After two days of challenging winds, the weather looks perfect for Sunday. Scheffler and Morikawa have just teed off. I'm going with the Master Radio broadcast, so I'm going to be delayed by about a minute or two.
1. S. Scheffler: -7 (54 holes)
2. C. Morikawa: -6 (54)
3. M. Homa: -5 (55)
4. L. Aberg (SWE): -4 (55)
T5. C. Smith (AUS): -3 (57)
T5. X. Schauffle: -3 (56)
The Masters is the last really big sporting event on the Southern calendar until football season, as it's about time for everyone to start working in the yard and going down to the lake. Meanwhile, UK will be introducing its new men's basketball coach at Rupp Arena this afternoon, and some folks will be very excited about that.
Now of course, we will keep an eye on college baseball, the NBA, the other golf majors, and the Olympics. But honestly, this is the last really big sports Sunday for almost five months, and I hope everyone enjoys it.
Ludvig Aberg and Max Homa both birdie the second hole:
ReplyDelete1. S. Scheffler: -7 (55 holes)
T2. M. Homa: -6 (56)
T2. C. Morikawa: -6 (55)
4. L. Aberg (SWE): -5 (56)
Just a reminder that next season, there will be five basketball coaches in the SEC who have taken a team to the Final Four and none of them will be at Kentucky. But at least Rick Pitino is happy.
ReplyDeleteAnd Matt Jones. He's also happy.
DeleteAnd Tennessee fans. Well, they aren't happy -- they're ecstatic.
DeleteBrooks Koepka finishes the tournament at 9 over par. He was never in this tournament.
ReplyDeleteWith six games left in the season, the top of the English Premier League looks like this:
ReplyDelete1. Man City: 22-3-7 (73 points)
2. Arsenal: 22-5-5 (71 points) (goal differential of 49)
3. Liverpool: 21-3-8 (71 points) (goal differential of 41)
Scheffler birdies the 3d hole:
ReplyDelete1. S. Scheffler: -8 (57 holes)
T2. M. Homa: -6 (58)
T2. C. Morikawa: -6 (57)
4. L. Aberg (SWE): -5 (58)
Scheffler drives over the green at the par-3 fourth.
ReplyDeleteScheffler is 27 years old. He has won eight times on the PGA Tour. His only major title is the 2022 Masters.
ReplyDeleteMorikawa is also 27 years old. He has won six times on the PGA Tour. His major titles are the 2020 PGA Championship and the 2021 British Open Championship.
ReplyDeleteScheffler cannot get up and down, and he bogeys the fourth.
ReplyDelete1. S. Scheffler: -7 (58 holes)
T2. M. Homa: -6 (59)
T2. C. Morikawa: -6 (58)
4. L. Aberg (SWE): -5 (58)
Brooks Koepka, Jordan Spieth, and Justin Thomas all played poorly this weekend, so if Scheffler or Morikawa can win this tournament, they will be seed as the best in the world -- at least until we get to the PGA Tournament next month.
ReplyDeleteI really believe sports is becoming more popular. The NCAA Women's Tournament had record ratings, and Caitlin Clark was on Saturday Night Live last night. The Men's Tournament drew over 74,000 people to the semi-finals. The crowds in Augusta are enormous. And thousands of people are turning out in Lexington to see Mark Pope. I'm starting to believe that there are kids out there will who remember the 20's the way I remember the 70's.
ReplyDelete1. S. Scheffler: -7 (59 holes)
ReplyDeleteT2. M. Homa: -6 (60)
T2. C. Morikawa: -6 (59)
4. L. Aberg (SWE): -5 (60)
Scheffler and Morikawa just miss birdie putts on six, and both settle for pars.
ReplyDeleteScheffler bogeys the 7th, and falls into a three-way tie for the lead with Homa and Morikawa.
ReplyDeleteT1. M. Homa: -6 (62 holes)
ReplyDeleteT1. L. Aberg (SWE): -6 (62)
T1. S. Scheffler: -6 (61)
T1. C. Morikawa: -6 (61)
There are at least 15,000 people at Rupp to see Mark Pope, with more coming in.
ReplyDeleteScheffler has a 12-footer for birdie on 8. He nails it!
ReplyDeleteNow Morikawa has a 4-footer for birdie, after a great pitch. He also makes it.
That was a great and interesting hole for the lead group. I am watching with my father-in-law, which is fantastic.
DeleteT1. S. Scheffler: -7 (62 holes)
ReplyDeleteT1. C. Morikawa: - 7 (62)
T3. M. Homa: -6 (62)
T3. L. Aberg (SWE): -6 (62)
Scheffler played for the University of Texas.
ReplyDeleteMorikawa played for the University of California (Berkeley)
Homa played for the University of California (Berkeley)
Aberg played for Texas Tech University
Aberg makes a huge putt (36 feet!) to birdie the 9th hole. He goes out in 33, and he is tied for the lead at 7 under.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful putt!
DeleteWikipedia: "The character Å (å) is derived from an A with a ring. It is a distinct letter in the Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, Walloon, and Chamorro alphabets. For example, the 29-letter Swedish alphabet begins with the basic 26 Latin letters and ends with the three letters Å, Ä, and Ö."
ReplyDeleteAdam Scott's career has never recovered from our merciless derision of his putter several years ago.
ReplyDeleteHoma makes par at 9. He does out in 35, and trails the leaders by one shot.
ReplyDeleteMy mother-in-law is making popcorn!
ReplyDeleteT1. L. Aberg (SWE): -7 (63 holes)
ReplyDeleteT1. S. Scheffler: -7 (62)
T1. C. Morikawa: -7 (62)
T4. M. Homa: -6 (63)
One of the guys on Masters Radio picked Aberg to win the Masters, and he is pretty excited right now.
Mike Tirico is now doing play-by-play of how Aberg lost his snack will slapping hands with the patrons. Mike Tirico is the best.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, Morikawa is in the greenside bunker on 9.
What was the snack? Was a candy bar or a hot dog or what? We couldn't tell. If it was a candy bar, he should've picked that thing up and eaten it. I also would've picked up an eaten the hot dog, but I think I would've been in the minority on that one.
DeleteLooked like one of those healthy snack bars.
DeleteOh, of course--that's a good guess.
DeleteRupp Arena is completely full for the press conference.
ReplyDeleteSo, literally everyone--literally everyone of about a half dozen people--that I've talked to in Madisonville about the hire in the last 48 hours has made the turn from whatever they felt about the hiring process, John Calipari's leaving, Scott Drew, Billy Donovan, Mitch Barnhart, everything to moving on to being excited and hopeful about Mark Pope and the program. That's where I am, too: Go, Big Blue.
DeleteScheffler!
ReplyDeleteScheffler hits a perfect pitch to the 9th green, and it almost ROLLS IN! He will have a tap-in birdie.
ReplyDeleteScheffler makes the tap-in. He goes out in 35, and he leads by one shot.
ReplyDeleteOh, no, Morikawa!
ReplyDeleteMorikawa may have just lost the tournament. His bunker shot does not leave the bunker, and then his second bunker shot rolls about 20 feet past the hole.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad to learn today that Morikawa married the girlfriend who played so prominently in the aftermath of his coming-out party at the 2020 PGA. I hope they are very happy together, but, yes, it will be remarkable if he didn't just lose the tournament.
DeleteMorikawa misses the bogey putt and takes a double bogey. He is out in 37.
ReplyDelete1. S. Scheffler: -8 (63 holes)
ReplyDelete2. L. Aberg (SWE): -7 (63)
3. M. Homa: -6 (63)
4. C. Morikawa: -5 (63)
I haven't changed my mind about Mark Pope. But I'm glad that folks in Madisonville get seven more months of happiness before we play Duke.
ReplyDeleteHome birdies the 10th hole. Aberg pars it.
ReplyDelete1. S. Scheffler: -8 (63 holes)
ReplyDeleteT2. M. Homa: -7 (64)
T2. L. Aberg: -7 (64)
4. C. Morikawa: -5 (63)
Scheffler birdies the 10th hole with a 9 foot putt. He now has a two-shot lead.
ReplyDeleteI feel like a fool for getting excited about the A's for a few moments this season.
ReplyDeleteOK, until GoHeath is back into commission, ...
ReplyDelete1. S. Scheffler: -9 (64 holes)
T2. M. Homa: -7 (64)
T2. L. Aberg: -7 (64)
4. C. Morikawa: -5 (64)
Åberg, I meant.
DeleteOne of the CBS commentators just said that one of the Masters golfers--probably Max Homa, given that he was putting--said this week, "When I catch myself worrying about what could go wrong, I let myself dream about what could go right." That's not a bad strategy.
ReplyDeleteÅberg doubles No. 11; Homa pars.
Morikawa's in the water on 11; Schefffler--after birdies on 8, 9 and 10--lands his approach just off the green but way clear of the water. He's going into the four corners.
The worst part of watching golf for me is the superself-assured tone of all the automobile and technology commercials. They make me want to puke.
ReplyDeleteWe come back from commercial to find Max Homa looking for his ball in some kind of ivy or vine ground covering on a slope above a trap, and he and his helpers better look out for snakes and, when they get back to their hotels tonight, check for ticks.
ReplyDeleteScottie Scheffler's afternoon has gotten a lot less stressful over the last 30 minutes.
Three holes ago, Morikawa zoomed in one of the best approach shots you're ever going to see and then put in a four-foot putt to break a four-way tie for first place and take aim on the third major victory of his young career. Now he just had his second double bogey since then, and he's almost fallen off the little top-five leaderboard that CBS superimposes on the screen.
ReplyDelete1. S. Scheffler: -8 (65 holes)
ReplyDeleteT2. M. Homa: -5 (66)
T2. L. Åberg: -5 (66)
4. M. Fleetwood: -4 (68)
5. C. Morikawa: -3 (65)
So Scheffler bogies No. 11 and increases his lead to three strokes.
Scheffler hits his tee shot on 12 to the middle of the green, which is exactly what you should do.
ReplyDeleteI really, really love sports.
ReplyDeleteOh, good! Welcome back, GoHeath.
ReplyDeleteMy posting will still be limited, and you should still take the lead.
ReplyDeleteGiven Cal's passion for revenge, I'm really surprised everyone at UK decided to take shots at him.
ReplyDeleteGiven that it's just the wrong way to act, I'm surprised, too.
DeleteIn baseball, A & M crushes Vandy in College Station: 15-0, 9-0, and 12-6. This will not be the Dores' year.
ReplyDeleteOn No. 13, Åberg has a 10- or 12-foot putt for eagle that would pull him back within one of the lead but misses just left. He gets the birdie, though, and thankfully the Masters is getting interesting enough again to get me to quit checking the situation with the A's so often.
ReplyDeleteIt has turned into a good walk spoiled for Morikawa.
ReplyDeleteOh, good, Morikawa gets a birdie at No. 13.
ReplyDeleteÅberg throws a lengthy pitch into No. 14 that goes past the hole and then roles with a big right arc back to within about six feet of the cup. Then he eats a sandwich, having lost his granola bar or whatever a few holes ago.
Scheffler calmly rolls in a short birdie to keep things under control.
1. S. Scheffler: -9 (67 holes)
ReplyDelete2. L. Aberg (SWE): -7 (68)
1. S. Scheffler: -9 (67 holes)
ReplyDelete2. L. Åberg: -7 (68)
3. M. Homa: -5 (68)
T5. C. Morikawa: -4 (67)
T5. M. Fleetwood: -4 (71)
Sorry ... Fleetwood and Morikawa were T4 here, not T5, of course.
DeleteBen Stiller, whom I like a good bit, has a commercial, but it's for AT&T, and ... puke.
ReplyDeleteJon Hamm, whom I like a good bit, has a commercial, but it's for Mercedes, and ... puke.
Come on, A's!
ReplyDeleteOn No. 14, Morikawa's pitch comes up short and rolls miles and miles down back the green and away from the hole. Then Scheffler plays basically the same beautiful shot that Åberg did on this same hole 15 minutes ago or so, except his ball rolls a lot closer to the hole than Åberg's did.
ReplyDeleteI thought Jim Nantz retired.
ReplyDeleteWhen I'm home, I pretty much always watch sports on mute. At my father-in-law's house, it's turned up pretty much as high as the TV will go. I'm going to be exhausted by the time this thing is over. But I do love watching sports with my father-in-law. He watches most all of them, almost never with a particular rooting interest (unless UK"s on).
ReplyDeleteIt's almost certainly not going to be enough, but Morikawa has hit a couple of really nice putts in the last couple holes to stabilize his round.
ReplyDeleteScheffler ... another birdie.
1. S. Scheffler: -10 (68 holes)
ReplyDelete2. L. Åberg: -7 (68)
3. M. Homa: -5 (68)
T4. C. Morikawa: -4 (68)
T4. M. Fleetwood: -4 (71)
Four holes to go, three stroke lead for Scheffler ...
ReplyDeleteWAIT! A'S!!!!!
Same old Nats.
ReplyDeleteSuch a great, great lyric by Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen ...
ReplyDeleteFour!
Straight down the middle
It went straight down the middle
Then it started to hook just a wee, wee bit
That's when my caddie lost sight of it
That little white pellet has never been found to this day
But it went straight down the middle like they say
Whack down the fairway
It went smack down the fairway
Then it started to slice just a smidge off line
It headed for two then it bounced off nine
My caddie says, "Long as you're still in the state, you're okay"
Yes, it went straight down the middle, quite a ways
The sun was never brighter
The greens were never greener
And I was never keener to play
I heard it came down the middle
It went zing down the middle
Oh, the life of a golfer is not all gloom
There's always the lies in the locker room
And I'm in my glory when wrapped in a towel, I say
That it went straight down the middle today
Oh, the life of a golfer is not all gloom
Though they charge you for listening in the locker room
But I'm in my glory when wrapped in a towel, I say
That it went straight down the middle
Where it wound up is a riddle
But it went straight down the middle far away
Hmmm ... Scheffler's in sand on No. 15 ...
ReplyDeleteIBM ... puke.
ReplyDeleteAT&T ... puke.
We come back from the quit-making-me-think-about-Monday-morning commercials to see Morikawa again digging out of a hole on 15 and now Scheffler dealing with the sand. He's fine.
1. S. Scheffler: -10 (69 holes)
ReplyDelete2. L. Åberg: -7 (70)
T3. C. Morikawa: -5 (69)
T3. M. Homa: -5 (70)
T4. M. Fleetwood: -4 (72)
It's always so sad in a major when the bottom of the superimposed scoreboard starts to include golfers whose tournaments are finished.
Nantz points out that all five of these guys at the top of the leaderboard play on the PGA Tour. That was probably for the Bushes and to stick it to Trump and the Saudis.
ReplyDeleteEverything has been hard for Morikawa for the last little while, and he has scrambled and scambled to get himself on the fringe of position to be able to take advantage of a total Scheffler collapse, of which there are no signs. On the par-3 No. 16, Morikawa sends his ball to a ridge high of the hole, and it never comes off and toward the hole. He''ll have 30 or 40 feet for birdie. Scheffler, meanwhile, is safely in the middle of the green, about 10 feet from the hole.
ReplyDeleteYou know, it was easy to forget how intense that 1995-96 season was, and how we waited for five months for the chance to play UMass again in the Final Four after they had beaten UK back in November. For five months, Calipari had the edge on Kentucky, and the pressure on that team to beat UMass in the Final Four is the most pressure that any UK team has faced since 1978. And they did it. Of course, most of us forgot about that rivalry with Cal when he took over at UK. But I have a feeling that those folks who played on the 1996 team never forgot it.
ReplyDeleteIt's cool how they all rode in on the bus into Rupp today.
DeleteNo. But young guys like the beards these days.
ReplyDeleteNo, that's what I thought. When he won the 2022 Masters, Scheffler had a shadow but not the beard he now has.
ReplyDeleteMy gosh, Scheffler is just absolutely cruising ... three birdies in the last four holes.
ReplyDelete1. S. Scheffler: -11 (70 holes)
ReplyDelete2. L. Åberg: -7 (70)
T3. C. Morikawa: -5 (70)
T3. M. Homa: -5 (70)
T4. M. Fleetwood: -4 (72)
The Verne Lundquist love is thick and sweet, and that makes me happy.
ReplyDeleteA's.
ReplyDelete"Thank you for the wonderful soundtrack for all of our lives," Nantz tells Verne. And I think Verne said something back, but CBS drowned it out with golf music, and now ... puke ... technology and cars.
ReplyDeleteI like my beard. I think it looks great!
ReplyDeleteSomebody just said that Scheffler says he likes major tournaments because he likes being challenged. You know, I totally believe that's true about Scottie Scheffler and a lot of people, but I can honestly say that I wouldn't mind never being challenged again in my life.
ReplyDelete1. S. Scheffler: -11 (71 holes)
ReplyDelete2. L. Åberg: -7 (71)
T3. C. Morikawa: -5 (70)
T4. M. Homa: -4 (71)
T4. M. Fleetwood: -4 (72)
"Mason James Miller (born August 24, 1998) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2023."
ReplyDeleteMiller was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the third round of the 2021 Major League Baseball draft. ...
ReplyDeleteAfter one start in Triple-A, on April 18, 2023, the Athletics announced that Miller would be promoted to the major leagues for the first time. Miller made his debut a day later, in a game against the Chicago Cubs. Miller pitched 4 1⁄3 innings, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits, a walk, and 5 strikeouts. He also became the 10th starting pitcher since the debut of Statcast to throw 15 pitches above 100 miles per hour (160 km/h). After a May 8 start against the Kansas City Royals, it was reported that Miller was dealing with elbow tightness. He was later diagnosed with a mild sprain of the ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing elbow and promptly shut down from throwing. On June 30, he was transferred to the 60-day injured list. On September 6, Miller was activated from the injured list, with manager Mark Kotsay noting that Miller would be slated for a relief role.
In an effort to maintain Miller's health, the A's announced that Miller would be a reliever during the 2024 season. Beginning the season as the team's closer, Miller earned his first career save in a 4-3 win at Texas on April 9.
Now second!
ReplyDeleteSorry. Masters is still going on, too. Scheffler's going to win.
ReplyDeleteMorikawa breathes an obvious sigh of relief as his eight-footer for bogey piddles in on No. 18. That'll leave him in a tie for third after a ponderous back nine.
ReplyDeleteScheffler then walks up, taps in his three-footer for par and finally erupts after running away from the field on Sunday's back nine.
ReplyDelete