This has really been one of the most spectacular Masters in recent memory. Rarely was there a Sunday with this much exciting golf. Here is a Top-10 countdown of the most significant / surprising things that happened this week:
10. Easy scoring in general: I don’t think the scoring has ever been this low for the Masters. 75% of the players shot par or better for those who made the cut. In the past, it’s used to be a VERY tough test for the players.
9. Some surprising differences of change in course difficulty:
- The 17th hole has usually been one of the easier holes but this year it’s the 5th toughest. - - The 5th hole was the toughest hole last year but this year it’s ranked 8th.
- The 12th hole has been a relatively easy hole last year but this year it’s the 3rd toughest.
- The 9th hole, a medium-long par 4, has usually been a rather difficult hole but this year it’s the 7th easiest.
8. The back nine seemed very scorable. On Thursday, Friday, and Sunday, a lot of the guys could to really struggle on the front nine, but could still make 4-5 birdies or even an eagle on the back nine. These players included Gary Woodland (Rd. 1), KJ Choi (Rd. 1), Tiger Woods (Rd. 2), David Toms (Rd. 4), Luke Donald (Rd. 1 and Rd. 4), Jason Day (Rd. 4). On Saturday (Rd. 3) the back nine was set up quite difficult though.
7. Martin Kaymer has had a lot of struggles at Augusta. This week was no different when he missed the cut by a significant margin. Surprising that he struggles here so badly when he’s so talented.
6. Almost nothing has been said about Angel Cabrera since 2 years ago when he won in 2009. He seemed to disappear off the golf map until this week where he showed up, almost completely out of the blue.
5. Because of the way Phil played so lights-out at the Shell Houston Open before the Masters, everybody expected Phil to contend here. Instead, he was never a factor, with the driving and putting costing him, despite him driving and putting so well at the Shell. This is his 2nd worst finish at Augusta as a professional.
4. Jason Day has NEVER played at Augusta before this tournament. Yet he was able to somehow shoot a 64 in the second round. A 64! Normally players need to play in a lot of Masters tournaments to get used to the greens but he sure has it figured out really quickly. Main reason? Probably because of his length off the tee. I have a feeling that maybe they should young-gun-proof this golf course again like the way they Tiger-proofed it over the years.
3. This has been one of the most surprising, roller-coaster weeks for Tiger Woods in the past 2 years. His first round was rather nondescript. But he was totally on fire on the second round, especially on the back nine. Then just as he appeared to be right on track, he missed COUNTLESS putts in the third round. Then in the final round, Tiger made a HUGE charge on the front nine. But missed many opportunities on the back nine. He missed 4 putts under 5 feet in total for the week. He three-putted 6 times this week. As mediocre his putting is, he still managed a Top 4 finish. And he was able to prove Ian Poulter wrong when Poulter said Tiger will finish out of the Top 5!
2. I expected that Rory McIlroy will probably not win. But I’m sure nobody suspected Rory to have such a huge collapse like this, a Greg-Norman-esque collapse. Hit a huge drive on 1, only had a SAND WEDGE left for 2nd shot, but pulled it long and 3-putted for bogey, missing a 5 foot putt. Missed another 5 foot birdie on 3. Missed another 5 foot par putt on 5. Hit a huge, long and straight drive on par 5 8th, but didn’t make birdie, missing a 10 footer. Hit another long and straight drive on the 9th but made par again, missing a 15 footer. Then a triple bogey on 10, three-putted on 11 from only 10 feet. Then four-putted on 12, missing a 2 foot par putt and then missing the following 4 foot bogey putt. Made another bogey on 15 when he missed a 4 foot par putt. Then missed a 4 foot birdie putt on 18.
1. Charl Schwartzel really pulled off a huge, amazing underdog story today. Miraculous chip in birdie on the 1st, then holed out for eagle on the 3rd. Fairly quiet from that point forward until last 4 holes where he made FOUR BIRDIES IN A ROW, making long putt after long putt. When Adam Scott birdied the 16th hole I thought he had really locked up the win. But instead, Charl Schwartzel took it away from him with the 4 closing birdies.
10. Easy scoring in general: I don’t think the scoring has ever been this low for the Masters. 75% of the players shot par or better for those who made the cut. In the past, it’s used to be a VERY tough test for the players.
9. Some surprising differences of change in course difficulty:
- The 17th hole has usually been one of the easier holes but this year it’s the 5th toughest. - - The 5th hole was the toughest hole last year but this year it’s ranked 8th.
- The 12th hole has been a relatively easy hole last year but this year it’s the 3rd toughest.
- The 9th hole, a medium-long par 4, has usually been a rather difficult hole but this year it’s the 7th easiest.
8. The back nine seemed very scorable. On Thursday, Friday, and Sunday, a lot of the guys could to really struggle on the front nine, but could still make 4-5 birdies or even an eagle on the back nine. These players included Gary Woodland (Rd. 1), KJ Choi (Rd. 1), Tiger Woods (Rd. 2), David Toms (Rd. 4), Luke Donald (Rd. 1 and Rd. 4), Jason Day (Rd. 4). On Saturday (Rd. 3) the back nine was set up quite difficult though.
7. Martin Kaymer has had a lot of struggles at Augusta. This week was no different when he missed the cut by a significant margin. Surprising that he struggles here so badly when he’s so talented.
6. Almost nothing has been said about Angel Cabrera since 2 years ago when he won in 2009. He seemed to disappear off the golf map until this week where he showed up, almost completely out of the blue.
5. Because of the way Phil played so lights-out at the Shell Houston Open before the Masters, everybody expected Phil to contend here. Instead, he was never a factor, with the driving and putting costing him, despite him driving and putting so well at the Shell. This is his 2nd worst finish at Augusta as a professional.
4. Jason Day has NEVER played at Augusta before this tournament. Yet he was able to somehow shoot a 64 in the second round. A 64! Normally players need to play in a lot of Masters tournaments to get used to the greens but he sure has it figured out really quickly. Main reason? Probably because of his length off the tee. I have a feeling that maybe they should young-gun-proof this golf course again like the way they Tiger-proofed it over the years.
3. This has been one of the most surprising, roller-coaster weeks for Tiger Woods in the past 2 years. His first round was rather nondescript. But he was totally on fire on the second round, especially on the back nine. Then just as he appeared to be right on track, he missed COUNTLESS putts in the third round. Then in the final round, Tiger made a HUGE charge on the front nine. But missed many opportunities on the back nine. He missed 4 putts under 5 feet in total for the week. He three-putted 6 times this week. As mediocre his putting is, he still managed a Top 4 finish. And he was able to prove Ian Poulter wrong when Poulter said Tiger will finish out of the Top 5!
2. I expected that Rory McIlroy will probably not win. But I’m sure nobody suspected Rory to have such a huge collapse like this, a Greg-Norman-esque collapse. Hit a huge drive on 1, only had a SAND WEDGE left for 2nd shot, but pulled it long and 3-putted for bogey, missing a 5 foot putt. Missed another 5 foot birdie on 3. Missed another 5 foot par putt on 5. Hit a huge, long and straight drive on par 5 8th, but didn’t make birdie, missing a 10 footer. Hit another long and straight drive on the 9th but made par again, missing a 15 footer. Then a triple bogey on 10, three-putted on 11 from only 10 feet. Then four-putted on 12, missing a 2 foot par putt and then missing the following 4 foot bogey putt. Made another bogey on 15 when he missed a 4 foot par putt. Then missed a 4 foot birdie putt on 18.
1. Charl Schwartzel really pulled off a huge, amazing underdog story today. Miraculous chip in birdie on the 1st, then holed out for eagle on the 3rd. Fairly quiet from that point forward until last 4 holes where he made FOUR BIRDIES IN A ROW, making long putt after long putt. When Adam Scott birdied the 16th hole I thought he had really locked up the win. But instead, Charl Schwartzel took it away from him with the 4 closing birdies.
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