Masters Gossip - Wednesday

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A seedy little corner for us to discuss the more vacuous masters stories of the week.

Post gossip and discuss gossip;


Tiger is not back
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/bunker-mentality/tiger-obstacles-masters-glory-082549143.html

Jason day has an injured foot
http://au.eurosport.com/golf/day-to-play-masters_sto3222100/story.shtml

Tiger is Rory’s number one fan
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/golf/masters-tiger-woods-heaps-praise-on-rory-mcilroy-16140202.html

Donald wants more golf on the BBC
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/golf/luke-donald-urges-bbc-to-increase-golf-coverage-16140201.html

Mickelson reckons the masters will be a birdie fest
http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/usatoday/article/38959139?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CGPG-Sports%7Cp



So post anything and everything you find on the masters, it is the first major of the year so lets go all out and totally over expose ourselves to every little bit of it.

I agree it would be kinda funny, I would prefer to see them fighting it out with another couple of golfers mind..

In regards to bradley- he is the real deal. Half the time i am not sure if people are talking about baddeley or bradley based on some of our collective terrible spelling!

Sand wrote:See W.Hill has now upped Rorys price to 9/1 #freemoney

Now 13/2.....................

It sure could happen, but it would be amazing if Woods missed the cut. If you can get me a wager on that, pass it along.

Not a lot of love in the American press for Luke for this tournament, but lots for Rory and Lee. The criticism I heard was that if Luke stumbles, it will almost certainly be on the par 4s, where driving to the correct position on the fairway is important. Can he prove them wrong?

I see Mickleson is saying it could be a birdie fest with slower greens than usual. Could this favour him and Woods, and Coco over the steadier players like Donald and Rose and Stricker maybe ?

S_R. Maybe not if Woods has missed the cut!

Shotrock wrote:It sure could happen, but it would be amazing if Woods missed the cut. If you can get me a wager on that, pass it along.

Not a lot of love in the American press for Luke for this tournament, but lots for Rory and Lee. The criticism I heard was that if Luke stumbles, it will almost certainly be on the par 4s, where driving to the correct position on the fairway is important. Can he prove them wrong?

Lol i remeber him being 50/1 in his prime for missing the cut.. gonna have a look on some sites and see if i can find a bet on it..

I keep reading yanks talking about luke being a pace setter!! I am hopeing he can proove em all wrong!

ok just checked the odds on betfair- you can lay tiger on making the cut at 1.13

basically a 10 pound stake- liability of £1.30.

so thats 7.7/1

anyone watching the masters preview?

rory was talking about how he spoke to norman and nicklaus..Norman told him that he messed up at 40 and he did it at 21 so he had loads of time. he told him to get in a bubble on the golf course and just worry about himself- yep good advice- however i reakon he would have come to that conclusion anyway!!

I wonder if Greg told him that wearing a cowboy hat on a golfcourse makes you look cool.....I could see Coco in a stetson.

What do you guys think of that Master's theme tune always played? It is beginning to annoy me now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UL4fh_B-j4

its abit sickly sweet isnt it

They'll be shouting loooooooo rather than luuuuuuke around the 16th hole. Reports say the restrooms there have been seriously damaged in last night's storm... there are even rumours of a certain smell in the air, and remember there are no flowers around this year...

And the flowers wilted before the restrooms were damaged.

Possibility of "lift, clean and place" tomorrow, and not just in the restrooms.

lorus59 wrote:What do you guys think of that Master's theme tune always played? It is beginning to annoy me now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UL4fh_B-j4

It really is a terrible tune, almost as naff as the inside of the clubhouse;

http://www.masters.com/en_US/news/articles/2011-04-05/201104051302046539591.html

princedracula wrote:They'll be shouting loooooooo rather than luuuuuuke around the 16th hole. Reports say the restrooms there have been seriously damaged in last night's storm... there are even rumours of a certain smell in the air, and remember there are no flowers around this year...

Heard that they were hoping to replace the toilet today.. They dont do things by half!

There's a lot of talk in the media about the Rory/Tiger rivalry but does anyone think Tiger rates McIlroy as a serious rival? I don't think he does

Not sure how they can be rivals when they have never competed in the same event.

McLaren wrote:Not sure how they can be rivals when they have never competed in the same event.

Honda! Abu Dhabi! To name but 2 this year! Or last years Masters!

Not sure I get your point Mac!

What's more pointless than seeing Ant and Dec caddying at the par 3 event! Errr nope I can't think of anything other than the guff they present on tv

The question remains. Tiger is never friendly with someone he considers a threat, unless he has turned over a new leaf.

How do you rate Augusta from a design point of view Mac?

Fader

If people think tiger can win the masters then they must assume that the tiger of old (or at least one capable of shooting the same scores) is back. If this is the case, McIlroy has never faced this tiger. The version at honda would have been close but not the same as a major winning tiger.

Incontinentia


Do you mean the original incarnation or the course played today? Or indeed any version in between? The principles of Mackenzie are still around on at least some part of most of the holes. The 16th for example was not part of the original course. He admired TOC and the value of wide playing corridors providing a choice of angles into interesting and challenging greens. Even though the greens have been tamed over the years, in terms of slope and contour, I think they still look extremely interesting to play. In fact until I saw the photo tour I posted above I did not realise just how much contour was left in them. The originals would not have been compatible with 13 on the stimp meter.

In recent years there has been a removal of some trees and the cutting back of some rough which is great to see after the US open set ups we saw from around 2002-2009 ish. Maybe the period with the most amount of “surprise” winners.

I imagine the original course would not have been rivalled in terms of playability, interest of greens, use of the land strategic possibilities. As equipment has developed Augusta has had to adapt. Whether they have maintained all the original design intentions of Mackenzie seems pretty clear. They haven’t, but remember Bobby Jones, the other influential figure in the creation of ANGC, lived into the 1970’s. So the early changes must have had at least some degree of blessing from Jones.

What I am trying to say is that had Augusta followed a design philosophy for the change’s that was geared towards handicap golfers it probably wouldn’t be relevant for a permanent major venue. So as long as the principles of the original, which incorporated so much of what makes a course great, are still present to a reasonable degree then I rate it very highly as a piece of design.

In most cases the changes I would make involve no more than an afternoon with a chainsaw to open up the playing corridors again.

Mac, surely Augusta does not fit in with your criteria of what golf is

Super, as has been proposed on here a few times it is the major most likely to introduce a tournament ball. So when that happens it will be the major making the most effort to a return to playing golf.

Not sure why you have an obsession with this. There is nothing wrong with the ball. It's progress.

What type of ball would you suggest Mac?

The Augusta course has been stretched to the max, at best they could add ten yards to a few of the holes. If in ten years time the other majors are played over 8000 yard courses and the masters is a pitch and putt do you think they masters will stop or that they will do something about?

Mac, modern majors are not won by scores all that much different from majors of yesterday. We still see some excellent shots. If anything blame the robotic players with a lack of imagination. Golf is still golf, regardless of equipment. You are a lone voice in this, but I bet you'll still be watching one handed alongside mark roe waiting for that 'moment of release'.

i have played 5200 yard courses that are tougher than 7200 yarders- you dont have to just add length- you can tighten them up, put strategic bunkers in play, more undulating greens.

Anyway technology will not allow golf clubs and balls to go to far, they curb it all the time, for obvious reasons.

however if we end up getting a new breed of player(for instance a long drive champ who can actually play the game) we may in serious trouble lol

Top gossip - "Caddy of winner for last three Masters to end on Easter Sunday all had no. 53 bib. This year's 53? Billy Foster for Lee Westwood."

Lots being made about Phil Mickelson turning up at crack of dawn to watch Nicklaus, Palmer and Player tee off ceremoniously.

Many years ago, PGA Tour player, and one-time winner Chris Perry (long since injured almost beyond competitive repair), drove overnight from the Nationwide (or whatever it was then) event in Louisiana to watch the start of Arnold Palmer's final round at The Masters, then back again for his tee-time. Respect!!

Does anyone know if they are playing lift clean and place?

Don't think so hogie; haven't seen anything on that. But it could be a mistake if flooding rains come through this afternoon, some suggestions there could even be tornadic stuff.
Not here though, bloody freezing, trying to snow.

kwinigolfer wrote:Not here though, bloody freezing, trying to snow.

I've booked tomorrow off as it's opening day so you keep that crap to yourself Kwini, don't send any of it my way.

kwinigolfer wrote:Don't think so hogie; haven't seen anything on that. But it could be a mistake if flooding rains come through this afternoon, some suggestions there could even be tornadic stuff.
Not here though, bloody freezing, trying to snow.

Just checked weather.com and I think they should be okay for todays round but they could see some nasty stuff tonight.

OK thru 3.00 p.m., but then:

4.00 p.m.: 40% chance rain.
5.00 p.m.: 50%
6.00 p.m.: 60%
Trouble is, it doesn't predict lightning.

Tiger sounds like he's going to need all of his scrambling powers if the 1st and the 2nd are how he's going to play the rest of the round. 2 hooks off the tee, requiring a penalty drop at the 2nd.

Not quite "back" yet then!

and as you post- he birdies the third

mystiroakey wrote:and as you post- he birdies the third

Well, of course!

I've seen Stenson begin to knock in some decent scores over recent weeks, so it's great to see him doing it on a big stage. He had too much talent to fade away. Hope this is a longer-term sign of a sustained recovery of form.

If Tiger's proven one thing ... it that he doesn't just score when he's hitting the exact shot and shot shape he wants.

I look for him to make the cut.

Dammit, I nearly picked stenson in my bets too.

thedamned3putt wrote:Top gossip - "Caddy of winner for last three Masters to end on Easter Sunday all had no. 53 bib. This year's 53? Billy Foster for Lee Westwood."

I wonder if this is true. I wonder if someone has really trawled through the record books and calendars to check it out.

There's about a six week window for Easter, so the record (if true) must stretch back to about 1980.

George1507 wrote:

thedamned3putt wrote:Top gossip - "Caddy of winner for last three Masters to end on Easter Sunday all had no. 53 bib. This year's 53? Billy Foster for Lee Westwood."

I wonder if this is true. I wonder if someone has really trawled through the record books and calendars to check it out.

There's about a six week window for Easter, so the record (if true) must stretch back to about 1980.

George, that was tweeted by one of the beeb guys earlier today, so it 'must' be true. I think it probably is, given the flaming they get for posting anything not researched to the nth degree.

So who do you think was the best player yesterday at Augusta?
Lee, Oosty, Tiger, Rory, Stenson,...?
And the best scorer? Lee...!?

Nah... I'd say John Daly in both categories...

http://via.me/-kmpioe#!/-kmgi12
http://via.me/-kmpioe#!/-kmp7qo
http://via.me/-kmpioe#!/-kmpioe

(at an alternative venue the other side of Washington Rd)

Nice tweet from Jason Sobel of the Golf Channel about Stenson's "snowman" on the 18th:
"And yes, Augusta National policy says it must be a snowman, and not a snow-woman."

Kwin -

Saw that on replay last night and it looked as if about 5 golfers in a row tried to steer the tee ball on 18. It's about as wide as a two sheet curling club and goes up the same hill #10 goes down. I would try for a bogey ... 5, iron, 5 iron, 5 iron, wedge, one putt!