I think Tiger will make a run and be right up top. But I am going with a 'somewhat' underdog. I am picking Hunter Mahan. The last 3 months of the 2011 season and the first few weeks this year.......nobody has played better IMO. I am crossing fingers that Tiger and Hunter are paired up in Sunday.
Mahan is pretty beastly; his short game is impeccable. I think Tiger has been peaking pretty well lately. Him getting that win at the Arnie Invitational got the monkey off his back so I think he will play a little more loosely now, ease up on his swing and really knock some **** out. Keep in mind that Tiger hasn't played poorly at Augusta since 2004 when he finished tied for 22nd. Even the past 2 years while trying to get back to form he finished Tied for 4th. The guy I'm going to be most curious about is McIlroy, he hasn't been able to get it going very well since his last win. Jason Day is another guy I think could surprise. He played very well last season before losing to Schwartzel who was just on fire that day.
Tiger's putting is my issue with him. He has a push issue that is an easy fix but it seems to messing with his head a bit. I don't doubt for a second that he has addressed the issue but it is still a concern. Other than his putting.......I think he is on point and getting back to being Tiger. This is going to be a great Masters. I think for the first time since Tiger got caught banging whores........we will have a focused Tiger vs a group of young guys that are not afraid of him anymore. I know many hate watching Golf.......but this is easily MUST SEE TV this weekend.
My wife will barely sit still for any sporting event for more than 10 minutes unless its a Texans game, and she has passive interest in the Rockets. She won't watch any other sport at all that doesn't feature some sort of hometown interest, but she LOVES golf. I don't even know how it happened, but I was watching the Masters last year while we were still dating and she was clowning me hardcore. She said "Pffft, Golf? Really? We could be ****ing right now and you're watching ****ing golf?" And I said to her "Dude its the Masters, its like the Super Bowl of Golf." By Sunday she was glued to the TV and she loves Tiger Woods, she will drop whatever she is doing to watch golf as long as Tiger is currently playing. She even researches his career at work and now even knows all the other players who frequently play. She calls Rory McIlroy is a "Jason Mraz-looking douche":. Go Figure.
I think this should be one of the best/wide open Masters in some time. This year I cannot see a Schwartzel/Immelman/Weir win it this year. This is the year for the top players IMO. Of course, it is so hard to predict the Masters, but I'll say Phil for the sake of argument. He is flying a little under the radar with all the Tiger talk.
HA! Awesome brother. You and I must have hit the Jackpot on women. My wife got hooked about a year ago. She plays, watches the GOLF channel and even rocks out The Masters 12 for PS3. Have you taken her golfing yet? It is the one rare occasion that I hate being on a course. Pure nightmare. By the way......Do you think Phil will wake up and be somewhat a factor this weekend?
Indeed. We're also big fans of Step Brothers. "Mom, Doback". I haven't played a round of golf in years. One of the few video games I have that she likes to play is Hot Shots Golf 3. It is pretty simplistic, I think she wants to get Tiger 13 though. I think Lefty will make some noise one day out of the first three. I'm gonna say he makes a Saturday push after wavering Thu/Fri and shoots like a 67 to be hanging around like 6-7 shots back going into Sunday.
"Good teams don't win close games. They avoid them." Mahan is beastly because he is top-10 in driving AND greens in regulation. His sand game has been pretty poor statswise and he has been only an okay scrambler. You have to remember that everybody on the tour has great short game, it's the reason they are on the tour. His swing has been mostly rock solid all year and he has all the shots in the bag and then some(which has not been the case the last few years). Also, his driving has been probably better than ever. He has got his distance back with improved accuracy as well. It's all about the putting for him. Some weekends it has been close to the old Tiger, and on others very far removed. Agree. He can probably score a top-10 in Augusta from his wheelchair when he is ninety. I call bull**** on this one. He basically has nothing but top-5's in the last 5months and after him getting the monkey off his back with the US open win, it's basically guaranteed that come Sunday, he will be in the hunt. He is definitely a very capable player. The thing is, he has been so unremarkable so far this year and played only four events, I guess he might have some injury bothering him but I'm too lazy to check.
If Tiger wins, he's Asian. If Tiger loses, like has been, he's black, and we got nothing to do with him.
All the pressure is on Tiger -- we'll see if he can still handle it. He will definitely finish in the top-5, but a part of me just wants to see him finish second behind Rory to witness everyone's reactions. I used to be a huge Tiger fan, but I just can't bring myself to root for him anymore. Yes, it's not up to me to judge him for his off-the-course issues, but with golf being such an individualistic sport, it's impossible to separate his golf game from his image. It's hard to believe that image has gone from so clean-cut a few years ago to the shambles that it is now, but it is what it is. I'll be keeping an eye out for Adam Scott this weekend. I can't cheer for him since he uses a long putter, but he played very well last year, along with Jason Day. My dark dark horse? BEN CRANE! http://www.gymclassallstars.com/2012/04/that-time-i-met-adam-scott.html
I still cannot believe how much Phil, Luke Donald, Westwood are flying under the radar. Granted, I do not think Lee has any shot. Sucks about DJ. I'm sure Augusta suits him well as a bomber
Agreed. Westwood just hasn't been able to get it done in the majors, so I would say he is rated very highly considering that. Mickelson is among the favorites every time, even if he is not playing well. And he has been very good this year (if not consistent). If the weather is rainy and the course wet, I think you can scratch Luke Donald off the favorite list. He just doesn't have the length and his advantage with the irons will be diminished if the greens are softer than usual.
