Masters Tap-ins

Old Tom! Old Tom Watson continues to amaze. In shooting 5-under 67 on Thursday, Watson was only player in the field without a bogey, and briefly held the lead all by himself. He had a five-way share of the lead until Middle-age Fred (50-year-old Couples) strolled into the clubhouse, basically wearing sneakers, with a stellar 67. But here's what I'm wondering: Let's say Old Tom continues to play well and finds himself in contention, or even leading, on the back nine on Sunday. How will that feel in comparison to last year at Turnberry? Will it be just as exciting, or will it feel a little different because we've seen it before. I think it will be just as amazing – maybe even more so, because it'd be a repeat performance – but maybe not quite so special. Last year was so out of the blue, so unexpected. But this year we're not caught quite as off-guard. And here's hoping we get the chance to make an actual comparison! (I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments section.)

Fred's Shoes. I've always had this thing about golf shoes ... I don't like 'em. It's partly because I'm usually too cheap to buy good ones, so they never seem to fit quite right or be comfortable. As long as the course is dry, I'm quite content to play in sneakers, especially if I'm walking. I sometimes even think that they help me, in that when I'm aware that I'm spikeless, I'm less prone to swing too hard, which is a common Whiffler mistake. The thing is, I sometimes feel less-than-serious by not wearing golf shoes. Hopefully, Fred's success on the Champions Tour and at the Masters (so far) wearing what look like sneakers will make it less of a stigma to wear actual sneakers on the golf course. Made by ECCO, I'll bet they start selling like crazy. But amazingly, I just went to the ECCO website and can't find Fred's shoes (I found the picture above here.) Very bad marketing mistake, it seems to me. These shoes should be the first thing you see on their homepage right now).
     Afterthought: I just occurred to me that this shoe has probably not been introduced yet. They're letting Fred create a buzz and will launch it with a bang sometime soon. That works, too.

UPDATE: Some fresh info on Fred's shoes (they're not out yet) in the Truth & Rumors blog at golf.com (third item).

Tiger. The approach Tiger Woods hit on the par-4 ninth was truly out of this world. Stuck behind some trees in the left rough, Tiger slashed a 30- to 40-yard hook out around the trees and to within about 10 feet of the back left pin placement. Later on the Golf Channel, Brandel Chamblee said (paraphrasing here), "People always ask me what makes Tiger so good, and I always say it's because he's better than anybody else at every aspect of the game." No kidding. Weirdly, I found myself hoping Tiger would struggle a little today -- and he may yet as the tournament goes on. I'm not sure why, but I think it's because I worry that if he has instant success in his return it he may fall too quickly into old habits. And I'd really like to see him keep fixing his family as his top priority.

A Fair Weather Fight. Overall, scores were pretty low on Thursday. Word is that the Augusta overlords took the anticipated bad weather into account when setting up the course, with tees up on some holes and pins placed in more accessible spots. This is good to see – and is consistent with something Jones wrote in the 1959 Sports Illustrated piece I referenced in previous posts:

The placement of the flags is one of the most controversial matters in any golf tournament, because it can so drastically affect the difficulty of the play. The selection of the pin area and the exact location of the hole is decided on the morning of play by a committee appointed for the purpose. The decision is affected by the condition of the putting surface itself, the state of the weather to be expected and the holding qualities of the ground. ...

Even though it is too much to expect that persons selecting pin locations in the very early morning should be able to foresee weather conditions throughout the day, it is nevertheless important that they have in mind what conditions are likely to confront the players.

As it turned out, the weather didn't turn as foul as what was expected. If it had, no doubt the scores would have been higher.

The Big Two. A lot was made of Arnold and Jack pairing up as honorary starters yesterday (something Jack once said he would never do). They're continuing a wonderful tradition and I hope they're around to keep it going for a long time. There was some talk, however, about why Gary Player wasn't included, as well. And I wonder how he felt being left out. In their prime, the three of them were known as "The Big Three" -- they kind of go together in that sense. And Gary Player did win more majors (nine) than Arnold Palmer (seven). It kind of backs up the notion that Gary Player tends not to always get all the respect he deserves, for whatever reason. But after giving it some thought, I think it's fitting that Jack and Arnie were out there by themselves -- at least this year. The two really do stand head and shoulders above other surviving players, in terms of what they've meant to the Masters (10 green jackets between them) and to the game of golf in general (nobody save perhaps Walter Hagen has done more to popularize the game than Arnie). But maybe they'll add Gary Player to the mix at some point. And next year would be just fine with me. (Image: Arnie helps Jack into the green jacket in 1965, AP)

What do You Think?