Capelle On Golf

Kenny Perry and Angel Cabrera Share Lead
Kenny Perry bogeyed 11 and 12 at Amen Corner. Other than those hiccups, he appeared about as stressed as if he was defending his title at the John Deere Classic, which he will in July. But why should he be? He’s second in GIR at 79.3% and he’s tied for 16th in fairways hit at 78.1% even though he’s 15th in driving distance.

Angel Cabrera is at his carefree swaggering best in a performance that so far is reminiscent of his victory at the 2007 US Open. Over the last two rounds he’s hit 77.8% of the greens and he has his often balky putter under control.

Perry, age 48, is positioned to become the oldest major winner, replacing Julius Boros.  Cabrera, who will turn 40 in September, is also no youngster. Despite their age, based on their recent successes and their casual approach, it would be a mistake for those chasing them to expect them both to blow up on Sunday.

Chad Campbell Starts Leaking Oil
When a long shot is leading the Masters, we all  watch for signs of leaking oil. After starting the tournament with five birdies and a 65, it appears as if Chad Campbell has sprung a leak. His poor decision to go for the flag on 16 led to a double bogey. Then he drove into the pine straw, was forced to lay up, and made bogey on 18 to fall two off the pace.

Jim Furyk is Lurking
Golf has a way of making us all look like fools. At the start of the tournament I wouldn’t have give a nickel for Perry or Furyk’s chances, but here they are, occupying two of the four top spots. After opening with an 18 GIR 66, Furyk added a mediocre 74, then went back to work on moving day, shooting a 68 that featured five birdies and a solitary bogey. This has Mr. Consistency in the majors in solo fourth, three back of the leaders going into Easter Sunday at the Masters. Furyk has two fourths in the Masters (1998, 2003) and nine other top fives in the majors (including his 2003 US Open), so a win would make him a super strong candidate for the Hall of Fame.

Stricker and Sabatini
That sounds like a lion taming act, but Steve Striker and Rory Sabbatini are actually in still in contention going into Sunday. Stricker is in fifth at -7 while Sabatini is tied for sixth at -6. Neither has won a major, but both have finished second in a big four event. Stricker earned his second at the 1998 PGA while Sabbatini tied for second at the 2007 Masters. I don’t expect either to be fitted for the green jacket, but stranger things have happened, such as Todd Hamilton’s (see below) victory over Ernie Els in playoff for the 2004 British Open.

Todd Hamilton Gets no Respect , or Coverage
Hamilton started the day in solo fourth, shot a 72 to end the day tied for sixth, which leaves him in a tie with Shingo Katayama at -6. The TV people showed most of Shingo’s shots, while the only time we saw Todd was when he putted on 18. This is supposed to be a sporting contest where all of the principles should be covered, not a blatant attempt by CBS and the Masters committee to promote the game worldwide.

Tiger Woods on Moving Day
In his post round interview Tiger said that a 64 or 65 was what he needed to get back into contention. If he’d shot a 65 instead his 70, he’d be only two shots back of the two co-leaders. Still, at the start of the day there 18 players he needed to pass. Now there are only nine in front of him. The bad news is that he’s still seven back and he’s still tied in his position with eight other players. The log jam at -4 includes  Phil Mickelson, Anthony Kim, Sean O’Hair, Lee Westwood, Ian Pouter, Stephen Ames, Hunter Mahan, and Nick Watney.

Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson to Play Together?
Jim Nantz speculated on the possibility of Tiger and Phil being paired together. That would be a great final round sidebar even if neither contends as they will surely have an extra incentive to beat each other. And there’s also the matter of Steve Williams derogatory comments about Phil last December when he said, “I hate the prick.” That should make for some interesting dynamics on the tee boxes.

UPDATE: It has been confirmed that Woods and Mickelson will be paired together for the final round!

Paddy Slam is Dead
Padraig Harrington was two under when he stepped to the tee at the par 5 second hole, one of the easiest on the course. When he exited the green he was two over after scoring a quadruple bogey 9. To his credit, the gritty Irishman played the remaining 16 holes in three under par. Though he failed in his bid for the Paddy Slam, two straight majors is an incredible feat even without Tiger in the field.

World Rankings Top 10
Going into the final round Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are tied for low score among the top 10 in the WGR. This means, of course, that spots 1-9 on the leaderboard are held by non-members of the top 10. It also means that there are some people who are likely to win a small fortune tomorrow. Perry, for example, was 100-1 at Ladbrokes before the start of play.
212 Tiger Woods (1)
212 Phil Mickelson (2)
215 Sergio Garcia (3)
214 Geoff Ogilvy (4)
215 Padraig Harrington (5)
217 Paul Casey (6)
213 Vijay Singh (7)
216 Henrik Stenson (8)
147 Robert Karlsson (9)  MC
213 Camilo Villegas (10)

The Course
The scoring average the first two days was 72.25 and 73.74. After the deadwood excited the premises, the average dropped to 72.12 in the third round. The day’s low of 68 was shared by five players: Jim Furyk, Steve Stricker, Sean O’Hair, Ian Poulter, and Steve Flesch. Co-leader Cabrera (69) was the only other player to break 70.

Par 5 Report
The par 4.5s are back! There were plenty of birdies on the pars fives as the field made 83 in 200 attempts and one eagle on Saturday.
Rd.1—Rd. 2—Rd. 3
#2  4.54—4.83—4.66
#8  4.83—4.77—4.60
#13  4.64—4.59—4.74
#15  4.65—4.57—4.68