Thursday, April 7, 2022

The Masters: First Round

Here's the top ten after the first round of the 2022 Masters:

1.  S. Im (KOR):  -5 (67)

2.  C. Smith (AUS):  -4 (68)

T3.  D. Willett (ENG):  -3 (69)
T3.  J. Niemann (CHI):  -3 (69)
T3.  S. Scheffler-3 (69)
T3.  D. Johnson-3 (69)

T7.  J. Kokrak-2 (70)
T7.  C. Conners (CAN):  -2 (70)
T7.  P. Cantlay-2 (70)

T10.  H. Higgs-1  (71)
T10.  K. Na-1 (71)
T10.  D. Berger-1 (71)
T10.  T. Woods-1 (71)
T10.  T. Finau-1 (71)
T10.  W. Simpson-1 (71)
T10.  H. Varner III-1 (71)
T10.  W. Zalatoris-1 (71)

55 comments:

  1. Tiger was really close to finishing about 3- or 4-under, and he was really close to finishing about 2- or 3-over.

    So, you know ... wow!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Current leaders:

    T1. Im (KOR): -4 (29 holes)
    T1. Smith (AUS): -4 (18)
    T3. Conners (CAN): -3 (31)
    T3. Niemann (CHI): -3 (18)
    T3. Scheffler: -3 (18)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Tiger tees off at 12:41 P.M. Central Daylight Time.

    ReplyDelete
  4. ESPN's coverage of the Masters starts at 2 PM Central, so in the meantime I'm going to watch the Red Sox and the Yankees on the MLB Network.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Bob Costas is doing the Yankees game! I always like to hear Costas do baseball.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Billy Crystal throws out the first pitch to start the season at Yankee Stadium.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Im bogeys the 12th, and falls back to 3-under. Schwartzel is 3-under for the day through 16, and 3-under for the tournament. Smith hasn't teed off yet; he's alone in first place at 4-under.

    ReplyDelete
  8. The BoSox open the season with a walk and a homer, which is a pretty good start.

    ReplyDelete
  9. T1. Im (KOR): -4 (31 holes)
    T1. Smith (AUS): -4 (18)
    T3. Schwartzel (RSA): -3 (35)
    T3. Conners (CAN): -3 (33)
    T3. Willett (ENG): -3 (19)
    T3. Niemann (CHI): -3 (18)
    T3. Scheffler: -3 (18)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Red Sox lead 3-2 after a long first inning.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Schwartzel finishes with a 3-under par 69 and is 3-under for the tournament. Willett birdies the second hole and moves to 4-under.

    ReplyDelete
  12. T1. Im (KOR): -4 (34 holes)
    T1. Willett (ENG): -4 (23)
    T3. Schwartzel (RSA): -3 (36)
    T3. Smith (AUS): -3 (21)
    T3. Niemann (CHI): -3 (20)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Giancarlo Stanton homers to right, and the Yankees are tied 3-3 with Boston in the bottom of the 4th.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Bob Costas is great. He just had to do the read for Capital One: What's In Your Wallet? And then he said, "A rather personal question, but one that has sustained Capital One for some time."

    ReplyDelete
  15. T1. Schwartzel (RSA): -3 (36 holes)
    T1. Im (KOR): -3 (36)
    T1. Willett (ENG): -3 (26)
    T4. Varner III: -2 (36)
    T4. D. Johnson: -2 (35)
    T4. Gooch: -2 (26)
    T4. Smith (AUS): -2 (24)
    T4. Niemann (CHI): -2 (23)
    T4. Matsuyama (JPN): -2 (22)
    T4. Scheffler: -2 (22)
    T4. Finau: -2 (22)

    ReplyDelete
  16. ESPN's coverage is now underway, so I'm leaving the baseball. Red Sox lead 4-3 in the top of the 6th.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Tiger has bogeyed the 1st, 3d, 4th, and 5th holes. He is now 3 over, and in danger of missing the cut.

    ReplyDelete
  18. This will be a tough afternoon for ESPN, as the conditions are difficult and most of the well-known golfers are out of it.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Actually, I've talked myself out of the Masters for now. I'm going back to Yankee Stadium.

    ReplyDelete
  20. The Phillies are opening their season at home against the Swingin' A's. That's not something you see every day.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I wonder if anyone is Philadelphia is still really mad about the A's leaving and superjazzed to get their revenge tonight.

      Here's Oakland's announced batting order:

      1. Tony Kemp, second baseman
      2. Billy McKinney, designated hitter
      3. Sean Murphy, catcher
      4. Chad Pinder, left fielder
      5. Seth Brown, first baseman
      6. Elvis Andrus, shortstop
      7. Kevin Smith, third baseman
      8. Stephen Piscotty, right fielder
      9. Cristian Pache, center fielder

      Oakland’s starting pitcher is right-hander Frankie Montas, which, of course, depends on his not being traded before first pitch. This is a legitimate possibility. The A's traded a pitcher the other day to the Padres just a few hours before a exhibition game with San Diego, so then that guy was the starting pitcher against Oakland.

      Delete
  21. Dustin Johnson finishes with a 73. He is 2-under for the tournament and tied with Varner for low American.

    ReplyDelete
  22. The Yankees and Red Sox are tied 5-all in the 11th, but I'm no longer watching because I won't watch any game once the ghost runners come in.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Meanwhile, an American has taken over first place at the Masters:

    1. Scheffler: -4 (27 holes)
    T2. Schwartzel (RSA): -3 (36)
    T2. Im (KOR): -3 (36)
    T4. Varner III: -2 (36)
    T4. D. Johnson: -2 (36)
    T4. Lowry (IRL): -2 (31)
    T4. Niemann (CHI): -2 (29)
    T4. Matsuyama (JPN): -2 (28)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. At first glance, that leaderboard isn't very impressive, but Schwartzel, Johnson, and Matsuyama are all former winners.

      Delete
    2. And Scheffler is the number-1 player in the world right now.

      Delete
    3. Here's the current top 10 in the World Golf Ranking:

      1. Scott Scheffler
      2. Jon Rahm (ESP)
      3. Collin Morikawa
      4. Viktor Hovland (NOR)
      5. Patrick Cantlay
      6. Cameron Smith (AUS)
      7. Justin Thomas
      8. Dustin Johnson
      9. Rory McIlroy (NIR)
      10. Xander Schauffele

      Delete
  24. Lots of big names are out of it: Justin Rose is 8 over after 36 holes. Koepka and Spieth are 6 over after 36. DeChambeau is 9 over after 28.

    Others are almost out of it. Bubba Watson, Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia, Jon Rahm, and Rory McIlroy are all 2 over after 36 holes.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Yankees drive in their ghost runner in the bottom of the 11th to win 6-5.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Tiger birdied the 7th and 10th to get back to 1 over, but then he bogeyed the 11th and 12th to fall back to 3 over. Right now anyone who's better than 5 over is projected to make the cut.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Scheffler misses the green at 11 but gets up and down to save par. He stays at 4 under and walks off the green with a big grin on his face, as he should.

    ReplyDelete
  28. And now Scheffler rolls in a birdie putt on the dangerous 12th hole, and moves to 5-under par. He has a two-shot lead.

    ReplyDelete
  29. 1. Scheffler: -5 (30 holes)
    T2. Schwartzel (RSA): -3 (36)
    T2. Im (KOR): -3 (36)
    T2. Lowry (IRL): -3 (33)
    T2. Niemann (CHI): -3 (30)

    ReplyDelete
  30. Tiger birdies the 13th hole and moves back to 2 over.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Tiger birdies the 14th hole and moves back to 1 over. On the back nine so far, Tiger has gone birdie, bogey, bogey, birdie, birdie.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Scheffler is 25 years old. He was born in New Jersey but grew up in Dallas, and played golf for the University of Texas. Just as his PGA career was getting started, the world was all shut down for COVID. But he was ready when things got going again. He finished in the top 10 in last year's PGA, U.S. Open, and British Open. And this year, he's already won the Phoenix Open, the Arnold Palmer Invitational, and the World Match Play title. So while he hasn't gotten much attention in the HP, he clearly has great potential.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Scheffler birdies the 13th hole and moves to 6-under. He now has a three-shot lead on the field.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Justin Thomas birdies the 14th and moves to 1 over.

    ReplyDelete
  35. 1. Scheffler: -6 (31 holes)
    T2. Schwartzel (RSA): -3 (36)
    T2. Im (KOR): -3 (36)
    T2. Lowry (IRL): -3 (35)
    T2. Niemann (CHI): -3 (32)

    ReplyDelete
  36. Tiger pars the 15th to remain at 1 over.

    ReplyDelete
  37. After he won the 2008 U.S. Open, Tiger had to leave the tour due to an injury. That was the beginning of his serious health problems, which have haunted him ever since. Even at the U.S. Open in 2008, he was plainly injured. So if we counted only tournaments won by Tiger after the 2007 season -- his last full season before the injury -- what did he do?

    21 PGA victories
    2 Majors (the 2008 U.S. Open and the 2019 Masters)
    3 World Golf Championship titles

    That's an amazing career in and of itself. To put it in perspective, consider that Davis Love III had 21 PGA wins and 1 major in his career. So Tiger Woods -- since 2007 and mostly while being injured -- did better than Davis Love III for his entire career. That's how good Tiger was.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Matsuyama birdies 15 to move to 3-under. This leaderboard, like most leaderboards at the Masters, is becoming more impressive as time moves on.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Thomas birdies the 15th hole to move to even par for the tournament.

    ReplyDelete
  40. Thomas is rolling now. His tee shot on the par-3 16th rolls to within about a foot of the hole.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Thomas taps in his third birdie in a row. He's now 1-under for the tournament with two holes left in his round.

    ReplyDelete
  42. Scheffler birdies the 15th and 16th holes to move to 8 under par. He now has a five shot lead.

    ReplyDelete
  43. Tiger shoots a 74 to make the cut at 1 over par. He is tied for 19th place, which is an extraordinary performance for someone who hadn't played a tournament in over a year.

    ReplyDelete
  44. Scheffler's drive on 18 goes into the woods, but his second shot reaches the green. On a day where almost everyone has struggled, he's working on a 67.

    ReplyDelete
  45. Speaking of which, Justin Thomas -- who shot a 76 yesterday -- shoots a 67 today. He's 1-under par for the tournament.

    ReplyDelete
  46. Scheffler pars the last. He goes out in 35, and comes home in 32, for a 67 that gives him a five-shot lead. That's a type of old-school dominance we haven't seen in a while. It will be interesting to see how he handles the next two days.

    ReplyDelete
  47. I'm listening to "A's Cast," and they are getting ready to have on Dwayne Murphy! This is a clear sign that the A's are going to be surprisingly fantastic this season.

    ReplyDelete