Capelle On Golf

The Masters committee expected bad weather, so they moved the tees up and put the pins in accessible positions. There was a little wind and rain, but nothing like what was forecast, and so scores dipped deep into red as 31 of the 96 players broke par.

Tiger Woods had never broken 70 in the first round of the Masters, and most felt a 72 would have been a decent opener given his lack of competition and personal issues. So what does he do? He shoots a 68 that included two eagles and five near misses on the greens on the incoming nine!

Woods’ playing partners were supposed to implode, a theory I advanced in a recent post. So, in an effort to make me look bad, Matt Kuchar shot 70 and K.J. Choi fired a 67, besting Woods by a shot. For the record, Asian golfers have outscored Woods in his last two rounds in the majors.

Jim Furyk, who won the Chevron World Challenge late last year and the Transitions at the tough Copperhead course three weeks ago, ballooned to a 44 on the back nine for a big fat 80.

Italy’s Matteo Manassero, who will turn 17 in a couple of weeks, shot a 71 in his Masters debut to leave him in a tie for 22nd.

Tom Watson insisted that the course was too long for him to compete at Augusta. But his son and caddy, Michael, would have none of it. So, after a pep talk, Watson played like the Watson of the late 70s and early 80s as he scrambled his way to a 24 putt 67.

Phil Mickelson couldn’t make a putt and his overall game was a mess. So he narrowed his stance and drained putts from everywhere in route to a 67. Of help is the presence of wife Amy and the kids at Augusta for the travel weary Mickelson.

You never who’s going to be atop the leaderboard after the first round, but the odds are that it will include a mixture of names that do little to excite one’s imagination. Not so this time - considering this marquee list of stars:
Fred Couples (66) - the hottest player on the senior tour with three straight Ws
Phil Mickelson (67) - perennial fan favorite and a two time Masters champion
Tom Watson (67) - eight time major winner and runner up at the 2009 British Open
Y.E. Yang (67) - the Tiger Slayer from the 2009 PGA
K.J. Choi (67) - an eight time winner on tour who shot his round with Tiger
Lee Westwood (67) - he won the European Order of Merit last year and missed the famous Woods-Mediate duel by a shot at the 2008 U.S. Open
Tiger Woods (68) - only breaks 70 in his first round in five months in a major
Anthony Kim (68) - last week’s winner, and a player who has been tabbed for superstardom
Ian Poulter (68) - winner of the WGC Match Play this year and a leader of the European invasion
Nick Watney (68) - a winner last year and a pupil of superstar instructor Butch Harmon
Ricky Barnes (68) - he’s the sleeper in the group, but he did finish 2t at last year’s U.S. Open

So what can we expect in round 2? The unexpected, what else?