Capelle On Golf

2008 Masters Coverage - thru 4/15

Golf Channel Lays an Egg
I ragged on Andy North a bit yesterday, then wondered if there was a chance he was right and I was wrong about the third hole. Nope. The only easier holes on Thursday were the four par fives, as expected, and the twelfth, which played the easiest it has or ever will play again, I expect.

The average on the par 4 third was 4.0213 compared to an average of 4.3298 for the seventh hole. As you may recall, that was the one I said should be included in the four hole stretch on the front nine that the players hope to get past in even par. The score: Capelleongolf 1 – The Golf Channel 0.

Late Tee Times are Hell
I mentioned the many disadvantages of a late tee times on Thursday yesterday, but I forgot one: the dreaded delayed start. The last two groups were fighting to finish their rounds so they wouldn’t have to come out at 8am tomorrow and finish them. As it turns out, they were in a no win position.

They decided to play on through the darkness with disastrous results. As a group thee of the six bogeyed 17, and four of the six bogeyed 18. Aaron Baddeley was hurt the most as his two bogeys turned a 73 (33t) into a 75 (52t). He not only hurt he chances of winning, but now he’s in danger of even making the cut.

A Very Special Moment
Drew Weaver, a contestant in this year’s Masters, is a student from Virginia Tech who was 100 yards away from the madman when the massacre began last April 16.
ESPN paid tribute to the 32 people who’s lives were taken at Virginia Tech. They showed the building where the shootings took place. Then they read off the names of several students as they showed one gravestone after another. Thank you Mike Tirico, ESPN, and Drew Weaver for your touching story of this great tragedy, and how the college community banded together and somehow made some good come from it.

Rory Sabbatini’s Bid to Break the Jinx
Let’s face it, when Rory Sabbatini opens his mouth, for better or worse, we listen. So when he said he had no problem with winning the Par 3 Tournament with its attendant jinx, we were amused. What if The Mouth could make good for once? That would be quite a story. Sadly, it looks as if the jinx has worked its magic. One day after blistering the par 3 course with a five under par 22, Rory soared to a 75 on the big course, all but ending his chance to become the first player in 49 years to win both events in the same year.

The Senior Division of the Masters
If the former champions over 50 are going to continue to play in the Masters, even though they have no chance of winning, then perhaps they should have their own division. Just by showing up this year, every player would finish in the top 10 in the Senior Masters. And there are no ties. If two players shoot the same score, the higher finish goes to the older player! After one round, here is your star studded leaderboard. If only one player makes the cut, the tournament could be over come Friday afternoon!

71 Mark O’Meara (51)
72 Sandy Lyle (50)
73 Bernhard Langer (50)
75 Tom Watson (58)
75 Ben Crenshaw (56)
75 Ian Woosnam (50)
77 Craig Stadler (54)
80 Raymond Floyd (65)
81 Fuzzy Zoeller (56)
83 Gary Player (72)

World Golf Rankings
The World Golf Rankings are a good predictor of success, as they should be. Below are the average scores for the top 10, the second 10, and the third 10.
1-10 72.5
11-20 73.1
21-30 73.6

Sergio Garcia
Is he quickly fading from the stage of big time golf? His opening round of 76 puts him in danger of missing his third cut in his last four Masters.

10 in the WGR Top 30 in Danger of Missing the Cut
5 Geoff Ogilvy—-75
8 Adam Scott—-75
11 Rory Sabbatini—-75
15 Sergio Garcia—-76
20 Aaron Baddeley—-75
22 Niclas Fasth—75
23 Scott Verplank—-77
25 Martin Kaymer—-76
26 Stuart Appleby—-76
30 Woody Austin—-79

QuoteBook
Peter Kostis on the difficulties in store for Ernie Els, who recently switched from David Leadbetter to Butch Harmon.
“Making the swing changes doesn’t take nearly as long as trusting them.”

Peter Kostis on Mickelson’s good fortune at one and 13.
“This is a round that Mickelson could easily be three or four shots higher.”

Tiger Woods on the new Augusta National.
“You don’t shoot low scores here anymore.”
“It plays more like a U.S. Open course now.”

Justin Rose on his emergence as a top player.
“It’s time to step up.”

Jim Nantz on Jim Furyk’s putting routine.
“Do you think his maniacal routine is driving his playing partners crazy?”