Thursday, April 6, 2023

The Masters, Day 1

Here are the last 10 Masters winners:

2022:  Scottie Scheffler
2021:  Hideki Matsuyama (JPN)
2020:  Dustin Johnson
2019:  Tiger Woods (5th Green Jacket)
2018:  Patrick Reed
2017:  Sergio Garcia (ESP)
2016:  Danny Willett (ENG)
2015:  Jordan Spieth
2014:  Bubba Watson (2d Green Jacket)
2013:  Adam Scott (AUS)

Here is the current Top Ten in the Official World Golf Rankings.  (I have no idea how the OWGR deals with LIV Golf, and I truly don't care):

1.  Scottie Scheffler
2.  Rory McIlroy (NIR)
3.  Jon Rahm (ESP)
4.  Patrick Cantlay
5.  Max Homa
6.  Cameron Smith (AUS)
7.  Xander Schauffele
8.  Will Zalatoris
9.  Viktor Hovland (NOR)
10.  Justin Thomas

Collin Morikawa is number 12; Jordan Spieth is number 16.

That's the preview.  Any further thoughts will go into the comments.

36 comments:

  1. Current standings:

    1. V. Hovland (NOR); -4 (8 holes)
    2. S. Lowry (IRL): -3 (10)
    T3. A. Meronk (POL): -2 (14)
    T3. P. Reed: -2 (10)
    T3. A. Scott (AUS): -2 (7)
    T3. C. Young: -2 (6)

    Tiger is 3 over through 7. Bryson DeChambeau is 2 over through 4. A lot of big names still haven't teed off.

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  2. Viktor Hovland birdies the 9th hole. He's out in 31, and is 5-under through 10 holes. Jon Rahm eagles the 8th, and goes out in 3-under par 33.

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  3. Hovland birdies the difficult 11th hole and moves to 6 under par with two par 5's left to play. He's three strokes clear of the field.

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  4. Hovland is 25 years old. He won the U.S. Amateur in 2018. Since turning pro, he has three wins on the PGA Tour and two wins on the European Tour.

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  5. 1. V. Hovland (NOR): -6 (12 holes)
    T2. X. Schauffele: -3 (12)
    T2. J. Rahm (ESP): -3 (11)
    T2. C. Young: -3 (11)

    And then a seven-way tie at 2-under that includes Patrick Reed, Shawn Lowry, Adam Scott, Hideki Matsuyama, and Brooks Koepka.

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  6. Hovland birdies the par-5 13th, and moves to 7 under par. He now has a four-shot lead over Lowry, Schauffele, Rahm, and Koepka.

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  7. In the history of the Masters, the course record is 63 (9 under par). Hovland has a great chance to match (or even break) that record today.

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  8. In 1996, Greg Norman opened with a 63 -- the last time that score was posted. After three rounds he had a six-shot lead. And then, on the last day, he shot a 78. Nick Faldo shot a 67, and beat Norman by five shots. Norman never again came that close to winning the Masters.

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    Replies
    1. I actually remember tuning in late to the final-round coverage. The first image I saw was of Faldo standing calmly at his bag with his caddy, waiting for Norman to take some fairway shot, and it was evident from Faldo's posture and the announcers' tone of voice that something had changed dramatically.

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  9. Xavier Schauffele birdies 14 and moves to 4 under, three shots behind Hovland. Koepka is 4 under through 9, having gone out in only 32 shots.

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  10. And now Rahm birdies the 13th, and he moves to 4 under.

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  11. It's hard to remember a more dramatic opening day. It almost feels like Sunday, the way the leaderboard keeps changing:

    1. V. Hovland (NOR): -7 (18 holes)
    2. J. Rahm (ESP): -6 (17)
    T3. A. Scott (AUS): -5 (17)
    T3. C. Young: -5 (17)
    T3. B. Koepka: -5 (12)

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  12. Rahm birdies the last hole and matches Hovland's 65 with a 65 of his own. Young finishes with a 67. Lowry, Schauffele, and Scott all finish with 68's.

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  13. Koepka bogeyed 13, but he birdies 15 to move back to 5 under. We are now getting light rain.

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  14. Scottie Scheffler goes out in 33, and is 3-under through 9.

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  15. T1. V. Hovland (NOR): -7 (18 holes)
    T1. J. Rahm (ESP): -7 (18)
    3. B. Koepka: -6 (17)
    4. C. Young: -5 (18)
    Six-way tie at 4 under, including Jordan Spieth, who just finished the 9th hole.

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  16. Tiger shot a 2-over par 74, as did Sergio.

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  17. And now Koepka has posted a 65, so we have a three-way tie at the top. What a day!

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  18. T1. V. Hovland (NOR): -7 (18 holes)
    T1. J. Rahm (ESP): -7 (18)
    T1. B. Koepka: -7 (18)
    4. C. Young: - 5 (18)
    Seven-way tie at 4-under, which no longer includes Spieth, who is at 3 under through 11.

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  19. Justin Thomas shot a 2-under 70. Matsuyama shot a 1-under 71. Adam Scott and Xander Schauffele both shot 4-under 68's.

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  20. So far, Shawn Lowry, Xander Schauffele, Adam Scott, and Gary Woodland are all in the clubhouse at 4 under.

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  21. The rain, such as it was, stopped a while ago.

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  22. Tom Kim, who I've never seen before, eagles the 13th to move to 4 under. Jason Day, who appears to have recovered his form, rolls in a long birdie on 17 to move to 5 under.

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  23. On 13, Jordan Spieth hits his drive into the pine straw, and then knocks his next shot into the creek in front of the green. He's going in the wrong direction.

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  24. Spieth double-bogeys the 13th hole, which is probably the easiest hole on the course. After playing the first nine holes in 4-under, he is only 1-under going to 14.

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  25. Day finishes with a 67.

    T1. V. Hovland (NOR): -7 (18)
    T1. J. Rahm (ESP): -7 (18)
    T1. B. Koepka: -7 (18)
    T4. C. Young: -5 (18)
    T4. J. Day (AUS): -5 (18)

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  26. Scottie Scheffler is 3-under coming to the par-5 15th. His second shot runs through the green and down the hole behind the green, but then he makes an excellent pitch to set up a short birdie putt.

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  27. Scheffler birdies 15, and moves into the logjam at 4 under par.

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  28. Spieth, in the last group of the day, comes to the 18th hole at 3 under par. He drives into a bunker, and puts his second shot at the front of the green.

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  29. Spieth is playing with Tony Finau, who is also 3 under.

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  30. Finau pars 18, and finishes with a 69.

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  31. Three under is not enough to crack the top 10 today.

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  32. Spieth pars 18. He finishes with a 69, and that's all for today.

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