in
Golf's First Major following a year in which he won a Major
Championship for the first time in a decade to enable him to play at
Augusta this week. Els' record at Augusta is superb despite having
not won the title, he finished 2nd to Vijay Singh in 2000
and in 2004 to Phil Mickelson and has a total of 6 top ten finishes
in his previous 18 Masters appearances. And even though his much
younger countrymen are more fancied it would surprise absolutely
nobody if Ernie Els was to add the green jacket to two Claret Jugs
and two US Open trophies to become outright the second best ever
South African golfer behind Gary Player.
South
Africa provides without question the strongest challenge to the
United States and Europe for the green jacket but there a few
Australians who will fancy their chances of becoming the first ever
Masters champion from Australia. Adam Scott finished in a tie for
second at the 2011 Masters and agonizingly finished behind Ernie Els
at the 2012 Open Championship, the Adelaide-born star has won The
Players Championship, The Tour Championship and a World Golf
Championship among 19 worldwide career titles and has long been
identified as a major champion of the future. He now needs to make
himself a major champion of the present, and once he wins one he
could very well add several others and at the age of 32 time is on
his side. Geoff Ogilvy and Jason Day both found themselves in the mix
for the Masters tournament in 2011 but have both struggled since,
they come into this year's tournament with very little form to show
but both have class and in the case of Ogilvy he has what it takes to
win a Major and he has proved it before at the 2006 US Open.
The
incredible come from behind win for YE Yang over Tiger Woods at the
2009 PGA Championship was heralded as the start of Asia being a force
in the Major Championships but a consistent challenge has really not
materialized. Yang finished in the top ten at the 2011 US Open but
the new, young hope from the east has yet to fulfil his potential on
the biggest stage. Ryo Ishikawa is playing in his fifth Masters
Tournament at the age of 21, so far he has missed two cuts and
finished 20th in 2011 at Augusta but it is time to deliver
for a golfer who has shown immense promise on the Japan Golf Tour but
no form at all in America or Europe so far. If Ishikawa's
achievements at an incredibly young age are amazing then the presence
of Tianlang Guan is truly astonishing. The 14-year-old is the
second-youngest participant in Major Championship history, younger
than anyone ever at The Masters and the youngest since Young Tom
Morris at the 1865 Open Championship. The Chinese prodigy won the
2012 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship at Amata Spring Golf Club in
Thailand, the same course on which 2011 Masters Champion Charl
Schwartzel won on by 11 in December, to earn his place in a first
Major Championship of a career which could last for 50 years.
If
there is any pressure on the kid he certainly doesn't look like he is
feeling it after his first few days practising alongside the likes of
Tiger Woods, Ben Crenshaw and Sir Nick Faldo. He has been drawn to
play alongside Crenshaw and another young star, Italy's Matteo
Manassero. The former low Amateur has won three times on the European
Tour before the age of 20 and makes his professional debut at Augusta
following a tie for 37th as an Amateur in 2010. Many
players in the history of Asian golf have had the opportunity to lead
a great era of Asian golfers in the Majors going back to the likes of
TC Chen, Mr Lu, Jumbo Ozaki, Tommy Nakajima and Isao Aoki in the
1970's, 1980's and early 1990's, and then to the current generation
of veteran Asian golfers led by KJ Choi, YE Yang and Thongchai
Jaidee. But it looks like Tianlang Guan could be the player who makes
possibly the biggest impact of them all if the relaxed and mature
persona on display so far this week carries into the tournament
itself.
Tomorrow on
The Masters on HooperstarGolfer.blogspot.co.uk
– A full preview of the first day of Golf's First Major
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