The 2012 Masters: Thank You, Bubba

Thank you, Bubba. Just when it appeared we were on the verge of having another Trevor Immelman or Charles Coody donning a green jacket, you stepped up on golf’s biggest stage – with your homemade swing, floppy hair, pink headed and shafted driver and cartoonish shots – and won the Masters.

Things looked bad. Tiger Woods spent the week proving he is now just another really good player. Phil Mickelson was poised for another green jacket until he looked like he was auditioning for a role in The Three Stooges movie with his triple bogey 6 on the par-3 4th hole. Rory McIlroy showed us he still has too many 77s and 76s in his bag at age 22.

Thank you, Bubba, for those prodigious drives on Sunday. Thank you for that birdie run on the back nine. But, mostly, thank you, for the crazy, are-you-kidding-me, snap hook wedge shot you hit from the forest on the 1st playoff hole. How far did you hook it? 40 yards?

This was being billed as the most anticipated Masters ever. There was Tiger’s quest to put himself right back in chase for Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 major championships. There was Mickelson’s quest to move up a notch among the list of greatest players ever. There was Rory’s quest to prove he is now the measuring stick for greatest in professional golf. All three went to Augusta playing well and full on confidence.

Only Mickelson delivered. Incredibly, he was in the hunt in spite of two triple bogeys. He almost overcame the first that came on Thursday at the 10th. The second, this one on Sunday, eventually left him tied for 3rd.

The remainder of the field provided plenty of thrills, none bigger than Louis Oosthuizen’s double eagle 2 on the par-5 2nd. It vaulted him into the lead and the South African, a former British Open champion, refused to wilt. Oosthuizen has a picture book swing and a pleasant, gap-toothed smile, but he rates low on the charisma scale. His biggest misstep came on the 1st playoff hole when he followed Bubba’s wayward drive with one of his own. Louie couldn’t match Bubba’s recovery shot, but in his defense, who could?

The other contenders have impressive resumes, but little entertainment value. Swede Peter Hanson, Englishman Lee Westwood and American Matt Kuchar knocked but could quite get through the door.

It was up to you, Bubba, and you managed to hold back the tears and keep your hair out of your eyes long enough to get the job done.

Bubba, not only did you win Sunday, so did golf. Like all types of entertainment, golf needs personalities or characters or celebrities or what ever you want to call them.

Thanks again, Bubba. Now go have a good cry so you’ll feel better.

 

Tiger and the Ticking Clock

Is Tiger back? That’s one of the most asked questions in all sports these days.

It’s safe to say Tiger Woods will never be the Tiger of 1997-2008 again. Even if he’d remained healthy and avoided the womanizing scandal that rocked his world three years ago, the first dozen years of his pro golf career is unmatched in sports for dominance by an individual. Its fantasy to think him or anyone else will ever duplicate such a run.

This year’s Masters, however, is the most important tournament of his career since he exploded on the scene in ’97 by winning the Masters in record-shattering fashion as a pro rookie. He’s healthy and he appears to have the command of his game again. Tiger understands at age 36 the clock is ticking in his quest to overtake Jack Nicklaus’ record of winning 18 majors. He’s four shy of catching Nicklaus and he hasn’t won a major in nearly four years. He hasn’t won the Masters in seven years.

A victory this week will put him back on top of the golf world.

Augusta National, home of the Masters, has been Tiger’s playground. There was a time when it seemed the course was built for Tiger. Did the great Bobby Jones, founder of Augusta National, envision someone with Tiger’s power? His towering iron shots that landed so softly on the firm, rolling greens? His command of his nerves of the greens? His focus and mental toughness? His athleticism?

The course has been conquered by others for a variety of reasons. Six-time champion Nicklaus had the great combination of power, high ball flight and incredible touch on the greens. There have been others who felt right at home at Augusta National. Sam Snead’s power, Arnold Palmer’s power and steely nerves, Gary Player’s unwavering confidence, Nick Faldo’s precision and Phil Mickelson’s power and creativity all produced three or more Green Jackets.

No one, however, has ever seemed more at home at August National than Tiger – not even Nicklaus. Even during the worst slump of his career, Tiger has produced back-to-back ties for 4th in his last two Masters and tied for 6th in ‘09.

If Tiger is back to being close to the player he was he’ll get his 5th Green Jacket on Sunday. Augusta National is the stage where he must prove to himself and everyone else he is still capable of being the undisputed king of golf.

Another missed opportunity – no matter how well he plays – will be a clear sign that while he’s still a among the best of the world class golfers, he’s no longer in a class by himself.

The Masters: A Thing of Beauty

The first time I walked the Augusta National Golf Club course I thought it was the most beautiful place I’d ever seen.

That was 43 years ago, and at that time I hadn’t seen Pebble Beach’s 17-mile drive, the Maine cost, Hawaii, the Caribbean Islands, the United Kingdom or an Amelia Island sunrise. Good fortune has allowed me to visit all of those places since then, but I still fondly remember my first visit to Augusta National and the Masters.

There’s no time limit on beautiful memories, fortunately.

It is, indeed, the golf course that makes the Masters so special. The course has allowed the golf tournament to create a tradition like no other. (Don’t think for a moment that CBS’ Jim Nance was the first to utter that phrase.)

Regardless of what you think of golf or the Augusta National Golf Club membership, the Masters is special. In a world where tradition is usually an afterthought, the Masters has remained true to what Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts created 79 years ago.

Pure and simple, the Masters is a celebration of playing golf and enjoying watching the best play the game. Commercialism be damned. There are no billboards at the Masters. Know why the $1.50 sandwiches come wrapped in green paper? So if a wrapper winds up on the ground it won’t show up on television. A fallen wrapper, by the way, doesn’t stay on the ground for long thanks to a crew of workers who immediately scoop up any trash.

The Augusta National Golf Club is often criticized for its rigid and discriminating rules. Membership is guarded more closely than Fort Knox. There are still no women members. It took way too long to include blacks among the players.

Know this: Augusta National Golf Club members have always been snobby toward anyone who wasn’t a wealthy male and in love with the game of golf. You can make your own judgment about a private club that asks for nothing from outsiders.

But also understand this: If you don’t like commercialism that has taken over our world; the obscene concession prices at our entertainment venues; the ridiculous salaries paid our athletes and entertainers regardless of their performances; the unsportsmanlike conduct of the competitors . . . then you should at least appreciate the Masters.

The tournament itself is as beautiful to me as the golf course.