Capelle On Golf

2008 Masters Coverage - Thru 4/15

The Masters starts in 13 days, so it’s time to get a read on who’s hot, and who’s not. Tiger Woods is the perennial #1 and is red hot. No surprise there. Phil Mickelson (#2) and Ernie Els (#3) have won this year, and Jim Furyk’s (#5) putter came to life at the WGC-CA, leading to a 2t.

Now let’s look at some big movers in the WGR. Three players from the second 50 have soared into the top 34, led by Germany’s Martin Kaymer. Justin Leonard has recorded three top fives in ’08. Sean O’Hair won the PODs three weeks ago and followed that a 3t at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, firing a respectable 69 while in the final pairing with Woods.

There have been a half dozen big movers in the top 50 this year, including Geoff Ogilvy, the winner at the WGC-CA at Doral. Vijay Singh, a former Masters winner, has gone 5t, 3t, 2t in his last three outings to move into the #8 position. Stuart Appleby has moved up nine spots, but has played poorly in his last two outings. He led last year’s Masters after 54 holes before fading to a 7t in the company of Tiger Woods. Stewart Cink is an excellent pick for a top five at the Masters, but his poor closing skills will make him an unlikely candidate for a Green Jacket.

Into the Top 50 –12/31 - Now
Martin Kaymer ——–76—-23
Sean O’Hair ————-65—-29
Justin Leonard ——–89—–34
Robert Allenby ———51—-42
John Senden ————55—-49

Exiting the Top 50
Brett Wetterich ——-32—-55
Richard Green ——–40—-54
David Toms ————43—-53
Nick Dougherty ——48—-51
Anders Hansen ——–50—-52

Big Movers Within the Top 50
Moving Up
Vijay Singh ————-10—-8
Geoff Ogilvy ————13—-10
Stewart Cink ———–24—-15
Stephen Ames ——–33—-28
Stuart Appleby ——-36—-27
Richard Sterne ——–44—-33
Mark Calcavecchia —49—-41

Moving Down
Justin Rose ————–6—-9
P. Harrington ———-8—-12
Trevor Immelman —19—-24
Paul Casey ————–21—-31
Tori Taniguchi ——–27—-38
Andres Romero ——-28—-40
Tim Clark —————-29—-35
Miguel Jimenez –—–38—-45
Shingo Katayama —–39—-50