The Masters

[GoMuskies]

A tradition unlike any other. Everyone having pimento cheese sandwiches for lunch today in celebration of the Masters?

Tiger is playing his first hole now, so I suppose that means the Tournament has ACTUALLY begun. Should be interesting how this goes with Tiger back at world #1. I think we'll have a pretty good idea by the end of this year whether Jack's 18 major titles is going to hold or not.

[ballyhoohoo]

Tiger is playing his first hole now.

So many ways to take this.

[GoMuskies]

Jim Nantz does not approve of such talk. We all must speak in reverential, hushed tones while golf is going on near the azaleas.

[Jumpy]

Jim Nantz worships at the alter of Amen Corner.

[gladdenguy]

Anybody but Tigger. To all other golfers......beat the freak (so many ways to take this).

[xu95]

Has anyone yelled out Babbabooey yet?

[paulxu]

I've already had my lifetime quota of hearing "get in the hole!"

How about a little orginality?

[X-band '01]

Free Gary McCord!

[bobbiemcgee]

I believe Coach Mack is there. Maybe he can teach then to jump off one foot.

[Mel Cooley XU'81]

Jim Nantz worships at the alter of Amen Corner.

. . . . . Hello Friends . . . . .

I typically select Luke Donald as my Masters Champ-to-Be, but not this year.

Steve Stricker.

And I still won't forgive him for Ryder Cup Sunday.

[PMI]

I think we'll have a pretty good idea by the end of this year whether Jack's 18 major titles is going to hold or not.

I think that's a pretty silly assertion, but in any case, I do see Tiger winning a major this year. I think it will be this week. He is the best player in golf again and is putting out of his mind this year.

[PMI]

. . . . . Hello Friends . . . . .

I typically select Luke Donald as my Masters Champ-to-Be, but not this year.

Steve Stricker.

And I still won't forgive him for Ryder Cup Sunday.

I don't think Luke Donald will ever win a major, and especially not a Masters. I actually think he's the most overrated golfer in the world, and that's not to diminish his accomplishments, which are very impressive. His game is not suited to win majors unless he just gets red hot and drops putts at an unbelievable rate.

[Nigel Tufnel]

. . . . . Hello Friends . . . . .

I typically select Luke Donald as my Masters Champ-to-Be, but not this year.

Steve Stricker.

And I still won't forgive him for Ryder Cup Sunday.

I picked Stricker too. Couldn't believe he was at +5 at one point today. He has battled back nicely though.

Also took Westwood and Simpson. Barring huge days tomorrow from Simpson/Webb or a collapse from Westwood tomorrow, looks like my best chance to cash in is on the Brit's shaky flat stick.

[chico]

I think Kuchar has a good shot to win, even though he's using a belly putter. Can't wait for those to go away.

[Pluto]

I think Augusta sets up for Dustin Johnson pretty well. Got pretty good odds on him so I took a flyer. Not disappointing me today.

By the way I wish I could hit a 6-iron 200+ yards.

[Nigel Tufnel]

I think Augusta sets up for Dustin Johnson pretty well. Got pretty good odds on him so I took a flyer. Not disappointing me today.

By the way I wish I could hit a 6-iron 200+ yards.

At good odds, it's a great pick. Much like Westwood, gotta worry about the putter over the weekend...plus...he's hitting Paulina Gretzky...motivation? His life is pretty, pretty, pretty good. (Larry David)

[GoMuskies]

I think that's a pretty silly assertion, but in any case, I do see Tiger winning a major this year. I think it will be this week. He is the best player in golf again and is putting out of his mind this year.

I'm not sure what's silly about it. If he doesn't win this year, as well as he's playing, I think Jack is pretty safe. But he looks like he's going to get one or two this year the way his year started.

[waggy]

Vonn must be pretty good.

[D-West & PO-Z]

Anybody but Tigger. To all other golfers......beat the freak (so many ways to take this).

Amen.

I'd prefer Mickelson.

[XUglow]

I love sitting at work with the Masters playing on one of my screens. I just set it to Amen corner and watch those 3 holes.

A 14-year-old gets an invitation to The Masters???? When I was 14, I was barely beyond getting invitations that said, "Do you want to be my boyfriend? Check Yes or No."

...and Freddie F'ing Couples at 53... Wow.

About the pimento cheese sammiches... They wrap all of their sandwiches in green plastic just in cases some wrapper gets dropped or blows out of a garbage bin. They want it to blend into the scenery. In 2007, the last time I was there, a sandwich and a cola was $2 or $2.25 or something like that.

[outsideobserver11]

I play fantasy golf with 11 other guys and I'm the only one that didn't start Tiger in my group of 4 golfers so i personally hope he bombs this week. Any of you guys ever played it on Yahoo before? It's pretty fun.

On a side note the 14 year old is pretty impressive. That birdie putt he sunk from the fringe yesterday was no easy putt. He has shot par through his first few holes today as well so looking good to make the cut.

[nuts4xu]

Any of you guys ever played it on Yahoo before? It's pretty fun.



I have played on Yahoo, and when a tournament had issues with weather or had to finish a round on the next day, it was a pain in the ass. You didn't have much of a chance to change your golfers, and this was frustrating. I don't know if they have any better system in place, but my friends and I played for a few years but scrapped it a while ago.

I am in a "best ball" game with my friends for just the Majors this year through ESPN. So far, it has worked out fine, but I am just getting used to the best ball format.

[ChicagoX]

At good odds, it's a great pick. Much like Westwood, gotta worry about the putter over the weekend...plus...he's hitting Paulina Gretzky...motivation? His life is pretty, pretty, pretty good. (Larry David)

Win or lose, Dustin Johnson still wins... Paulina Gretzky is using the Instagram Machine properly (http://thechive.com/2013/01/16/paulina-gretzky-is-using-the-instagram-machine-properly-48-photos/)

[PMI]

I'm not sure what's silly about it. If he doesn't win this year, as well as he's playing, I think Jack is pretty safe. But he looks like he's going to get one or two this year the way his year started.

I don't really know what to say if you believe that this is somehow the magic year that it needs to happen, or else Jack is safe. Tiger is 37 and he needs 4 to tie. Jack won four after the age of 37 and they were very spread out. Tiger is playing extremely well right now and is rightfully the top ranked player in the world. Now I do think Tiger will win at least one this year. I think he will win the Masters. But if he ends the year with four top 10s, playing well but coming up short, you're ready to call Jack safe? I think that kind of comment pretty much blatantly disregards the fact that Tiger Woods is one of the most unique competitors there's ever been. He will break the record and he knows it.

[PMI]

As for the tournament, in my pool you could pick any four you wanted. I took Tiger, Phil, Kuchar and Bubba. Kind of kicking myself for not taking Dustin or Sergio because I was really on the fence with them, but Sergio is slumping a bit to start today. Bubba needs to pick it up because I can't afford a missed cut. Phil and Tiger are pretty much guaranteed top 5 or 10s in this tournament, if there could be such a thing. And I think Kuchar is a strong candidate to win. Love his game.

[GoMuskies]

If he doesn't win any this year, I think it will speak to how difficult adding four more to the till is going to be. Tiger's not getting any younger, and there is a ton of young talent on the Tour (in large part thanks to Tiger, frankly).

I'm not saying that Tiger has no chance to break the record if he doesn't win one this year, but I DO think this year is an important one in whether he gets there or not.

[PMI]

If he doesn't win any this year, I think it will speak to how difficult adding four more to the till is going to be. Tiger's not getting any younger, and there is a ton of young talent on the Tour (in large part thanks to Tiger, frankly).

I'm not saying that Tiger has no chance to break the record if he doesn't win one this year, but I DO think this year is an important one in whether he gets there or not.

Fair enough, but I think we were having this same (or a really similar) conversation last year in one of the majors threads. And low and behold, Tiger is still playing like a beast, ranked number one now, and looks like he'll be firmly in the mix for everything he plays in this year. I still don't see him coming up short, and I don't think we'll get the chance to know whether or not he'll get it done without one this year, because I see him winning at least one. I don't want to come across like I don't fully understand how ridiculously difficult it is to win a major. I just really believe Tiger is that good, that focused, that driven, etc., that he will find a way.

Btw, The Great One's daughter is stupid hot. I'm not sure what Gretzky expected given his own wife, but very nicely done sir.

[XUglow]

The leaders seem to be backing up. That is the typical formula when Tiger wins.

[GoMuskies]

What the hell's going on out there today? Everyone's backing up. Until just a minute ago Couples had been able to grab first place by shooting even par. That Guan kid looks like he's gonna make the cut, too, finishing at +4.

[BlueGuy]

Btw, The Great One's daughter is stupid hot. I'm not sure what Gretzky expected given his own wife, but very nicely done sir.

Dustin Johnson's life definitely doesn't suck right now.

[PMI]

The leaders seem to be backing up. That is the typical formula when Tiger wins.

Yea, I'm sure his 77 tour wins have been the result of everyone else backing up for him...

Fact is, it's a harder day today and Tiger is playing as well as anyone. I know that the majority of this board hates him and roots against him (at least the majority of those who contribute to these threads) but Tiger's earned everything he's won. Especially lately.

[GoMuskies]

If Tiger and Day play even par or worse the rest of the day, it looks like 69 of the 93 players in the field would make the cut.

[X-band '01]

What the hell's going on out there today? Everyone's backing up. Until just a minute ago Couples had been able to grab first place by shooting even par. That Guan kid looks like he's gonna make the cut, too, finishing at +4.

It's even more impressive when you consider he had a one-stroke penalty for slow play. Understandable from a 14-year-old; remarkable if he can overcome it and make the cut.

[PMI]

Wow. Tiger just got ROYALLY screwed by the golf gods there...

[xudash]

Wow. Tiger just got ROYALLY screwed by the golf gods there...

I just saw it on the ESPN replay. You aren't kidding. Showed a lot of calm answering back with a chip that allowed him to save bogey.

I want to see him do well in golf, but I don't want to see him break Jack's record. My top reason for that is that Jack will always be my favorite pro golfer. The second reason for it simply is that I don't think he should break it given his shenanigans of a couple years ago. Some - many - may be past that, but I'm not. I just see him as being tarnished by that mess, regardless of how well he plays inside the ropes.

[Mel Cooley XU'81]

Couples had been able to grab first place by shooting even par.

53 year olds rock.

[waggy]

I'd love to see Fred win, but it's a long long shot at best. Every year for the last 5 or so he either has a bad Saturday or a bad Sunday. Anyway he can't hold up on the back 9 on Sunday, even if he builds a huge lead.

[Mel Cooley XU'81]

Indeed, Waggy.

53 year olds roll, too.

But good luck, Fred!

[gladdenguy]

About the pimento cheese sammiches... They wrap all of their sandwiches in green plastic just in cases some wrapper gets dropped or blows out of a garbage bin. They want it to blend into the scenery. In 2007, the last time I was there, a sandwich and a cola was $2 or $2.25 or something like that.

2 pimento cheese sammiches
2 cookies
2 beers
$9 total

[Lloyd Braun]

Wow. Tiger just got ROYALLY screwed by the golf gods there...

If he gets DQ'd then "royally" may not be a strong enough word.

When asked about Guan's slow play penalty yesterday Tiger said "rules are rules".

[gladdenguy]

DQ his ass. This will be the 2nd time this year with an illegal drop. Much better weekend without him.

@samweinman Former USGA Chief David Fay "Based on ways rules are written I don't see how he's anything but a spectator today"

And he is assessed a 2 stroke penalty instead of a disqualification......dang it.

[Lloyd Braun]

DQ his ass. This will be the 2nd time this year with an illegal drop. Much better weekend without him.

@samweinman Former USGA Chief David Fay "Based on ways rules are written I don't see how he's anything but a spectator today"

And he is assessed a 2 stroke penalty instead of a disqualification......dang it.

"Once a cheater always a cheater" - Elin

[STL_XUfan]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cd6unpM_5YA

[xfan'17]

DQ him!

[LA Muskie]

Decision has already been announced: 2 stroke penalty.

[BMoreX]

I don't really care about golf at all but didn't Tiger say "rules are rules" when they penalized that teenager a few days ago? DQ him.

@OldHossRadbourn: So the "Masters" are changing the rules to allow a black man to stick around. I suppose this is progress.

[Nigel Tufnel]

I'm no Tiger fan by any stretch....but Frank Nobilo just pretty much shut down Brandle Chamblee on the Golf Channel about this issue. Everyone has been screaming integrity and he should DQ himself...Nobilo made the strongest case I've heard that he shouldn't be DQ'd. And Chamblee really didn't have a response. He said that the officials got tons of phone calls immediately after the shot. They reviewed the drop and determined that Tiger didn't violate a rule. They ok'd his scorecard. Then, after hearing Tiger's interview, they decided he violated the rule. What's the penalty for an illegal drop? 2 strokes. If he had been told on 16, 17 or 18 that he violated a rule, Tiger would have put an 8 on his scorecard and this wouldn't be an issue. But because they initially ruled that he hadn't violated the drop rule, he didn't knowingly sign an incorrect scorecard. That's where Rule 33-7 comes in. Tiger was assessed the correct penalty in Nobilo's view.

This is pretty interesting. This is certainly a no win situation for Tiger. He loses if he plays...even if he ends up winning the whole thing.

[gladdenguy]

I do agree with that Nigel. If he plays and happens to win....people will go absolutely nuts.

[chico]

I'm no Tiger fan by any stretch....but Frank Nobilo just pretty much shut down Brandle Chamblee on the Golf Channel about this issue. Everyone has been screaming integrity and he should DQ himself...Nobilo made the strongest case I've heard that he shouldn't be DQ'd. And Chamblee really didn't have a response. He said that the officials got tons of phone calls immediately after the shot. They reviewed the drop and determined that Tiger didn't violate a rule. They ok'd his scorecard. Then, after hearing Tiger's interview, they decided he violated the rule. What's the penalty for an illegal drop? 2 strokes. If he had been told on 16, 17 or 18 that he violated a rule, Tiger would have put an 8 on his scorecard and this wouldn't be an issue. But because they initially ruled that he hadn't violated the drop rule, he didn't knowingly sign an incorrect scorecard. That's where Rule 33-7 comes in. Tiger was assessed the correct penalty in Nobilo's view.

This is pretty interesting. This is certainly a no win situation for Tiger. He loses if he plays...even if he ends up winning the whole thing.

I can understand this, but Tiger's basically hiding behind the officials. Golf is a game where you self-police. He knew at the time of the drop the was giving himself an advantage by moving the ball back. He should have called himself on this - he knows the rules on a drop. He didn't follow them. Since the officials gave him a pass they can't dq him, especially since signing a bad scorecard doesn't get you dq'd anymore. But Tiger knew better.

[LA Muskie]

The notion that he should withdraw is one of the most absurd of all time. Imagine Xavier scoring on what was ruled a timely last-second shot, but which Xavier knew was late at the time. Would we forfeit the game?

[Juice]

The notion that he should withdraw is one of the most absurd of all time. Imagine Xavier scoring on what was ruled a timely last-second shot, but which Xavier knew was late at the time. Would we forfeit the game?

People take gold too seriously like it's something special compared to the other sports. I hope Tiger wins now.

[paulxu]

People take gold too seriously like it's something special

I take gold very seriously. If you have some you are not taking seriously, please send it to me post haste.

I thought they made the ruling that he had violated the drop rules (while he was on the course), determined it would be 2 strokes, but did not get to him in time to adjust his score card before he signed it. It that wrong?

[GoMuskies]

I saw a prop bet pre-tournament where you could get 75-1 on Tiger being DQ'd. Man, I'd have been going nuts if I had made that bet.

[paulxu]

I saw a prop bet pre-tournament where you could get 75-1 on Tiger being DQ'd. Man, I'd have been going nuts if I had made that bet.

Hey, 2 more days to win that one.

[chico]

I don't think he should be dq'd, but he should have known what the rule was. My problem is with him claiming ignorance of the rule. 2 strokes is an appropriate penalty, though.

[X-band '01]

I do agree with that Nigel. If he plays and happens to win....people will go absolutely nuts.

The "patrons" would probably have gone more nuts had he been DQ'd for the drop (today, at least).

[paulxu]

Not knowing crappola about the finer points of golf, it sounded like in the other majors (most tournaments?) that each group going around has a rules official with them. But for some reason the do NOT do this at the Masters.
Don't understand how they do it. Officials at each hole stationary, on the course, ????

(golf gods taking their revenge as he roles one completely inside the cup around 360 degrees, and back out again. I think Redford did that once.)

[Mel Cooley XU'81]

Stricker double bogeys 18.

He never surprises.

I-L-L.

I-N-I.

[xudash]

What a brilliant show. These guys were going at it, while absolutely being totally respectful of one another. Personally, I was very happy to see Tiger Woods melt away and get out of the way. This one was a finish for the ages. It certainly was a finish for Australia.

[GoMuskies]

I got Scott at 4-1 this morning, so I was thrilled. Great finish.

[GoMuskies]

That whole thing in the cabin is just awkward.

[waggy]

That whole thing in the cabin is just awkward.

"The whole world is watching."

Just shove the hyperbole Jim.

[bjf123]

Aussie Aussie Aussie Oi Oi Oi


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[gladdenguy]

Nothing better than watching Tiger not win....add to that seeing his old caddy win. Great day.

[GoMuskies]

Tiger woods is out for the 2014 Masters after having back surgery.

Tick, tick, tick....

[Pete Delkus]

Kokrak is 35 in Fedex points. Top 50 make it to Augusta.

Give me JK, Daddy!!!!!

[bjf123]

Kokrak is 35 in Fedex points. Top 50 make it to Augusta.

Give me JK, Daddy!!!!!

I did not know that. Nice!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[94GRAD]

Kokrak is 35 in Fedex points. Top 50 make it to Augusta.

Give me JK, Daddy!!!!!

I believe it's the top 50 in world ranking, not Fed EX points

[GoMuskies]

Well, that sucks, because Jason is ranked 96th.