Masters Running Thread

[AgatePage]

They forking ruined the Masters for me.

What a great tournament it used to be. The back-nine roars have been squelched.

They should have left 13 and 15 alone. Have eagles there be realistic possibilities.

Someone needs to bikini-wax Billy Payne's brain.

13 and 15 aren't the problems. As noted earlier, they're still eminently reachable with irons.

Adding rough and lenghtening the course beyond reason is the problem, along with the fact you can only use two tees: the member tees at just above 6,200 yards (which -- for obvious reasons -- isn't in play this week) or what you have at 7,455.

Make no mistake, length needed to be added. But in Hootie Johnson's (and it was Hootie, not Payne, who oversaw the stretching) last application of the rack to the track, he took most of the vestiges of angles and strategy out of what was one of the most strategic courses in the country.

Alister MacKenzie and Bob Jones are sipping bourbon or whiskey somewhere, wondering what the bejesus happened to their course.

This is the answer.

But I think the members tees are around 6,400 now, birdscribe. They got lengthened as well in the process. The biggest difference is on 7 -- pros 490-ish, members 360-ish. Which is how the hole is supposed to be played.

And someone else asked earlier, Masters is top 44 and ties.

 

[shotglass]

Is Justin Rose a nice enough guy to wait until after 18 to fire his caddy?

 

[Birdscribe]

Is Justin Rose a nice enough guy to wait until after 18 to fire his caddy?

Yes. He's one of the nicest guys on tour.

Since I'm on a computer w/o sound, what shining moments of idiocy is Rose's porter (sounds like a proper English drink) displaying?

 

[Left_Coast]

Snowman on 15 for Rose. After laying up.

The question: Tiger is seven back. Can he win?

Can't count him out. 68-69 (8 under) might do it, especially with a storm coming. But he's given no indication, other than on 17, he's got it this week. Though that save on 18 was ridiculous.

 

[Double Down]

If there is a storm, and it really is cold as hell, I think the field might come back a bit, but Tiger has show no real indication that he has the ability to go low this week. It's been awhile since he's really read putts well at Augusta, which seems weird.

 

[BigRed]

I have the utmost admiration for Woods. But he's the reason I watch golf with the mute on, and never watch the Golf Channel analysis shows. There's sycophancy, and then there's TV covering Tiger at a major.
Jim Nantz sounds like he bet something in the vicinity of 100K on a Woods win.

It couldn't have been as bad as Mike Tirico's "Augusta is perfection" slobber-knobber at the start of today's telecast. Made me wanna puke.

 

[John]

If there is a storm, and it really is cold as hell, I think the field might come back a bit, but Tiger has show no real indication that he has the ability to go low this week. It's been awhile since he's really read putts well at Augusta, which seems weird.

From what little I saw today -- though I go love the live from Amen Corner feed online -- Tiger had a couple of really bad reads today. Even Bobby Clampett seemed stunned on the one at 12, saying that surely Tiger should know how that putt breaks by now.

Is it Phil's to lose at this point, given his position and his success at Augusta?

 

[Michael_ Gee]

I don't know John. The thing about the Masters is that everybody on the good side of the leaderboard has been a winner somewhere in pro golf, usually a multiple winner. In my opinion, and I invite rebuttal, there's a way bigger mental gap between a non-winner and a winner than a regular Tour winner and a major winner.
Tiger spooks those guys, but he's the only one. They all know Phil can beat them, but they know he can blow himself up, too. His birdies and eagles aren't as ominous, because disaster is always in play.

 

[heyabbott]

"Tiger's in the lead, at 7 off the top of the leader board"

 

[2underpar]

third round should be interesting if the weather comes in like they are saying. I don't think immelman and snedeker will make it to -10 today, which would still leave a lot of folks in contention going into sunday.

 

[Left_Coast]

Faldo, who is really good, said on the telecast he thought the lead after 54 holes will be at 6 under.

 

[CollegeJournalist]

I think the field will come back a little, but (and I say this cautiously) if Tiger couldn't get it going out there on Thursday/Friday, I don't know how he's going to get it going this weekend with the course playing much tougher.

Of course, at the risk of sounding like Nantz, it is Tiger Woods. But if there were two guys six shots ahead of him and no one in between, I'd feel much better about his chances. Picking up between four and seven shots on eight or nine guys won't be easy. If the field moves backward, he has a great shot. If it doesn't and he has to go 67-68 or something of that ilk to get back in it, he can shift focus to Torrey Pines.

I know it hasn't been done since '84, but I think Immelman will stick around at the top. Back-to-back 68s are Augusta are impressive (as Justin Rose showed us today) and Immelman is a solid player.