The Masters

Sorry for the major gap in updates but golf really hasn't been too exciting until last week. So what did we learn over the last year? As much as Paddy Harrington lit up the tour, it sucked without Tiger.

Tiger Woods IS the PGA Tour, like it or not. Proof was in his defense of his Bay Hill title by once again making birdie on the 18th to rip the heart out of another colleague. This time it was Sean O' Hair. Granted, it wasn't as if Tiger had to do anything more than just show up. O'Hair wilted under the pressure of being stalked by Tiger during the final round. Also, was anyone really surprised that Tiger made birdie on the 18th to win the tournament? He's just that good and everyont should really appreciate what we get to witness.

So now that the tour is back on track and Phil Mickelson is making a run at the number one ranking, it brings us to the greatest, most prestigious tournament in the world, The Masters.

There have been some grumblings about The Masters breaking away from tradition and making the course more of a US Open type and it's all true. They all heard the noise and we should expect a more traditional Masters set up. One where the rough isn't too penalizing, where it's a course of angles, and position. We can always expect the slick greens which is the norm at Augusta.

Because they're going back to a more traditional approach and the way Bobby Jones had originally planned for it, look for a big name to win the tournament. The past few years, much like the US Open, has been somewhat a fluke due to the course set up. The traditionalists made a lot of noise about it and it appears the proper changes were made. There's nothing they can do about the weather but the course needs to be in proper shape to handle that.

The forecast looks good all week for the tournament and under those ideal conditions we should be in for a real treat. Although Lefty had a horrible week at the Shell Houston Open, missing the cut, he had played well up till that point. Tiger is... well he's Tiger so he's always gonna be the front runner. Keep an eye out for guys like Geoff Ogilvy, and Paul Casey. Ogilvy has a high ball flight and can stop any shot on those greens. Casey fared well last year and has terrific course management. It'll also be great to see Greg Norman back in the field. Due to his honeymoon finish at Royal Birkdale, The Shark played himself back into the Masters field for the first time since 2002. He probably doesn't stand a chance but he, along with Freddie Couples will be the fan favorites. Let's hope those 2 can make a little bit of noise. It was only 3 years ago that Couples was in the final pairing with Mickelson.

Unfortunately a bunch of great players won't be making the trip to Augusta because of the rankings system. Davis Love III got the shaft because he fell out of the top 50 as well as a bunch of other great players. Because The Masters invites past champions back forever it knocks some well deserving golfers out of the tournament. About 70% of the field really shouldn't be there and have no chance to even be competetive. The cut line is whoever is within 10 strokes of the lead but because these guys play so bad, the last 2 rounds usually have only a handful of players left. I'm not knocking them at all but should Gary Player and Fuzzy Zoeller really be playing over J.B. Holmes and DL3?

But I guess that's part of the tradition that makes The Masters what it is. Hopefully we'll get back to the real tradition that the final round begins on the back nine on Sunday. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the greatest golf tournament ever. The only Major that's played at the same place every year. It's time for a trip to Augusta, Georgia. It's time for THE MASTERS!