Capelle On Golf

2008 Masters Coverage - thru 4/15

Par 3 Tournament Turns into Romper Room
I tuned in to see the Par 3 Tournament for the very first time, and got Romper Room instead. Now I love kids, adore them. But watching kids play on the hallowed putting surfaces of Augusta National, even if it was the par three “contest” was a bit much. Let them caddy. I’m all for that. And give me plenty of close ups of them being their cute selves. The trouble was that one moment ESPN was showing you a leaderboard like it was a real tournament, then a second later a tot would be putting for pops.

On the plus side, some of the best moments were the tee shots from the elevated eighth tee to a peninsula that stuck out from the left into the lake. Other postcard shots featured a panoramic views across a big lake with the tree lined shore on the opposite side.

There were hole-in-ones galore. Steve Flesch, Paul Azinger, Fred Couples, Wayne Grady, and 1971 Masters champion Charles Coody, (who beat Jack Nicklaus and Johnny Miller by a shot), all scored aces. Rory Sabbatini won, so he’s got a shot at the Mini Masters Slam - he could be the first to win the Par 3 and the regular event.

The highlight of the day came on the water guarded ninth when the Big Three turned back the clock and stiffed their short irons. Nicklaus to about a foot, and Gary Player and Arnold Palmer were about 10 feet (no I’m not going back through the tape to confirm the distances). Let the real Masters begin!

Andy North Lays an Egg
On today’s preview show ESPN’s Andy North said that holes 3-6 were the key stretch, that the players hope to play them in par. He stood in front of the third green and demonstrated the problems that they will face should they come up short with their second shots.

Phil Mickelson disagrees with North’s analysis. He believes that “…seven has become the first- or second-hardest par on the golf course.” While he’s not entirely correct, the 450 yard tree lined seventh is a whole lot harder than the almost drivable 350 yard third. Maybe somebody forgot to tell North that seven has grown by 85 yards.

The stats also fail to support North’s position. The last five Masters champions have averaged 3.65 shots on the third, and have made eight birdies and one bogey in 20 tries. Over the last four years Tiger Woods has averaged 3.75 on the third, while Mickelson’s average is 3.63. I had access to the data, and I know ESPN does as well. Heck, it’s available to everyone. So you’d think that these guys would do their homework before touting pushover holes as troublemakers.