2012 Masters Wrap up

Well folks, another Masters is in the can, and aside from the missing azaleas, this tournamet had it all. Couple of quick thoughts on the tournament as we try to recover from an impromptu Masters party at the Three Guys clubhouse:

Who’s the man? I’m the man.

1) Bubba! It sure looked like Oosthuizen was going to run away with this thing after the double eagle and then a few rock solid par saves while others floundered. But then there was Bubba. I think it’s a cool thing for the Tour that Bubba won – he has the flair and game to get people excited, and he’s got those crazy eyes that will always keep us guessing. I’ve read a lot of articles about Bubba Watson in the past – apparently he’s so gifted that he doesn’t even have any thoughts about swing mechanics, he just decides he wants to hit the ball right-to-left or low-then-high, etc. and his body just swings that way. In fact, after one practice round a veteran that played with him came in shaking his head saying “man, if that kid ever figures it out between his ears, we’re all in trouble”. In hindsight, it seems like Bubba should have always been a favorite to win the Masters, given his ability to bomb and work the ball. I think Bubba stands out from other recent first-time major winners because there is the potential that a flood gate just opened and he’ll win a few more. Guys like he and Phil, and probably Dustin Johnson, just have such overpowering game that as long as they don’t self-destruct they will always be a factor.

2) I could be way off base here, but I sometimes still get the feeling that Phil Mickelson is almost underrated. He’s obviously known as a great golfer, and fans love him, but critics always want to fault him for not being as robotically dominant as Tiger was over the past 15 years or so. And as an admitted Tiger groupie, part of me is fine with Phil remaining in his shadow. But I think Saturday’s flop shot on 15 was the kind of thing that should earn him permanent legendary status. Sure everybody went nuts over that shot, but I think only an annoying person like myself can spend 20 minutes thinking about how sweet it truly was. It’s not the fact that he can hit that shot, but the fact he has the craziness in his game to have that shot be his #1 option as he walks towards his ball, and the stones to actually try and pull it off. I think commentators tend to overdo the “greatness” of some of these guys’ chips and pitches – I know these guys are awesome but sometimes Gary McCord goes gaga over a 20 yard pitch that I’ve seen my buddies make 100 times. So I don’t want to sound like I’m jumping on the general flop-shot bandwagon, as folks tend to be more impressed the higher the ball goes, but in this case I think Phil’s shot transcends. He’s like our modern-day Arnie, and he is obviously so insanely good at golf that he’s been hanging around the tops of leaderboards for like 20 years now. I think if you’re a young PGA player and you get paired up with Ernie, Phil, Kuchar, Furyk, Vijay, or any other successful veteran that’s not Tiger, from a game standpoint only Phil gives you the feeling that you’re playing with Darth Vader.

3) Saturday and Sunday at Augusta are the best two days of golf in the year, according to  . . . me. There’s a perfect combination of shotmaking, crowd involvement, proximity of greens to tees and other greens – it’s awesome. And we are all familiar enough with the holes to know what we’re looking for, especially on Sunday when you know where the pin is on 16, etc. For some reason this year, however, I felt like Amen Corner did not get it’s usual fanfare from CBS or maybe even the golf itself, like nothing really felt crucial or important about those holes. Perhaps I have selective memory, but asides from Phil’s eagle putt on Saturday on 13 and Sergio and Rory’s makeout session on 12, I don’t think I ever saw much action on Amen Corner.

4) If you fancy yourself an equipment nerd at all, you gotta check out this link and scroll through the slides:  Players’ Bags at the Masters (and for you sock nerds you can learn more about Bubba’s Socks). I’ve wondered since I was a little kid why golf so adamantly steers us away from knowing what equipment these guys play. I’m sure with television it’s just a decision made long ago to avoid any potential conflict of interest issues, and I’m aware that Golf Digest does a What’s In My Bag thing in each issue, but that’s only one dude per month! I always want to know what these guys are playing, and finally someone fed my jones. And not that I’m trying to make a case for, say, a post I wrote last month cursing the adoration of blade irons, but did you notice how many guys are playing cavity back irons on tour? No biggie, just wanted to point that out.

I’m out! I hope that you enjoyed the Masters as much as I did, and that you drank less.