Capelle On Golf

Trio of US Players Leads the Way
After day one American golfers claimed the top three spots on the leaderboard.
Chad Campbell got off to the fastest start in Masters history, birdieing the first five holes. Four more in a row on the back nine from 13-16 took him to -9 with two holes remaining. Two pars would have tied the course record, but he closed with two bogeys for a 65. If he felt the pressure now, imagine what it will be like on Sunday should he still be on the leaderboard.
Jim Furyk hit all 18 greens on his way to a bogey free 66, which qualifies his round as a Masterpiece at the Masters. If he keeps this up, I’ve got some serious egg to remove from my face because I said he has no chance. I hope I’m wrong, because a win would all but guarantee Furyk a place in the Hall of Fame.
Hunter Mahan birdied 8 of 11 holes from 6-16, then closed with a bogey for a 66. He hit 14 greens, which tied him for sixth best in the field.

The Favorites
Padraig Harrington was a non event on the coverage but his opening round of 69 has him in position for a run at the third leg of the Paddy Slam.
Phil Mickelson fumbled his was to an opening round of 73 in which he hit only 6 of 14 fairways off the tee. He and Butch better find the answer before the start of tomorrow’s play or his major’s non-contender drought will extend to 11 straight.
Geoff Ogilvy missed nine greens and bogeyed the last two holes, turning a 69 into a 71.

Tiger Woods Plays Like a Winner
I didn’t see Tiger play 1-7 as the coverage picked up him up on the eighth hole, but from that point on he struck the ball superbly. His only poorly hit shot came on 11, where he drove wide right into the trees. But he did hit an incredible long iron from the pine straw to the front edge, 15 feet from the hole. On 18 he airmailed the green and made bogey, though he hit the ball flush. Tiger settled for a 70 after that bogey and a missed four foot birdie on 17 that did a 270 lip out.
He did hit 14 greens in regulation, hit 13 in two, and was inches off the back of 15 in two. So, it appears he is in complete command of his game, tee to green. Now if his putter gets hot, the field is in serious trouble.

The Immelman Defense
After butchering the front nine with a 38, defending champion Trevor Immelman scored birdies on 14-16 to shoot a 71. Zach Johnson, the 2007 winner, carded a 70.

The Super Teens Positioned to Make the Cut
Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, 19, curled in a15 footer for a par on 18 to card a 72.
Japan’s Ryo Ishikawa, 17, played the last five holes in three under to shoot 73. US Amateur Champion Danny Lee from New Zealand, 19, birdied 18 for a 74.

The Golf Course is Just Fine
Much of the pretournament chatter concerned the lack of roars on the recently lengthened Augusta National, especially in light of the high scoring blood baths the last two years. But after today’s barrage of red numbers (38 players broke par) it seems as if all the Masters needed was some warmer weather. With the forecast for more of the same, the prospects for a Sunday shoot out look better than ever.

Everyone Can Play This Course
The experts have concluded that only the long hitters have a chance at the super sized Augusta National. But after day one, we’ve got short hitters like Furyk, Mike Weir (68) and Tim Clark (68) in contention. We’ve got bombers like Angel Cabrera (68), Tiger, and Kenny Perry (68). And we even have seniors like Larry Mize (68) and Greg Norman (70) getting into the act.

Par 5 Report
The par 4.5s are back! Okay, they are still par fives, but in the first round they gave up five eagles and 152 birdies to the 96 player field.
#2  4.54
#8  4.83
#13  4.64
#15  4.65