he's in contention to be leading...I wouldn't call that choking. He's definitely letting some good oportunities slip away and losing his momentum If it's not Tiger I'm rooting rooting for Campbell
i love tiger. i bet most of those other guys cant stand. but then again i guess he does bring a lot of attention to the sport.
It's amazing how good these guys are... the only thing I can think about are Phil's missed 5-footers, his shot into the water, and Tiger's inability to hit anything straight on 17 and 18... yet they still shot a combined 9-under for the day. Crazy. Tiger's downfall was that he was just terrible off the tee. To be honest, he was lucky to even be in it... he hit some amazing par putts on the front nine, when his drives were all over the place, just to stay within striking distance. And as soon as he tied Phil and was one shot off, bad drives on 17 and 18 did him in. Happens to the best of them. With Phil, it's tough because one of his greatest strengths (the insane amount of preparation he does, especially at majors) also can become a big weakness. At 12, when you're having the round he was and the short game he has, is it really that big of a deal if you're a hair long and have to chip from the back? He tried to dial it in within five feet of the pin, but you can't do that if there's even the slightest chance that you could end up short and in the water... and that's what he did. At 15 and 17, I'd honestly say those are putts that most of us make. At 15, he saw Tiger's putt go one way, it conflicted with the read he had from previous homework, and he hit it tentatively... and you saw the result. The reality is that there are some putts that are short enough that it's not so much about the green and the homework you do as they are just hitting it firmly and trusting that you can keep the line. Basically, he outthought himself. Phil finished ahead of Tiger, but I think he's the one with more regrets... simply because he brought close to his A game physically, and beat himself by misreading situations. Tiger played well, but I'd say he brought about his B game and lost because he just had a day where he couldn't find the fairway with regularity. P.S. I know some will say it wouldn't have mattered because of the number Perry will finish with, but honestly, I think everything is different had Phil or Tiger posted an 11- or 12-under. Mentally, that would have to change the approach significantly for all of them, Perry included.
Angel Cabrera played that 2nd hold great, but he should have been eliminated on the first playoff hole, he hit 2 horrendous shots...one into the trees, the other off a tree, and got a lucky bounce which enabled him to even stay in it. Horrible. DD
Big day for Argentina. ¡Felicitaciones Angel! Winners in soccer, basketball, and now golf! BTW, Angel's translator was TERRIBLE. He barely got across what Nantz was saying and what Angel was trying to say.
I've always been an Angel fan. He's now in the solid player class, with two majors. He may have gotten lucky with the bounce of the tree, but at least he had the balls to go for it. One of the announcers had no clue what he was talking about - first saying that Angel should lay up (basically chip out sideways, and hope to get up and down from 170), and then saying that Perry couldn't charge his par putt because he might blow it six feet by. (When Cabrera had a 15 foot uphiller for birdie) Understand the situation, and then speak dude - I thought he was channeling Clyde Drexler there.
Congratulations to Angel Cabrera, the 2009 Masters Champion! Masters Sunday is always one of my favorite days. Yesterday did not disappoint. The run Phil put on during the front nine was incredible. I had a feeling Phil would show his old self, and, sure enough, he put it in the water on 12. A couple of missed putts down the stretch pretty much doomed his chances. Tiger played well, but didn't have the run like Phil did. Costly bogey at 17 did him in. Out of the three playoff golfers I was rooting for Chad Campbell. Him being from Texas and all. All three played well during the tournament. Cabrera just seemed to be more at ease. I suppose already having a major championship under his belt gave him confidence that the other two didn't have. Anyway, it was a great day and I am already looking forward to the 2010 Masters.
