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**2018 Masters Tournament Thread**


NolaAuTiger

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12 minutes ago, Barnacle said:

This is really cool. Would love to go with my dad.

Keep trying the ticket lottery.  You may luck up.  We did. 

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55 minutes ago, Barnacle said:

Most of the guys I root for are American, but there are some great international players who I would be happy to see win. It was a lot of fun to see Sergio win last year. Jason Day is one player that comes to mind. Hideki Matsuyama is another. I've always liked Adam Scott.

Let those guys win the smaller tournaments. American golfers need to win the majors. The only foreigner I have ever pulled for is Greg Norman. Kind of like Stenson now. Never could stand Faldo or Colin Montgomery.

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1 minute ago, ArgoEagle said:

Let those guys win the smaller tournaments. American golfers need to win the majors. The only foreigner I have ever pulled for is Greg Norman. Kind of like Stenson now. Never could stand Faldo or Colin Montgomery.

That's an interesting way to think about it, considering how strong American golf is at the moment. It's good for golf when American and international players alike are competitive in major championships. I certainly understand wanting Americans to win, but I'm curious why you think they need to win the majors?

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4 minutes ago, Barnacle said:

That's an interesting way to think about it, considering how strong American golf is at the moment. It's good for golf when American and international players alike are competitive in major championships. I certainly understand wanting Americans to win, but I'm curious why you think they need to win the majors?

Very simple. I am a proud American and want to see Americans win. Like you say; love the competition part of it with other countries, but above all want to see our guys/girls win in the end. That's just me. I know other people think differently and that's fine.

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Just now, ArgoEagle said:

Very simple. I am a proud American and want to see Americans win. Like you say; love the competition part of it with other countries, but above all want to see our guys/girls win in the end. That's just me. I know other people think differently and that's fine.

That's fair. I thought you might have been suggesting that American golf is in a bad state. 

Matt Kuchar is the guy I'm pulling for the most this week.

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@Barnacle who is your outlier this year? There always seems to be a "surprise" in contention on Sunday. I think I've already hinted on this, but I would love to see Ted Potter Jr. contend. I believe his win at PB secured him a spot in the tournament this year. Also, do you see any Champions Tour players making conversation? 

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Just now, NolaAuTiger said:

@Barnacle who is your outlier this year? There always seems to be a "surprise" in contention on Sunday. I think I've already hinted on this, but I would love to see Ted Potter Jr. contend. I believe his win at PB secured him a spot in the tournament this year. Also, do you see any Champions Tour players making conversation? 

Not so much outliers, but as names that are outside the general public's consciousness I would put Alex Noren and Kevin Chappell. Both are playing extremely well right now and aren't being talked about very much. Another player worth mentioning is Tommy Fleetwood. The only thing about Potter Jr. is he's really short off the tee, and Augusta favors long hitters. 

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2 minutes ago, Barnacle said:

Not so much outliers, but as names that are outside the general public's consciousness I would put Alex Noren and Kevin Chappell. Both are playing extremely well right now and aren't being talked about very much. Another player worth mentioning is Tommy Fleetwood. The only thing about Potter Jr. is he's really short off the tee, and Augusta favors long hitters. 

I've always been told that Augusta doesn't favor longer hitters. Granted, you've actually seen the course. I also like Tony Finau as well. He's played some good golf. 

Gosh this is the best week of the year. I'm sure the buzz in the air (and in the spectators themselves :) ) is unparalleled with Tiger being back. 

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1 minute ago, NolaAuTiger said:

I've always been told that Augusta doesn't favor longer hitters. Granted, you've actually seen the course. I also like Tony Finau as well. He's played some good golf. 

Gosh this is the best week of the year. I'm sure the buzz in the air (and in the spectators themselves :) ) is unparalleled with Tiger being back. 

Oh, it absolutely favors the longer hitters. So, greens in regulation are a big deal at Augusta, but in order to score you have to play to the correct side of the pin, correct level, etc. Those greens are diabolical. If you aren't in the correct position, you can get yourself in a lot of trouble with your putter. Longer hitters have a big advantage because they can hit shorter clubs, with a higher angle of approach and a higher spin rate. Basically, they can be more precise in their approach shots, which means they can be more aggressive. There are some places on the course where long hitters can get in trouble - like the pine trees to the right of no. 11 fairway, but in general it rewards longer player who knows where he can miss. 

Take hole number 15, for example. Par 5, 530 yards. So, Sergio hit driver, 8-iron to about 12 feet in the final round of last year's tournament. Someone like Potter won't necessarily have to lay up on a hole like that, but he's likely hitting a long-iron or fairway metal into the green, which requires a great deal more precision. Another example: no. 9. Par 4, 460 yards. Someone like Bubba or Rory could miss the fairway right on no. 9, but because they can hit the ball 330+ yards, they are likely playing a wedge from the rough, which doesn't end up being a very difficult shot for them. Someone like Potter goes right on 9, he's hitting from the trees. So, there's just a lot to take advantage of. 

That doesn't mean shorter players can't win. Zach Johnson is the obvious example. But, people forget how cold and windy the conditions were when Johnson won, which ended up being a huge equalizer. 

Finau hits the ball ridiculously long. I'm really, really excited to watch him play at Augusta. Not expecting much from him though, as he's never played there before.

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4 minutes ago, NolaAuTiger said:

Word is Tiger has been doing great in practice rounds today. Two eagles on back 9

All comes down to the driver for him. The rest of his game is pretty tight. Short game is as good as its ever been.

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Long hitters benefit because of the terrain......the course is far hillier that it appears on TV....at least that is the one thing that surprised me most when I got to see some rounds there a number of years ago. .....some serious hills with pretty big elevation changes...starting with #1.   

I have lost track of the better young players these days but experience at Augusta seems to be important....so I still think when it comes down to Sunday, it's gonna be a lot of guys who have been close in the past who are fighting it out...  

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18 minutes ago, AU64 said:

I have lost track of the better young players these days but experience at Augusta seems to be important....so I still think when it comes down to Sunday, it's gonna be a lot of guys who have been close in the past who are fighting it out...  

Probably a safe assumption...there's a reason why Fred Couples (almost) never misses the cut.

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34 minutes ago, Barnacle said:

Probably a safe assumption...there's a reason why Fred Couples (almost) never misses the cut.

:) Yep...not putting my neck out too far am I  ?  And I still think that Dustin will play 4 rounds of the golf that he is capable of.....some day ...maybe this week. 

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23 hours ago, around4ever said:

Keep trying the ticket lottery.  You may luck up.  We did. 

I got a pair of practice round tickets once. I was going to go with my brother in law (very very good golfer; lives for the sport), but I got called back into work at the last minute. He went by himself and loved it. I think it might have been better that way b/c he was free to move about unencumbered by a newb. 

Great shot of you and your son! A memory for life. 

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3 hours ago, Barnacle said:

Oh, it absolutely favors the longer hitters. So, greens in regulation are a big deal at Augusta, but in order to score you have to play to the correct side of the pin, correct level, etc. Those greens are diabolical. If you aren't in the correct position, you can get yourself in a lot of trouble with your putter. Longer hitters have a big advantage because they can hit shorter clubs, with a higher angle of approach and a higher spin rate. Basically, they can be more precise in their approach shots, which means they can be more aggressive. There are some places on the course where long hitters can get in trouble - like the pine trees to the right of no. 11 fairway, but in general it rewards longer player who knows where he can miss. 

Take hole number 15, for example. Par 5, 530 yards. So, Sergio hit driver, 8-iron to about 12 feet in the final round of last year's tournament. Someone like Potter won't necessarily have to lay up on a hole like that, but he's likely hitting a long-iron or fairway metal into the green, which requires a great deal more precision. Another example: no. 9. Par 4, 460 yards. Someone like Bubba or Rory could miss the fairway right on no. 9, but because they can hit the ball 330+ yards, they are likely playing a wedge from the rough, which doesn't end up being a very difficult shot for them. Someone like Potter goes right on 9, he's hitting from the trees. So, there's just a lot to take advantage of. 

That doesn't mean shorter players can't win. Zach Johnson is the obvious example. But, people forget how cold and windy the conditions were when Johnson won, which ended up being a huge equalizer. 

Finau hits the ball ridiculously long. I'm really, really excited to watch him play at Augusta. Not expecting much from him though, as he's never played there before.

This is so true especially now

20 years ago it favor long hitters but not as much as today. Also a good write up @Barnacle with excellent examples.

 

 

Just a little side story about the Masters..... Bert Yancey was a pro golfer who was OCD about winning The Masters he would study and practice as much as possible on Augusta National it almost drove him crazier then he already was. He had a beautiful swing

"In his 15 years on the tour, he won only 7 tournaments and a total of just under $700,000, but he was almost always in the hunt. His record included two third-place finishes and a fourth at the Masters, a third-place tie at the 1974 United States Open and a number of individual achievements that put him among golf's elite."

https://www.nytimes.com/1994/08/27/obituaries/bert-yancey-56-a-pro-golfer-who-fought-manic-depression.html

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Got to go to the Saturday round in 2002.  That place is beautiful.

As far as the this year, I really want to see Tiger in contention on Sunday.  It's just so much more fun with him around.  A different energy that's hard to explain.

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24 minutes ago, Brad_ATX said:

Got to go to the Saturday round in 2002.  That place is beautiful.

As far as the this year, I really want to see Tiger in contention on Sunday.  It's just so much more fun with him around.  A different energy that's hard to explain.

@NolaAuTiger mentioned it earlier, but Tiger did eagle 13 and 15 during his 9-hole round this morning. Now, that doesn't mean anything, but you've got to shoot well under par on the par 5s to win, so its a good sign. He played with Phil this morning (imagine that), and word has it they teamed up against Thomas Pieters and Fred Couples. Apparently, Tiger and Phil opened up a can of whoop-ass.

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52 minutes ago, augolf1716 said:

This is so true especially now

20 years ago it favor long hitters but not as much as today. Also a good write up @Barnacle with excellent examples.

 

 

Just a little side story about the Masters..... Bert Yancey was a pro golfer who was OCD about winning The Masters he would study and practice as much as possible on Augusta National it almost drove him crazier then he already was. He had a beautiful swing

"In his 15 years on the tour, he won only 7 tournaments and a total of just under $700,000, but he was almost always in the hunt. His record included two third-place finishes and a fourth at the Masters, a third-place tie at the 1974 United States Open and a number of individual achievements that put him among golf's elite."

https://www.nytimes.com/1994/08/27/obituaries/bert-yancey-56-a-pro-golfer-who-fought-manic-depression.html

You recall that after Tiger showed up the Masters folks decided to Tiger-proof the course....stretched it out and then did it again ....and maybe a third time. But, no matter what they did it was not enough.    Ran across this commentary about what they did. .    http://www.badgolfer.com/departments/features/golfer-supremacy-rankings-tiger-proofing-augusta-masters-supreme-snail-fest-6744.htm

 I went 5 years in a row back 1998-2003....until I could not handle the hills well enough to enjoy it.     Not sure what the progression was of lengthening the layout but eventually they seemed to touch all the adjacent property.....golfers got longer too of course....so they just got even with the golfers by messing with the green speed and pin placements.   Still a fantastic venue. 

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7 minutes ago, AU64 said:

You recall that after Tiger showed up the Masters folks decided to Tiger-proof the course....stretched it out and then did it again ....and maybe a third time. But, no matter what they did it was not enough.    Ran across this commentary about what they did. .    http://www.badgolfer.com/departments/features/golfer-supremacy-rankings-tiger-proofing-augusta-masters-supreme-snail-fest-6744.htm

 I went 5 years in a row back 1998-2003....until I could not handle the hills well enough to enjoy it.     Not sure what the progression was of lengthening the layout but eventually they seemed to touch all the adjacent property.....golfers got longer too of course....so they just got even with the golfers by messing with the green speed and pin placements.   Still a fantastic venue. 

To me, Augusta National, and the course set up for the Masters presents the perfect balance between risk and reward. It's an extremely challenging test, but it's also very fair. And, the ANGC knows how to set the tournament up in just the right way, so there is almost always some real drama on Sunday.

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2 minutes ago, Barnacle said:

To me, Augusta National, and the course set up for the Masters presents the perfect balance between risk and reward. It's an extremely challenging test, but it's also very fair. And, the ANGC knows how to set the tournament up in just the right way, so there is almost always some real drama on Sunday.

True...but seems to me the back nine has the more dramatic holes......and provides a great finish.

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4 minutes ago, AU64 said:

True...but seems to me the back nine has the more dramatic holes......and provides a great finish.

That's why they switched the 9s. Originally, what we think of as the back 9, was actually the front!

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