Wednesday, April 7, 2021

Masters Preview

The Masters starts tomorrow.  Here are the last ten winners of the Masters:

2011:  Charl Schwartzel (RSA)
2012:  Bubba Watson
2013:  Adam Scott (AUS)
2014:  Bubba Watson
2015:  Jordan Spieth
2016:  Danny Willett (ENG)
2017:  Sergio Garcia (ESP)
2018:  Patrick Reed
2019:  Tiger Woods
2020:  Dustin Johnson

Here are the top 10 golfers in the world, according to the Official World Golf Ranking:

1.  Dustin Johnson
2.  Justin Thomas
3.  Jon Rahm (ESP)
4.  Collin Morikawa
5.  Bryson DeChambeau
6.  Xander Schauffele
7.  Patrick Reed
8.  Tyrrell Hatton (ENG)
9.  Webb Simpson
10.  Patrick Cantlay

Brooks Koepka is number 11; Jordan Spieth is number 38.

22 comments:

  1. Four-way tie for the lead:

    1. H. Matsuyama (JPN): -3 (12 holes)
    1. C. Bezuidenhout (RSA): -3 (11)
    1. P. Casey (ENG): -3 (8)
    1. M. Leishman (AUS): -3 (4)

    DeChambeau, Thomas, and Spieth have yet to tee off.

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  2. Three-way tie for the lead:

    1. H. Matsuyama (JPN): -4 (16 holes)
    1. W. Simpson: -4 (14)
    1. M. Leishman (AUS): -4 (7)

    Brooks Koepka is wearing the most vividly pink hat I've ever seen -- it looks like a highlighter. The hat isn't working, as he is 4 over par through 14 holes.

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  3. Koepka birdies 15 and 16. He and his pink hat finish with a 2-over par 74. Could have been worse.

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  4. Two-way tie for the lead:

    1. B. Harman: -3 (18 holes)
    1. H. Matsuyama (JPN): -3 (18)

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  5. Bubba Watson also shoots a 2-over par 74.

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  6. Spieth was rolling along in good shape -- 1 under after 8 -- when his drive on 9 went into the woods, and his second shot whanged off a tree and went backward. He takes a triple bogey seven and shoots a two-over par 38 on the front nine.

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  7. Webb Simpson is in with a 2-under par 70. As is Patrick Reed.

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  8. Jon Rahm shoots an even-par 72. Sergio Garcia and Rory McIlroy both shoot four-over par 76's. Jason Day shoots a 77.

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  9. Justin Rose birdies the 13th hole, moves to 4-under par, and is now the sole leader at the Masters.

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  10. Justin Thomas goes out with a 3-over par 39. He and Spieth have work to do on the back nine.

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  11. Bubba Watson and Dustin Johnson both shoot 74, and are tied with Koepka.

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  12. Leaderboard:

    1. J. Rose (ENG): -4 (13 holes)
    T2. B. Harman: -3 (18)
    T2. H. Matsuyama: -3 (18)

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  13. Spieth birdies the 10th hole, and moves to 1 over par.

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  14. Rose birdies the 15th hole, and the 16th hole. He is six under par, and he has a three-shot lead in the Masters.

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  15. Justin Rose birdies the 17th hole and moves to 7 under par. He now leads the Masters by four shots.

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  16. Rose has won 1 major championship (the 2013 U.S. Open), 2 World Golf Championships, 1 FedEx Cup championship, 6 other PGA Tournaments, and 8 other tournaments on the European Tour, for a total of 18 victories. He also lost the 2017 Masters in a playoff. He has spent 13 weeks as the number-one golfer in the world.

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  17. Verne Lundquist, one of the great announcers of all time, will turn 81 on July 17. He's largely retired now, but he still covers the 16th hole at the Masters. Just now Tommy Fleetwood made a hole-in-one on 16 -- only the 22d hole-in-one in Masters history. Verne called it, and then there was some discussion of other holes in one that Verne has called. Then there was some back-and-forth with Nick Faldo teasing Verne about how he must hold the record for holes-in-one called, and Verne saying that this was due to age rather than skill. And then, just as that conversation was wrapping up, Verne Lundquist suddenly said: "Gosh, this is fun!" What a great thing to say when you're 80 years old, and you're doing something that you love.

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  18. My rule would be that if you can't say, "Gosh, this is fun!" you should not be covering sports at all. It's supposed to be fun.

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  19. Rose pars the last and finishes with a 7-under par 65. He will start tomorrow with a four-shot lead.

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  20. On the par-5 15th hole, Jordan Spieth chips in from off the green for an eagle! He moves to 1-under par, in a tie for eighth place. So far he is three-over par on the 9th hole, and four under par on the other 14 holes that he has played.

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