Tournament Preview - The Masters

Tournament Preview - The Masters

Hello friends,

The best week of the year is here.  Masters week. A quick story about Augusta National before diving in.  A few years ago, I was playing my club's member-guest and a guest was a member at Winged Foot.  He was saying some stories about his buddies at Winged Foot were also members at Augusta (and Cypress Point).  Supposedly, according to this guest, Augusta membership dues and fees are very minimal, strictly due to money brought in by the Masters and that it's one of the least expensive top clubs in the world.  Must be nice.

Anyways, enough about me and my rambling.  Tiger is back.  LIV golfers are back.  Jon Rahm, Rory, and Scottie are all in top form.  Only thing that isn't working out is the weather.  Rain is coming and sticking around for the weekend.  As they say, you can't always get what you want.  Hopefully, rain doesn't force more than 18 holes per day for Tiger specifically. 

Last time it was super wet, Dustin Johnson shot 20-under to win.  Could very well take a score like that this week to get it done.  

So much has happened from Monday through today.  Practice rounds and the par 3 contest.  OH, and the press conferences.  Man, where to start.1. Tiger is against having non-cut events, at least at the Genesis. 2. Tiger also made it know he is FOR the rollback of the golf ball.3. Tom Kim played a practice round with Tiger, Rory, and Fred Couples. 4. But, it was originally posted that Bryson was playing in that round instead of Rory.  5. Rory and Brooks went out for a practice round, also. 6. The Champions Dinner happened and apparently Phil was being weird.7. Tom Hoge won the Par 3 contest today. 

Tee times start tomorrow at 8:00am EST tomorrow.  Here we go!

Weather

So much rain in the forecast.  And, cooler temperatures than earlier this week.  Could make for an interesting few days, and potentially even a Monday finish?  Fingers crossed the rounds aren't super delayed.

The tournament socials can be found here for Twitter, Instagram, and their own website. 

• ESPN starting at 3:00pm EST on Thursday and Friday

• ESPN Plus starting at 8:45am EST with features groups and specific holes

• Masters.com and Masters app starting at 9:15am EST Thursday and Friday and 10:15am EST on Saturday and Sunday

• CBS starting at 3:00pm EST on Saturday and 2:00pm EST on Sunday

ESPN will have a lead in show called Welcome to the Masters at 1:00pm EST on Thursday

The full field was announced this weekend and can be found here. 88 players total with every big name player you can think of.  Golfers don't miss majors, much less the Masters, unless it's absolutely necessary.

• Previous Winners in this week's field:

  • Scottie Scheffler - 2022

  • Hideki Matsuyama - 2021

  • Dustin Johnson - 2020

  • Tiger Woods - 2019, 2005, 2002, 2001, 1997

  • Patrick Reed - 2018

  • Sergio Garcia - 2017

  • Danny Willett - 2016

  • Jordan Spieth -2015

  • Bubba Watson - 2014, 2012

  • Adam Scott - 2013

Betting Odds provided by Bovada.lv at this link (not sponsored)Some notable players to consider:

• Scottie Scheffler - +750 - could he go back to back?

• Jon Rahm - +1000 - he has a couple "bad" weeks and people forget he's won 3 times this calendar year.

• Cameron Young - +2800 - how sweet would his first win be at the Masters? I think it happens.

• Augusta National Golf Club... what can be said?

• Private club, of course, and it's not even about how much money you have to be able to join. Very exclusive. No idea what the initiation or annual dues are nor will I ever know.

• Green Jackets are provided to the winners and members have their own green jackets.

  • The tradition started in 1937 as a way for visitors to know who are "reliable sources of information" and for servers to know who would get the check.

• Amen Corner is the most famous stretch of holes, which include 11, 12, and 13.

  • 13 was extended by a good amount making the Par 5 play a bit more like an actual Par 5.

• From everyone who has attended the Masters, the course is significantly hillier than what is seen on TV. Also, there are no weeds, everything is perfect, and the turf is all pretty much carpet.

Notes and News

• If you ever get the chance to attend the Masters, the first comment is a good list of ways to spend your days (reddit)

• New criteria was dropped for qualifying for the 2024 Masters and let's say it doesn't help being on the LIV Golf tour (twitter)

• Remember the non-pro golfer Scott Stallings that got invited to the Masters? Well, the pro golf Scott Stallings gave him a pretty cool gift (twitter)

• The longest driver in the tournament is a 19-year old amateur (twitter)

• DP World Tour and LIV have an update in their legal battle and not good for LIV (twitter)

• Secret food to order at Augusta (twitter)

• Harold Varner III throws some shade at his LIV counterparts (article)

Twitter Roundup

May your rounds be filled with #oneputts.