Masters Tap-ins

A few backhanded stabs at the hullabaloo going on down in the sleepy little town of Augusta, Georgia this week ...

Phil the Fave

So before this past weekend, everybody was talking about how wide-open this year's Masters was. Now, suddenly, in the wake of Phil the Thrill's swashbuckling win at the Shell Houston Open on Sunday, Mickelson is suddenly the man to beat. It's an obvious conclusion, but is it a logical one?

     I would love to see Lefty wearing his fourth green jacket come Sunday evening – for a variety of reasons. But it seems to me that Phil plays his best when expectations are low. Last year, no one expected much from him following a very mediocre performance in Houston the week before. Besides, he'd been through so much in the previous year. How could golf possibly be his top priority right now.

 Image: AP via www.nj.com

Ditto last week, when Phil candidly talked about he wasn't going to be focused on winning in Houston as much as he was going to be working on the shots he would need at Augusta. As much as anything, I suspect he was trying to take the pressure off by saying those things. But guess what? Turns out those two objectives (winning and practicing) were not at such cross purposes. Phil won handily, displaying all the flair, risk-taking, and shot-making we see in Phil when Phil is at his best.

     But now, instead of going into The Masters without having shown much this year (or since last year's Masters, for that matter), he goes in with expectations soaring. As he was closing in on his victory Sunday, NBC's Johnny Miller commented that the biggest thing Phil may have to practice between then and next Sunday would be "putting on his own green jacket"! How's that for a ringing endorsement?

     I'm just sayin' ... I don't expect Phil to fold under the weight of expectations, but I think it's a possibility. (Not to mention that Phil can potentially get to #1 in the world with a Masters win – and he's historically blown it every previous time he's had a chance to do that.)

The Tiger Zone

A lot of people also seem to think that this may be the week Tiger finally returns to form. After all, they point out, he finished fourth last year after not having played a tournament in five months! Augusta is where he feels most comfortable, so it would only make sense that now, with the scandal further behind him and more "tournament-tested" than he was a year ago, how can he not improve on last year's performance?

 Image: 3-Putt Territory via www.examiner.com

But the big wild card is still the swing change. He's still struggling mightily, seemingly hitting as many disastrously bad shots as "old Tiger" brilliant ones. And the expectations last year were rock bottom; there was no pressure for him to perform. Of course, one of the defining characteristics of Augusta National – as Phil demonstrated so brilliantly last year – is that it affords recovery opportunities (to those with the short games up to the task) like no other course. So it's certainly possible for Tiger to contend, or even win, without his ballstriking being at peak form.

     It's cliche to say, but I think his putting will be the key. And he really hasn't shown much reason for confidence there in recent weeks either.

Supernatural Augusta

Augusta National has often struck me as the most unnaturally natural place you can imagine. It's nature manicured almost beyond recognition; almost beyond what you can really consider "nature." Almost supernatural. If there's golf in Heaven, I imagine the courses look something like the course The Masters is played on.

 Image: Masters.org

On Monday night this week, a windstorm blew through the course and took down a few trees – not that you or anyone else would ever know it first-hand. The course's response to the damage was magnificently swift – and secretive, as reported today at golfdigest.com. Here's a sample from the full article:

Arriving at Augusta National shortly after 6 a.m. Tuesday, there were trees down in the parking lot. Entering the gates - only the media and others working on site were allowed on the property at that time - you were serenaded by the sound of power saws working as downed trees on the golf course were being removed. The normal 8 a.m. opening to the public was delayed and eventually pushed back to 8:45.
 
In the media food room was the odd sight of a dozen or so of the best photographers in the world sitting and drinking coffee, unable to go onto the course to shoot the damage. Those are the kind of images the folks at Augusta National Golf Club do not like the public to see. This is a place where even the garbage is green - all sandwich wrappers and every cup - and nary a cigarette butt can be found on the ground. This is a place where workers pick through the azalea bushes to remove dead leaves.

This just in: A tree apparently blew down during a practice round Tuesday afternoon. No one was hurt. But will we see pictures?

Stricker Update

Hey, it's been a while seen we've mentioned Steve Stricker here at Whiffling Straits, hasn't it? Well, let's remedy that right here. Two things ...

     I couldn't help but notice that at least two writers over at golf.com mentioned Steve among their Masters picks in Monday's weekly PGA Tour Confidential feature. It seems his strong performance in Houston last week, where he finished alone in fourth, got some of their attention. He hasn't shown us much this year, but is he peaking at the right time? Well, according to local golf columnist Gary D'Amato ...

     Stricker has been tweaking his swing a bit these past few months (and also sharpening his putting stroke on a putting green he recently built in his basement!) in an effort to correct a little something. It seems Steve, whose natural play is a slight draw, had begun hooking the ball a little bit more than the optimal amount. Stricker told D'Amato:

"I don't want to get rid of that (draw), but it's gotten to the point where I'm not getting a lot of (backspin) on my ball and I need that with my irons. I haven't hit my irons particularly well this year. I haven't played poorly, but I haven't played like I want to play yet."

I'm not ready to count Stricker among the favorites – my heart is not strong enough for that! But I like what I saw in Houston, and like everybody's been saying, this Masters is wide-open. At least, it was until a few days ago, and now Phil is the favorite, but ... [continue reading at top of page].

Tap-Ins

A few hurried, back-handed stabs at items that have caught my attention in the golfing world ...

The Best Swing on Tour. Over at golf.com, Golf magazine's panel of "Top 100 Teachers" have come up with a list of seven of the "best" golf swings on tour, based on different individual components. Who did they decide has the "Best Overall Swing"? You'll never guess. Oh, wait ... you probably already have.

Jack is ... Jack. A really nice, in-depth look at the enduring legacy of Jack Nicklaus by Jaimie Diaz over at golfdigest.com. A brief excerpt:

Nicklaus and Woods have been compared every which way, from driver through putter and beyond, with the sum total long considered almost a wash. But the potential for major life mistakes that seemed moot in two people so driven and organized has suddenly become the most important element of all. Nicklaus' steady conservatism, which on the course might have begun to seem quaint and even limiting in contrast to Woods' bolder style, has become the potential off-the-course difference-maker. As Nicklaus sits in the clubhouse, an early finisher watching the recklessness that has cost Woods the lead, the score Jack posted is looking better.

The Ryder Cup Runneth Over ... with Christians, it seems. A few people have noticed that three of the four captain's picks by Corey Pavin, a born-again Christian, are regulars at the Tour's weekly Bible study – as are a few who earned their way on (not to mention some of Pavin's assistant captains). Is there a holy conspiracy afoot? Probably not, posits Wall Street Journal writer John Paul Newport in his weekly Golf Journal column.

Title Defense – Failed! Last weekend the Whiffler attempted to defend his title at the annual White Lake Classic in Michigan. No blood clots this year, but a lingering hamstring injury – the result of a freak soccer-coaching accident  several weeks ago (it's for the CHILDREN!) – probably helped ... uh, hamstring my efforts to repeat. To prepare (since I hadn't swung a club since the accident), I'd been repeatedly visualizing the 6-iron I hit a few years back to get just inside Steve Stricker's shot at the "beat the pro" par-3 hole at a charity golf outing. (What? I never mentioned that before? Huh. For one brief, shining moment, I bettered the best swing on Tour!)
     Alas, all that visualizing wasn't enough – though I did hit one of the best six-irons of my life, to about five feet, for a birdie on the 18th hole of the warm-up round. The shot helped cap an amazing back-nine comeback by Team Butt Hutt to secure a free dinner that night. Victory never tasted so succulent as the ribeye steak I gorged on by Lake Michigan.
     But congratulations to Mike "Scruffy" "Landfill" "Homer" "Skipper" Neuses (below, with arms crossed) for his impressive victory in the main event the next day.

UPDATE: In response to Chery's comment below, here are Scruffy/Serbo, Zim (the Whiffler), the Glacier, Keith, and Little Tommy.

One more time ...

Tap-Ins

A few back-handed stabs at things that have caught my attention, at the U.S. Open and elsewhere ...

No Fourth First for #1. Boy, it's hard to know what to make of Tiger Woods these days. On Saturday, he looked like his old self. His second-shot approach on number 18, a big left-to-right bender around the fairway trees, was one for the archives. He looked poised to take charge on Sunday and claim his fourth U.S. Open title. But instead he looked as mortal as everyone else. So we know he still has it in him; he just can't seem to tap into it on demand these days.
     I also couldn't help but wonder if the prospect of a big win on Father's Day might have gotten into his head just a bit. On Saturday night, when it looked like he might just be able to win this thing, I found myself thinking, "Who will he hug?" His dad has passed on and his own kids are off with Elin somewhere, presumably. It's like that commercial where the kid makes a hole-in-one in the fading twilight, only to realize there was no one around to see it. Seldom does a man feel so alone as in the light of solitary glory.
     And you know what I wish? I wish he'd drop the dropped club routine when he hits a bad one. It just bugs me; strikes me as childish. It's like he wants us to know that he knows he hit a bad shot before we can figure it out for ourselves. He probably does without even really thinking about it, but it's unnecessary. But then, it's not an F-bomb. And with all he's going through, maybe we should just take what we can get.

No Sixth Second for #2. Was I the only kinda sorta hoping that if Phil Mickelson didn't win on Sunday that he would finish second? It would have been the sixth runner-up finish in the U.S. Open for the man who already holds the record at five. It sounds cruel, I know. And Phil himself was quoted after the tournament saying, "I'm glad it wasn't a second." But that would have been something, wouldn't it? It's the sort of quirky statistic I often find myself rooting for. But hey, it could have been worse. (Image: John Biever/Sports Illustrated, via golf.com)

Sweet T16. How 'bout them college kids, huh? My new favorite amateur, Illini star and NCAA champ Scott Langley, and Georgia Bulldog Russell Henley showed up a lot of veterans at Pebble Beach. Both shot +8 292 to tie for 16th place overall and share the low-amateur honors. It was just the third time in the last 30 years an amateur has finished in the top 20 at the U.S. Open, something never accomplished by Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson. They finished tied with Lee Westwood and Jim Furyk, and placed ahead of such notables as Sergio Garcia (+9), Angel Cabrera (+9), Tom Watson (+11), Kenny Perry (+12), Ryo Ishikawa (+12), Vijay Singh (+13), Stewart Cink (+13), Steve Stricker (+15), Camilo Villegas (+18), Zach Johnson (+22), and Rory McIlroy (MC), to name only a few.
     You can read more about Henley's performance here, about Langley's U.S. Open here, and read a Q&A with Langley here. 

Practice round at Erin Hills. In my previous post, I wrote that some feel the tiny town of Erin, home to Erin Hills golf course, is not up for hosting a major sporting even like the U.S. Open (Erin Hill was just awarded the 2017 event). On Sunday, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel ran an article about the town's opportunity for a "practice round" when the course hosts the 2011 U.S. Amateur Championship. They're going to need it. Because if the lead photo is any indication, the most exciting thing going on in Erin these days is the daily father-son sweeping exhibitions at the local gas station.

Whiffling Straits at Whistling Straits. The Whiffler is excited to announce that he's been invited to take part in a golf outing at Whistling Straits next week. We'll be on the Irish Course, not the Straits Course (which is where the pros will play in August), but Pete Dye's less-famous Kohler gem will easily be the finest course I've ever played. Will Whiffling Straits be blogging about the Whistling Straits experience? Did a young Ben Hogan sleep in a sand trap in order to get the best caddie jobs early in the morning? (The answer is "yes.") (Image: The 6th at the Irish Course at Whistling Straits, golf.com)
      The occasion is the third annual golf outing for the Stacey Elizabeth Mayer Foundation, established two years ago to fund scholarships for students attending Capernwray Bible School in Carnforth, England. Stacey, 19, was a student there when she was killed in a car crash while home in Wisconsin for the summer in 2007. Her parents, Steve and Sue Mayer, are friends of ours and I'm proud to take part in such a worthwhile event.

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).

Tap-Ins

A few backhanded stabs at things that have captured my interest recently ...

Pre-Masters Meat-fest – with a Mission. One of the many famous traditions at the Masters is the Champion's Dinner, in which the defending champion treats all the surviving past champions to a special dinner of his choosing in the Augusta National dining room. Often, the champion chooses a menu that is reflective of his particular tastes or the culture of his homeland: in 1998, German Bernhard Langer served wiener schnitzel; Sandy Lyle, a Scot, served haggis in 1989; in 1998, 22-year-old Tiger Woods served cheeseburgers, french fries, and milkshakes. This year, 2009 champ Angel Cabrera plans to prepare a traditional Argentinian asado, which is basically a South American grilled meat extravaganza. (Photo: Pablo D. Flores, via Wikimedia Commons.)

But that's not the most-interesting part. While the Champions Dinner is typically veiled in a certain amount of secrecy (it's not open to the press and guests are generally not allowed), Cabrera plans to open things up a little by offering a "preview" of his dinner to 100 well-heeled guests – at $1,000 a plate. Proceeds will go to Cabrera's foundation, which supports needy people in his hometown of Cordoba (including caddies) and helps fund the local hospital. My knee-jerk reaction to this story was that he's devaluing the Masters tradition by doing this – but it's not like he's holding the dinner in the Augusta National dining room or anything; the dinner will be in Houston. I think this is a great idea, and if I were a past Masters champion, I'd offer to attend, write a big check, and challenge diners to donate even more.
      Good on you, Angel. Maybe this will be the start of a whole new Masters tradition.

I Don't Know Art ... but I know what I like. And I really like this Van Gogh-style portrait of Groundskeeper Willie from The Simpsons. Willie is Scottish, and Van Gogh (1853-1890) could have painted such a picture in the early years of the Open Championship, so let's pretend, for purposes of relevance, that the scowling red-head is some nameless rival of the Morrises. Hey, maybe it's Willie Park Jr.! You can view more such artistic whiffles (including a haunting Rembrandt Homer) at www.limpfish.com.

Tap-Ins

A few short strokes on items that have caught my attention ...

Leaving His Options Open. Here's an interesting bit of information about Tiger: Apparently, the Masters has no official policy for confirming a player's appearance at the tournament. Tournament organizers request an RSVP, but don't require it. Which means, until they hear from Tiger that he's not coming (so far, not a word), they'll assume he is coming and hold his tee time open. He could conceivably pull onto the grounds ten minutes before his tee time, check in, stroll over to the first tee, and tee off. Wouldn't that be something? Now, I don't think that's any more likely to happen than it is that Martha Burk will become the first female member of August National, but still ... it's interesting to know that it could.