Masters Chat

One of these days those one of those ceremonial golfers at the beginning of the Masters is going to dislocate a hip or something. They look so old teeing off on hole #1. Those guys one armed and one legged could still outdrive me though.

Mike Weir...LOL

A few observations,

I wasn't lucky enough to be able to watch any of the first round but saw some highlights and read a bit about it. If we are expecting or hoping for a new Tiger Woods attitude wise I don't think we will get that player. He seemed to show plenty of frustration today. He needs to stop getting so upset at himself when he hits bad shots. He would be much better off more even keel. I like Tiger as a player but I have to wonder if as a person he is still kind of a dumpster fire. It's still good to have him back.

The day belonged to Jordan Spieth. This kid is special. I don't know if we should put him in the echelon of McIlroy or not but if wins I put him there. He has yet to break 70 at Augusta until today. Wow what a way to break through that barrier.

It looks like Justin Rose broke out of it just in time, at least just in time for Ryan to be able to acquire him before his price would have required more than just Matsuyama. Will he break out of it for the whole tourney. Jason Day is right there in good position. He could be a big factor before this is all said and done. Ernie going back in time to be in contention again. Hoffman had a good round but I am not sure he can hold it together and stay in the top 5 very long. Sergio had a good round today as well. Can he maintain and contend on Sunday. Webb Simpson came out of no where to fall in at -3. He hasn't seemed to be much of a factor in the game as of late. Bubba Watson did ok but he can't afford to dig himself any deeper of a hole if he wants to repeat as champ. McIlroy at -1 but has quite the upward climb if he is to claim this major. Players to play themselves out of it or darn close include Snedeker, Koepka, Dubuisson and Kaymer. For the most part the big names are all still in it.

Spieth will have the spotlight on him hotter than ever. Will he show his youth at Augusta or is his recent excellent form going to simply outshine any hint of negativism.

I have already said that I thought the Rose Matsuyama trade was even. There was some risk in acquiring Rose (and yes I did try to acquire him to) as he had not played well for some time now. He is Justin Rose I grant you that but you could insert about 30 or 40 guys with that same phrase and say he is ________ so he will play well. Not always the case. Some guys just go into a slump and take awhile to snap out of it. Rose was a high risk high reward type player to trade for right now. Look at Fowler. He was one of the sexy pre draft players to get but he has gone into a slump and who knows when he might snap out of it. I don't think enough emphasis gets put on players that are currently playing well. Golf is a game of spurts both good and bad. Those spurts can last 6 months to a year. Those spurts can last only a month or two. No matter how good the player one never knows if they will break out of it or if a player will stay hot for awhile. I personally tend to favor the hot commodity within reason. Maybe that is why my team tends to start out hot and fades as the year goes on but that also could have alot to do with the fact that the tier 1 and tier 2 events don't tend to get heavy until mid season starting with the Masters and even moreso around the time of the Players Championship. I hope to avoid the mid season collapse this year.

Spieth continues to dominate. Can he just hold it together. Historic performance so far. How about CHAAAAARLEY Hoffman. second place alone going into the weekend. I didn't think he would hold it together and he may not yet but so far so good. Apparently he got a bad break on 18 or could have finished -10. Look at some of those players lurking. Dustin Johnson, Rose and Mickelson. They could at least apply some pressure on Spieth if he takes the foot off the accelerator at all. Josh's sleeper Kevin Na had quite the round today at 66 and finds himself up there a bit. Tiger had a good day to climb into the top 20. Jason Day was going so well and than kind of fell apart. Sergio also played himself down the leaderboard as well. McIlroy at -1 just goes to show that even at this event his mediocre play continues. I think he is too far back to be a serious contender on Sunday. Notables that missed the cut, Furyk, Donald, Horshel, Snedeker, Dubuisson, Kaymer. Ben Crenshaw may be a heart warming story but he probably over stayed his effectiveness at August at 32 over par. How is that for a last memory. Yeah I shot 32 over in 2 rounds. I guess no one really cares about his score but come on that is embarrassing.

Mostly agree, Rich. When he first auditioned as a guest announcer he was honest but stilted and difficult to listen to. Now he speaks a bit more fluently but says dick-all. Having said that, I kinda like the guy but as an announcer...not so much.

It might be just me, but I think the golfchannel analysis deficiency has been glaring, when they turn to  Duval.   Omigod, he states the obvious, offers no insight, and looks lost as to where to look into the camera, in the segment. 
And he's an 'expert', how?  The same way John Daly is an expert? 

Nobilo has been proven to be a sage, in comparison, imo. 

Gotta say, Chamblee has been prescient re: Tiger/his swing/analysis.  
He (Chamblee) may not ultimately be proven 'right', but at least he put a tangible analysis, out there.