Hello Friends,
If you are reading this, you survived the eclipse. Congratulations!
I hate to start out on a sour note, but I am sad to say this is the final year we will hear Verne Lundquist calling The Masters. It will be sad to see the man who brought you, “Maybe...Yes Sir!”, “OH WOW!...In your life have you seen anything like that!” and “Bruce Koepka” hang it up. He has been calling The Masters for forty years. That is longer than all but nine of the players have been alive. I hope he has one more incredible moment to call this week.
When Bobby Jones started this golf tournament his hope was the have all the best players, aka The Masters, play against each other. 89 years later his vision is holding up even as the world changes around it.
Last year, the anticipation was at all time high as the PGA Tour guys and LIV guys met at The Masters for the first time. Many of the “stars” were also playing very well. This year we are coming in a little more muted. The PGA Tour and The PIF have some sort of deal being going, which should make the Champions Dinner a little less awkward and everyone richer. I guess we will see where that goes.
Nonetheless, It is going to be a great Masters. Enjoy!
We have only five amateurs this year as two of the amateurs have since turned pro. My man Fred Biondi won the NCAA tournament last year, but decided to turn pro. Nick Dunlap won the US Amateur and turned prop but is playing this week.
Jasper Stubbs- Asia-Pacific Amateur Champion- You have to love his name. Jasper comes from down under to play this week. Jasper got into The Masters thanks to his win in the Asia-Pacific Amateur at Royal Melbourne. He played in the Australian Open this winter where he was paired in the final round with the legendary Michael Block. He should be used to the bright lights of the big stage after playing with him. Prior to his win at the Asia-Pacific his previous biggest win was the New Zealand Amateur. Prior to that, he was overshadowed by his sister who plays for the South Dakota State Jackrabbits.
Christo Lamprecht- British Amateur Champion- Christo is he is a tall man. Christo is a 6-foot 8 inch South African who goes to college in Atlanta at Georgia Tech. He earned his spot in The Masters thanks to a win in the British Amateur last summer. A two time All American and currently the #1 ranked amateur in the world (following Dunlap turning pro) Christo looks like a good choice for the low amateur this week.
Neal Shipley- US Amateur Runner Up- It is great to see a Buckeye in the field this week. Neil finished second in the US Amateur to now pro Nick Dunlap. The US Amateur was at Cherry Hills, the same course a young amateur Jack Nicklaus lost to Arnold Palmer in the 1960 US Open. It was a surprising run for Shipley who joined Ohio State last year via the portal after three years at James Madison. Shipley and Maxwell Moldovan have the Buckeyes thinking big things this spring. Not sure how this will impact him, but in the final Ohio State basketball game of the season Neal and I washed our hands in sinks that were next to each other. He is not as tall as Christo but he is a big boy.
Stewart Hagestad- US Mid-Amateur Champion- The man, the myth, the legendary Big Stew finds his way back to The Masters after he captured the US mid-amateur championship again last summer. This will be his third Masters. He won the low amateur in 2017 when he became the first, and only so far, mid-amateur to make the cut. While not the tallest amateur this week, he is the skinniest. Big Stew continues to build on one of the great mid-amateur careers of all time. He was part of another winning Walker Cup team this fall and doesn’t seem to be slowing down.
Santiago de la Fuente- Latin America Champion- Like Masters legends Jim Nantz and Freddie Couples, Santiago is a Houston Cougar. I assume Fred and Jim will take him under their wing to show him the ropes. Santiago is from Guadalajara, Mexico. He won the Latin America Championship in Panama this winter.
With Larry Mize and Sandy Lyle retiring and Bernie Langer being hurt, we no longer have a Masters Champion from the 1980s playing. Only three of the champions from the 1990s remain.
Freddie “Boom Boom” Couples- Freddie made history once again last year at The Masters. He became the oldest person to make the cut. A record he will look to break this year. His record for consecutive cuts made was equaled last year by Tiger. Of course, it could be broken of this year. For a guy who didn’t seem to care about almost anything for most of his career he is passionately against LIV. He also came to Joe Lacava’s defense more than anyone else after the hat dust up with Rory at The Ryder Cup. Unfortunately, Fred didn’t go to the Houston versus Duke game in the sweet sixteen because he was planning to play in a tournament on the Champions Tour. The cougars lost and the worse news was Fred didn’t play in the tournament due to his long ailing back.
Jose Maria Olazabal- It has been 30 years since Jose Maria won his first green jacket. He is likely to enjoy himself at the Champions dinner feasting on all the tapas Jon Rahm is going to be serving. He will feel like he is home in Spain! He has played better in his three starts on the champions tour than he did last year. Unfortunately, last year he beat only three people in the first two days. Two of them retired (Mize and Lyle) and Adam Svensson isn’t back this year.
Vijay Singh- How many more years does Vijay have teeing it up in The Masters? I would guess it is more than we would think. He just turned 60 but he has only made one cut since 2015. However, he doesn’t seem to have anything else to do and he is still grinding on his game. I think it is going to take Fred Ridley stepping in for Vijay to call it. I hope he is the Doug Ford of my son’s generation.
Mike Weir- After seven years of dating, Mike and Bachelor alum Michelle Money tied the knot in September. Mike is also working hard on getting the International presidents Cup team ready for the big battle this fall in Canada. Something tells me the fans will be more cordial than what we will see next year at Bethpage for the Ryder Cup. As I have chronicled over the years, Mike’s game really fell apart at for about the last ten years before he turned 50 and joined The Champions Tour. He has had a successful career on the Champions Tour.
Tiger Woods- Tiger has played 24 holes so far this year. The dream of playing once a month he discussed in December is gone. That feels like a news years resolution that he knew was never really going to happen. I am sure it felt good to say at the time. Since his return following the car crash, he has competed in seven tournaments and completed two of them. When you watch him walk around it makes you wonder why he is making the effort. In the last month I have read Hughes Norton’s (Tiger’s first agent) book and Driven by Bob Harig. Both guys indicate that practicing and playing golf is the only thing that Tiger cares about. By all accounts he is preparing thoroughly for this event, even abstaining from one of his favorite activities. If he can make the cut, he will break the record for most cuts made in a row. I think that is the goal.
Phil Mickelson- What will Phil do next? For the last five years Phil has not been good on the golf course. He and his Hi-Flyers are consistently fighting it out with the Majesticks at the bottom of the LIV leaderboard. This year he became the first person to lose to Anthony Kim in his comeback thanks to a first round 80 in the Hong Kong event. And yet, he won a major championship in 2021. Last year he finished 2nd at The Masters with a final round surge. If you told me he shot 85-80 I wouldn’t be surprised. If you told me he won, I would only be slightly more surprised.
Not everyone will make the cut. In fact, only the top 50 and ties will.
Jerk Johnson- What a year it has been to be against Jerk Johnson! Of course, I was counting on his Ryder Cup captaincy being a disaster. When you have someone in charge like the Jerk you reap what you sew. Even expecting the worst, I was a little surprised when I woke up Friday morning to find America had been blanked 4-0 in the first session. What I really didn’t see coming was that Netflix would be able to chronicle all the awkward conversations and poor decisions Zach would make along the way. Thank you Netflix!
Reasonably, I thought the Ryder Cup disaster was going to be the primary issue Zach had last year. I didn’t see the issue at Waste Management coming but it has made my year. The crowd at The Waste Management was a little over served this year. One fan, correctly, pointed out to The Jerk that he was a terrible Ryder Cup captain. The Jerk took that personally and decided to confront the fan. The fan tried to quell the hostility by addressing The Jerk with the unearned title Sir. That’s when The Jerk lost it yelling, “Don’t Sir Me! I’m just sick of it. Just Shut Up.” The highlight of the golf season. I made this hat to commemorate the moment.
Taylor Moore- It has been a big week for the Razorback. He finished 2nd on Sunday for his best finish of the season. Then his alma mater hired John Calipari. It will be interest to see how that works out for them.
Lee Hodges- The Alabama native had a big win in the 3M Championship last summer in Minnesota. As a result, he will be making his Masters debut this week. Unfortunately, since then his game has been bad. He has been one of the worst players off the tee and putting so far this year on tour. That is a scary combination.
Kurt Kitayama- A year ago the Kitty Kat was coming in hot with a win at the Arnold Palmer and a 5th in the now defunct match play championship. He missed the cut. This year he is not coming in nearly as hot.
Below is a look at the players by country. There are 22 countries total represented and just about half of them are American. There are six each from England and Australia and four from South Korea and Canada.
Ryo Hisatsune- The 21-year-old from Japan won the European Tour rookie of the year last season. As a result, he earned a tour card. Fred Ridley and company were so impressed that he was one of three special exemptions they gave this year. He has played okay on the PGA tour this year, but I see this week being a learning experience for the young man. Hopefully Hideki will show him a thing or two.
Adam Schenk- As a Purdue alum, I have to imagine most of Adam’s thoughts in the last month have been about a 7’4” giant from Canada. In his professional career, he has two victories. He won the 2015 Iowa Open and the 2017 Land of Lincoln Charity Championship so I would like his chances more in a state that grows a significant amount of corn. This will be his first Masters, but he has missed the cut in the other three major starts he has made.
Danny Willett- Danny has the distinction of being the only guy in the field that has played less competitive golf than Tiger. Danny had shoulder surgery in September and hasn’t played golf since then. I am very skeptical that he is going to play. Last time his participation was in doubt, 2016 with a baby on the way, he won.
Peter “Maserati” Malnati- Bob Uecker once said, “Hey I think it’s easy for guys to hit .300 and stay in the big leagues. Hit .200 and try to stick around as long as I did; I think it’s a much greater accomplishment. That’s hard.” Is Peter the Bob Uecker of The PGA Tour? Peter has been on tour since 2013 and his best finish in the season long FedEx Cup standings is 86th. That is the only year he finished inside the top 100. Yet every year he shows up with a positive attitude, a bucket hat and a yellow ball. This year, remarkably, he is 16th after his big win at The Valspar next year. This will be his Masters debut, and only his fourth major appearance. He has yet to make a cut.
Ryan Fox- The New Zealand native had a fantastic 2023, capped off with a win in September in the European Tour PGA Championship. As a result of his finish in the European Tour he is able to ply his trade on the PGA Tour this season. Unfortunately, he has struggled this year. His biggest issue is he is the wildest driver on the whole tour. I know the stats crowd doesn’t believe in this stat anymore, but he has only hit 44% of the fairways this year.
Collin Morikawa- Collin hasn’t played very well this season, but he has been on tv more than any other golfer. They show the Comcast Business commercial with Collin and Shooter McGavin more than the golf most weekends. I will not get Comcast Business because of it. On the other hand, one commercial I love is a commercial that is shown on the golf channel all the time. It is a Humana commercial with two older ladies talking. I laugh every time I hear that lady say, “Don’t get me wrong I love a fresh heirloom.” Regarding Collin’s golf, he isn’t playing very well. He really played great when fans weren’t allowed. Five of his six wins, and both majors, were from July 2020 through July 2021.
Jake Knapp- Two years ago Jake was working as a bouncer chucking Waste Management fans from bars. He loves to work out and it shows. He was interviewed after his final round at The Honda/Cognizant and he finished it off with, “Can’t wait to get it into gym.” I happened to be sick the week of the Vidanta Championship. It is the tournament I watched the most so far this year. Hopefully, that will change this week. For the first three days of the tournament Knapp was amazing. He hits it long and straight with effortless power. It may have been the antibiotics but he was one of the best players I have ever seen those three days. On Sunday, he was all over the place but held off the hard charging Sami Valimaki with some great short game shots.
Nick Dunlap- US Amateur Champion- Oddly, if he had finished second at the American Express and remained an amateur I would probably have higher hopes for him this week. It has been a whirlwind two months for Nick. NICK was in his sophomore year at Alabama through the first three weeks of January enjoying life as the US Amateur champion. Then Nick Saban retired and Nick Dunlap won. Nick decided to turn pro. He hasn’t played very well in the three months since he won but he finished 11th last week so maybe he is turning the corner.
Rickie Fowler- I have had the Palm Tree on “is he not good again” watch since February and it is not looking good. Is it possible he needs a bigger water bottle? The resurgence of last summer gave everyone clad in Orange and Puma (and many corporate sponsors) hope, but his best finish this year is a tie for 35th at the Genesis and he missed the cut last week.
As part of the friends and family tour, The Jerk took Rick to Rome last fall. Rickie was ultimately the guy who lost the match that lost the Ryder Cup. All time nice guy Rickie gave Tommy Fleetwood, not Loren Roberts, a three-footer to lose the cup. Rickie defended it saying it would have been good in a friendly game at home so why not then? No one has ever missed a putt like that...
Eric Cole- Eric is the son of two professional golfers. Both of his parents, Bobby Cole and Laura Baugh, set records for winning tournaments at a young age. His father Bobby was the youngest winner on the European Tour until the great Matteo Mannasero won when he was 16 (Matteo is playing great right now. Hopefully I can write about him next year). His mother, Laura Baugh won the US Amateur at the age of 16. Eric on the other hand has been a late bloomer. His breakout season came last year at the age of 34. Prior to last year, he had won 56 times on the minor league. Last year, was his first year on tour after finishing 3rd on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2022. He was the awarded the rookie of the year award last year making him the second oldest to win that award behind Win a Date with Todd Hamilton who won it at the age of 38. This will be his Masters debut and given his history I suspect it will take him some time to get used to the tournament.
Thorbjorn Olesen- Thorbjorn has been off the radar for a while as he served his penance for the troubles, he had in the friendly skies five years ago. Thorbjorn was given a special exemption by Augusta to get into the Masters this year. He used to go by Jacob but switched to his middle name because it is unique. Good move, would Jacob Olesen have received that special invitation? He won earlier this year on the European Tour, but he has struggled of late.
Patrick Reed- Patrick is largely to blame for the demise of the once dominant Four Aces. He is currently ranked 30th in the LIV rankings. I am sure he is playing under a lot of stress after losing all his frivolous, but amusing, lawsuits against everyone in golf media. The judge in the case ordered Patrick to pay the legal fees for all the people he sued. Patrick has a lot of legal bills coming his way. Augusta National might be reconsidering the lifetime exemption for the champion.
Gary Woodland- Gary has had a slow start to the season but that fact that he is playing at all is quite remarkable. Last year he was dealing with severe anxiety due to a lesion he had on his brain. He said last year during the Memorial he laid in bed for an hour thinking he was dying. I have had that same feeling during the memorial but usually in the morning after I had been at the Bogey Inn. The surgery certainly had no guarantee of success and Gary’s eyesight was at risk. Thankfully, everything worked out and the anxiety was gone. It would be great to see Gary play well this week.
Tyrrell Hatton- Tyrell has made it clear over the years that he doesn’t care that much for Augusta National, calling it “unfair at times” and flipping out many times (though he does that everywhere). Since he moved over to LIV to serve in Legion 13 this may not be a concern much longer. Unless a deal actually gets done between The Tour and LIV he will fall down the world rankings. He has never finished better than 18th and I don’t see that improving this week.
Lucas Glover- This time last year, Lucas was languishing away as about the 200th ranked player in the world. He missed the hole entirely on a one foot putt at Brookside during a playoff to qualify for the US Open. This putt would not hit the hole.
Too bad Rickie wasn’t there
But something curious happened last summer. Lucas became one of the best players in the world. He finished 4th, 6th, 5th at the Rocket Mortgage, John Deere and Barbasol respectively. Then he won both the Greater Greensboro Open and the first “playoff” event in Memphis. His putter was never an asset, but his broomstick caught fire. As it stands now, he is the worst ranked putter in the field. In nine previous Masters starts, he has four missed cuts and a best finish of 20th way back in the infamous 2007 Masters.
Luke List- Luke, who resides in Augusta, will be making his third career appearance at The Masters. So far, he is 50/50 on making the cut. He played his first Masters in 2005 following a runner-up finish in the 2004 US Amateur and made the cut that year. He missed the cut in 2022. He is back again this year after his win in the Sanderson Classic this fall. His game gets worse the closer he gets to the hole. That is not a recipe for success.
Sam Burns – For a guy who usually does his best work on Bermuda, Sam came out of the gates this year on firing. He racked up four top 10s on the west coast. Since then he hasn’t played as well. This isn’t the kind of form he wants heading into a major. His best finish in 14 major starts is a tie for 20th.
Bubba Watson- Much debate in the world about the GOAT in various sports, but there is no doubt that Bubba is the top Range Goat. Many people questioned the blockbuster trade to get rid of Gooch and Varner for Wolff and Uihlein. The Goats got second last week and would have won if Bubba didn’t play so bad. On the quick facts in his bio on the LIV website the question “Golf achievement you’re most proud of?” Bubba answered, “Starting the Range Goats.” It is an almost certain that his old caddie Ted Scott has made more than him this year carrying Scottie’s bag than Bubba has on the LIV Tour.
Keegan Bradley- You had to feel for Keegan during Full Swing. For those who didn’t see it, he was not picked for Ryder Cup so Jerk Johnson could take his friends J Tizzle and Rickie. Credit to Keegan for cheering hard for the Americans. Add in his beloved St. Johns Red Storm got left out of the NCAA tournament and it has been a tough year of waiting for a call for Keegan. Keegan has never finished better than 22nd at The Masters and he hasn’t broken 70 since early February.
Sepp Straka- In the deciding (first) session of the Ryder Cup, Sepp paired up Shane Lowry and just ran it down the throat of the tiny Rickie Fowler and Collin Morikawa. This season Sepp is still hitting it well with the driver, but the rest of his game has not been sharp.
Tom Kim- As chronicled in Full Swing last season, Tom Kim’s first appearance at The Masters was full of social faux pas. He took the camera crew (and himself) into the Champions locker room, he parked in the wrong place and he ate a bunch of sandwiches. Tom played great in the majors finishing 16th at The Masters, 8th at The US Open and 2nd at The British Open. This year he is playing terrible, which might be harder to overcome than a sprained ankle was at The British Open.
Grayson Murray- 18 months ago Grayson suffered a terrible scooter accident while drunk driving his scooter at The Butterfield Bermuda Championship. This was one of many incidents that ultimately caused Grayson to stop drinking. This, of course, helped his game tremendously. He won twice last year on the Korn Ferry Tour and then won in the second tournament this year in Honolulu. He hasn’t played as well since then and this is his debut, so I don’t have high hopes this week.
The top 50 and ties and all those within 10 shots of the leader after the second round will be invited to play rounds three and four.
Nice guys (probably) but not going to win
Nick Taylor- When most of the world was focused on how Shanaclown Jr. and the 49ers would blow the Super Bowl, Nick was winning the Waste Management. Nick also won the Canadian Open last summer. He was the first Canadian to win since 1954. The whole country rejoiced. This is his second Masters. He played in 2020 and shot 72 three of the four days.
Ben An- My son was watching the Hank Aaron ceremony Monday night before the Braves game. Inevitably, the all-time home run record came up. It is hard to explain to a 7 year-old why some don’t consider Barry Bonds the all-time leader. I mention this because Ben got suspended by the PGA Tour last fall for failing a drug test. According to Ben he took some cough medicine in his native South Korea that, unbeknownst to him, contained a banned substance. The medicine, and forced break, may have been just what the doctor ordered. He finished 4th and 2nd in the two Hawaii events to kick off the season. This moved him comfortably inside the top 50 in the world. He added an 8th at the Arnold Palmer. Since 2010, when he was the reigning US Amateur, he has played in four Masters but only made one cut back in 2017.
Harris English- Harry is always just hanging around. Sometime Saturday or Sunday he will be near the lead without ever having a chance to win the golf tournament. He will quietly drop back to 20th. He is also one of the six Georgia Bulldogs in the Masters this year. Once again Georgia is leading the way. As you can see Alabama, Arizona State, Oklahoma State and UC Berkely all have three. If you count ceremonial tee shots Ohio State and Stanford will move up to two players each.
Charl Schwartzel- I am as surprised as you to be see that I am expecting Charl to make the cut. Charl and Louie are pacing The Stingers on the LIV tour. Charl is currently 16th on the season long standings. Not sure what that is worth. He has also made the last four cuts at The Masters including a 10th place finish two years ago.
Adrian Meronk- After getting passed over by Team Europe for the Ryder Cup, Adrian decided to head for the (dark) green pastures of The Cleeks. Adrian, who is Polish but was born in Germany, is now learning at the knee of Marty Kaymer and Richard Bland on the Cleeks. He missed the cut last year in his debut, but he is playing decent on Liv. We share a birthday and are of similar height, so I am hoping for the best here.
Emiliano Grillo- With the Duck (Angel Cabrera) being unable to secure a visa to come to America, Emiliano will be the only Argentinian in the field this week. Incidentally, Angel must be the only person ever welcome at Augusta National but not America. Emiliano will be making his fourth appearance at The Masters but first since 2019. He has been playing well this season but continues to stink at chipping.
Stephan Jaegar- Unfortunately, Bernie Langer is out with a torn Achilles tendon incurred playing, America’s fastest growing sport, pickleball. This leaves Stephan as the only German in this year’s field. Stephan went to high school as an exchange student in Chattanooga. He was on the same high school team as Harry English and Cashmere Keith Mitchell. Stephan got in thanks to his win two weeks ago at the Houston Open as Scottie’s putt to tie on the last slid by. Unlike Peter Malnati, Stephan has been unable to keep his PGA Tour card over the years and has gone back and forth between PGA and Korn Ferry Tour. He is 11th all time in earnings on the Korn Ferry Tour. In the last two years he has gone from 155th in driving distance in 2022 to 8th this year. This has made a huge difference.
Erik Van Rooyen- Erik and Johnson Wagner are duking it out for best mustache on the pro golf circuit. Erik has been getting off the fast starts this year so he might be a solid bet for first round leader. Two fine looking mustaches.
Cam Davis- The big Aussie quietly had a good 2023. This included a tie for fourth at the PGA which I had forgotten all about due to Blockie-mania. Since the new year started things have been a little bleak. In his one previous start at The Masters in 2022 he finished 46th. I imagine we will see something similar this week.
J.T. Poston- Like his fellow Hickory High alum, Jimmy Chitwood, JT has been playing. He is inching up on the “other” JT getting within 6 spots of him in the world rankings in January following The Postman’s sixth place finish in Honolulu. Last year’s tie for 34th is his best ever finish in a major. I think he can build on that.
Chris Kirk- The sweet swinging Georgian had a heart felt win in the first tournament of the year at Kapalua. Since then he has played fine. It will call down to whether or not he can shake in enough putts. Last year, in his first Masters since 2016, he finished 23rd.
Adam Hadwin- Never a great sign when the biggest news for your year is getting tackled. Adam famously got tackled by security for running on the green to celebrate after his fellow Canadian Nick Taylor won the Canadian Open last summer. Adam has played in four previous Masters and his best finish is a tie for 24th.
As much as any sport, guys can go into a slump and struggle for either a long period of Eme or just a liGle while. The slump could be caused by injury, the yips, a divorce, a kid, a lack of desire, spending significant Eme dealing with the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund, or some other crazy reason.
Hatrick Cantlay- Despite not being well liked, compelling or charismatic, Patrick seems to have become very powerful within the PGA Tour board rooms. Of course, I appreciated that he helped to torpedo Jerk Johnson’s American team last fall with his hat situation, but it’s hard to feel too bad for a guy not getting paid more money. Aside from blowing the lead at The Genesis Patrick hasn’t done much this season. Anyway, since this is a major championship, Patrick will find himself out of contention early and remain there.
Jason Day- Jason has taken a lot of flak for his new clothing deal with Malbon, but I like it. To me, noted fashion expert, it looks like baggy golf clothes. Basically, what everyone wore in the 1990s. Did I expect Jason to start dressing like Tom Lehman? No, but I will support it. Maybe next deal he goes with Dockers to finish off the transition. Jason was right in it last year through 32 holes but a disaster on 15 was the end of him. Jason has had some great finishes at The Masters but none since the pandemic.
Jordan Spieth- I hate to say it because I love to watch him, but I have lost all faith in Jordan winning golf tournaments. He does amazing things and does idiotic things. He makes long putts and he misses short ones. He doesn’t seem capable of doing every well at the same time for 18 holes, let alone 72. Jordan was kind enough to sum it all up last week. He was four over through fifteen holes looking like he would miss the cut, then he made a hole in one! Despite bogeys on the first two holes Saturday but worked his way back into the top 5. Then he played the 18th hole, pictured below. His ball somehow was right next to a sewer and on top of the clubhouse on two separate shots. Ultimately, he made a double bogey. I just can’t see him playing 72 holes without a car wreck.
Adam Scott- Adam is doing what Adam does, looking good, swinging it beautifully. He hasn’t missed the cut since 2009 but hasn’t finished in the top ten since 2017.
Justin Thomas- Not since the annual discussion of Texas football has there been more talk about being back or not back. After a disastrous 2023, JT looked to have rebounded with a good start to the season. The missed cut at Riviera could be overlooked as he had to deal with Tiger, Tiger having the flu, and Tiger withdrawing. A missed cut at The Players and the third round 79 at Valspar have me concerned. Curiously, he split with his caddie Bones a week ago. He replaced Bones with Columbus native and former Buckeye Matt Minister so I will call that an upgrade. Even Minister might not be able to fix Justin’s putter though.
Viktor Hovland- If they played The Masters last fall, Viktor would be have been the overwhelming favorite. Curiously, he decided to change coaches. So far the results haven’t been as good. Last year he improved from 191st to 86th in strokes gained around the green. This year he is back to 183rd which is last on the PGA Tour. He has only played in five tournaments so far this year so I don’t think its time to panic, but I also don’t think this will be Viktor’s week.
Tony Finau- For some reason, Tony started the season holding the putter like Isao Aoki and it did not go well. He has since gotten the toe of the putter on the ground. His putting has improved but it is still not good.
Flaw: Putting
Max Homa- Max is coming off his one and only top 10 in a major with his tie for 10th at The British Open. So far this year he is a little down from the last few years due to a wild driver. Given that and his constant struggles in majors I don’t expect much from Max this week.
Flaw: Stinks in majors
Tommy Fleetwood- The story of Tommy’s 2023 can probably be told by two putts, one made and one conceded. In a playoff at The Canadian Open Nick Taylor made a 72-foot putt to beat Tommy on the fourth playoff hole. With the winnings he earned from finishing second there he became the all-time money winner on the PGA Tour without a victory. On the positive side, Tommy scored the winning point for Europe at the Ryder Cup after Rickie gave him a three-foot putt. I’d love to see Tommy to have a breakthrough win this week but it isn’t going to happen.
Flaw: Putting and no clutch gene
Brian Harman- The first time I heard about Brian Harman was the 2005 Walker Cup, where he was the 18-year-old prodigy. He was to be a freshman at Georgia on a team of grizzled 21-22 year old grizzled vets. At the time I believe he was the youngest American Walker Cup player ever and was destined for greatness. Given the level of hype, a good career on the PGA Tour was probably below expectations. For a number of years there would be discussion of who had the best career of the guys on the team. All of them had been on the PGA Tour and probably half had wins. Until
last summer it was probably down to Brian, Anthony Kim and JB (went by John still in 2005) Holmes. Brian ended that argument last summer with his dominant victory at The British Open.
Flaw: Too Short (cc: Stephen A)
2005 US Walker Cup Team- Some guys have changed more than others (Photo credit Billy C.)
Min Woo Lee- The chef is absolutely cooking off the tee. He has the fourth highest clubhead speed on tour and highest of players in the Masters. The rest of his game needs some time in the oven. Of course, I would never want to hold him back from cooking so “Let him cook.”
Flaw: Everything except driver
Nicolai Hojgaard- Until the last six months, Nicolai was best known as one of half of the “Hojgaard twins.” Nicolai started to separate himself from his brother Rasmus (Nicolai currently ranked 37 and Rasmus 81) last year. Luke Donald went outside of his circle of friends to pick him for the Ryder Cup team where he was part of the winning European team. He just turned 23 so I expect this to be the first of many Masters for him. However, right now his game is not well rounded enough to truly contend.
F
law: Rookie
Denny McCarthy- Denny is coming off a scorching hot Sunday to catch Akshay Bahtia in San Antonio. He birdied eight of the last nine holes in route to a back nine 28. He and Akshay were nine shots ahead of Rory who finished third. Denny is very likely the best putter in world right now. This will be his Masters debut.
Justin Rose- It feels like Rose is the guy the Majesticks really need. If they were allowed to have five players, they would probably be a top half LIV team. Alas, he has remained on the PGA Tour. Justin’s record at The Masters is quietly very good. He has finished in the top 23 in eight of the last ten years, with two second place finishes.
Austin Eckroat- Austin had his first career a month ago. Unfortunately, it was on a Monday morning so very few people saw it. Austin was on the great Oklahoma State team with Viktor Hovland and Matthew Wolff. He didn’t get off to as quick as a start as them, but he is looking good now. He is a great iron player which is exactly what you need at Augusta National.
Corey Conners- Corey finished 10th, 8th, and 6th in 2020-2022 so he was looking primed for a 4th place finish last year. Last year he was coming off a win the week before The Masters. It was a surprise when he shot 79 in the second round to miss the cut. The sweet swinging Canadian will get back to the weekend this year.
Sergio Garcia- I have never been a fan of Sergio, partly because he was a “rival” to Tiger and partly just because he was usually whining about things. He also missed the cut when I picked him to win one year. So, I reluctantly watched a one club challenge he and Bryson had at Sergio’s home course in Texas. It must say it was enjoyable, both guys were likeable, and Sergio was very impressive manufacturing shots with a 5 iron. Sergio has been playing well this year. He has lost two playoffs in LIV events. He lost in the first event to Joaquin Niemann. He lost Sunday to Mean Dean Burmester. The ability to close out a tournament has never been a strength, although he did win this tournament once.
Matt Fitzpatrick- At the Players, Matt said he had discovered a problem with some weights in the grip of his driver that had been throwing him off for a year. He got fifth in that tournament so maybe that has been his issue. I am not totally sold that was his only issue, but I guess we will see. He is trending positively at The Masters with a 14th and 10th the last two years.
Sungjae Im- Sungjae is going to be well rested this week as he comes in off two weeks off. If the Sungjae tracker on X (formerly twitter J) he has been practicing for the last two weeks with a new putter. Sungjae hasn’t been playing great this year, but he has finished in the top 16 three of the last four years.
Dustin Johnson- Despite all the new players LIV has brought in during the past two years, Dustin remains the best LIV golfer. Being the captain of the Four Aces may be wearing on him.
The Aces had a DUI, a divorce, and had a serious setback in the courtroom. Amazingly, DJ was not involved in any of those things. As he approaches 40 this summer, DJ has just been off the radar over on the LIV Tour but he remains a great golfer. I foresee something like what he did at the US Open where he was just hanging around all week but couldn’t get anything to fall. Maybe this week a few putts will go this week.
Cam Smith- Cam withdrew this week from the LIV event in Doral with a case of food poisoning. I am not sure how this will affect him this week. But assuming he is bringing his putter and wedge this week I think he will be fine. Cam has a sterling record at Augusta National with three top 5s and a top 10 in the last six years.
Matthieu Pavon- For the first quarter of the season the two best players in the world were Joaquin Niemann and Matthieu. The Frenchman birdied his last four holes of the DP World Tour season to earn his PGA Tour card. He then won the sleepy Torrey Pines event to launch himself to first in the fed ex cup standings. Following his win at Torrey the question almost everyone was asking about Matthieu was, “what is going on with his hand tattoo?” He Finished 3rd at Pebble Beach to move to the top of the FedEx Cup standings where he remained until Scottie started cooking. He is currently fifth is strokes gained on the PGA Tour. He made the cut in the 2018 US Open. He has missed the cut in the other three majors he played.
He won’t forget this
Akshay Bahtia- The last man into the field with his victory in San Antonio. It looked like Akshay would win easily as he opened up an eight-shot lead early in the round Sunday. Then Denny McCarthy started making birdie on every hole. Ultimately, Akshay won in a playoff. Akshay is a very talented 22-year-old who has been a pro since he was 17. To his credit, he took a lot of lumps the last five years, but he worked his way up the ladder of professional golf. The win last week is his second on the PGA Tour after he won The Barracuda last summer. A year ago, he was 280th in the world. This week he is 34th. The sky is the limit.
Back in the old days everyone who finished in the top 16 and ties qualified for The Masters the following year. That has been lowered to top 12 and ties for the past few years. Unlike Fred Ridley I am not just going to be making changes willy nilly.
16) Si Woo Kim- Ever since he wished me a happy birthday in 2020, Si Woo has been one of my favorite players (Ty Man’s great Si Woo report in 2021 helped a lot too). He is now my favorite player. October 1st was the last day of the Ryder Cup. There was a much more important event going on in China. Si Woo and Sungjae helped South Korea to a victory in the Asian Games. This victory exempted both players, and their two other teammates, from the mandatory two years of military service. It wasn’t entirely clear to me when Si Woo was going to have to serve his mandatory 21 months for the South Korean military but it was coming up either this year or next. Si Woo is playing great this year. He is 11th in total strokes gained on tour even though his putter is not cooperating. We seem to be switching between a broomstick and a short putter with a cross handed grip. Neither one seems to be working which could lead to another broken putter like 2021. Hopefully one of them works this week!
One my favorite shirts
15) Shane Lowry- During the hat gate at The Ryder Cup Shane became the hold back guy for Rory. If it weren’t for Shane, we might have had Rory fighting both Joe LaCava and Bones. Shane seems to have figured out something at Augusta National finishing in the top 25 each of the last four years.
14) Will Zalatoris- Will missed all last year with a back injury. He is back this year, and he is playing well. He has finished 2nd, 4th, and 13th in seven tournaments. More importantly, his record in major championships is incredible. He has three 2nd place finishes and six total top 8 finishes in nine majors. The putting is still a major concern. He has switched to a broom stick and his stroke no longer looks like a guy trying to tie his shoes. Unfortunately, he still isn’t making many putts.
13) Russell Henley- Russell is very quietly coming in The Masters on a tear. He finished fourth last week, at the Arnold Palmer and the Sony. He also finished fourth last year. Finally, he will be celebrating his 35th birthday on Friday. No better birthday gift to get himself than a green jacket.
12) Cameron Young- I have a soft spot for Wake Forest golfers, so I am waiting patiently to see Cameron come through. With his second-place finish at The Valspar three weeks ago Cameron became the all-time leader in 2nd place finishes (7) without a win. He passed Colin Montgomerie and Briny Baird. Losing a head-to-head battle with Maserati Malnati was particularly tough. Hopefully soon Cameron can get off that list soon and have his results match his potential.
11) Jon Rahm- When Jon slipped on the green jacket last year it seemed like a victory for the PGA Tour. It also opened the door for him to slip on the LIV letterman jacket in December. At the time it seemed like it might bring the two tours closer to a deal. It doesn’t seem like much is happening besides Tiger and Yasir playing together, but who knows? Maybe Jay and Yasir will be on CNBC next week. Jon just captained Legion 13 to its second win of the season last week. Jon hasn’t won an event on the LIV tour but he has finished no worse than 8th and is second in the season standings. Seems like he is playing good and will be ready to defend.
10) Wyndham “Rewards” Clark- In an extremely rare circumstance, we have two of the top nine players in the world making their debut at The Masters after they have reached that lofty perch. Ludvig is 9th in the world and Wyndham is 5th. Wyndham was highly recruited and had a great college career, so it was a bit of surprise when he didn’t do much in his pro career right away. Of course, that all changed in big way last year started with his win in the US Open. It’s been since 1979 that a rookie won The Masters. Wyndham has as good a chance as someone in a long time the way he playing.
9) Joaquin Niemann- Migration is the only movie I have seen in the theater in quite some time. There a bird in there who is always begging her Uncle Dan to let her do things with a big smile and bulging eye balls. Joaquin was basically doing the same thing for the first quarter of the season. In an effort to get high enough in the world rankings he has played a lot of golf this year. He won the Australian Open against a field that included seven Masters invitees and Michael Block. He has also won two of the five LIV events this year. After each win he begged for a Masters invitation. Augusta National granted him his wish. Joaquin will be raring to go this week and improve upon his 16th place finish from last year.
Joaquin begging for an invite from Fred Ridley
8) Rory McIlroy- Rory has had an odd year. He finished 2nd and 1st in Dubai in his two events in January. He was playing great on the first day of The Crosby Clambake at Spyglass Hill and then he made a triple bogey after a two-shot penalty for taking an illegal drop. This started a trend of having numerous doubles and triples throughout a tournament. At The Players he double bogeyed 14 three days in a row. He also had the odd riff with Jordan and Viktor about his drops there. There is hope though. First, he has been to see Butch to check things out. The history of Butch and Masters Champions is strong. He also played really well last week finishing third. My head says the tweet below is correct, but...
maybe this is the year
7) Bryson DeChambeau- The trajectory of Bryson’s career at The Masters alone so far has been wild. He came into 2016 as the US Amateur champion. He had watched thousands of hours and tape he borrowed from Jim Nantz to prepare. Of course, he was a bit of a curiosity since he played single length irons and wore the Hogan style cap. He came into the 18th hole on Friday two behind the leader before he made triple. Ultimately, he was the low amateur and finished 21st, which is his best finish to date. By the time The Masters was played in 2020, Bryson was the US Open champion and was huge and bombing it. It was leading into that year’s event when he said the course was a par 67 for him. Bryson is not one to keep his thoughts to himself, but even he might regret saying that. The 2021 Masters was shortly after he almost drove #6 at Bay Hill and played in the final group at The Players. He was one of the five most famous golfers in the world. He then joined the Crushers and has been off the radar, even though the Crushers are defending LIV champions. He has missed the cut in the last two Masters, but he comes in playing well. Can this finally be the year Bryson makes good on the promise of 2016?
6) Sahith Theegala- The very likable, Sahith appears to be on the precipice of a breakthrough. It should be no surprise that the Pin Hunter has been doing just that all year. He got his first win this fall at The Fortinet and has been playing great in 2024. He is currently 4th in total strokes gained on the PGA Tour. After a 9th place finish last year, I would be surprised if he doesn’t build on that.
5) Hideki Matsuyama- In a year where the stars of the PGA Tour haven’t been carrying his weight, Hideki is doing everything he can. He won at Riviera, and has finished 12th, 6th and 7th in three starts since then. As you can imagine, he is hitting it great. He is never going to be Ben Crenshaw on the greens, but he is doing enough this year and he has done it before.
4) Brooks Koepka- Brooks walks around with a chip on his shoulder. Part of it is just how he is, but he also has a point. He has won five major championships and when the LIV golf defectors are discussed its always, Rahm, DJ, Cam Smith, Bryson and oh yea Brooks. That might also be fair because no matter what tour he is on he doesn’t do anything special. The man is singularly focused on four weeks a year. He has not played very well this year, including back-to-back 77s on Saturday and Sunday last week. Despite the win at The PGA last year, blowing the final round lead last year to Rahm must be burning him up.
3) Ludvig Aberg- Ludvig, has the unique distinction of being the first player to play in a Ryder Cup before playing in a major. Jack Nicklaus had three green jackets before he made his Ryder Cup debut. Things change. Ludvig is an incredible talent and will be around for a long time. If he lives up to his billing, we may have to start looking at Texas Tech as the birthplace of superstars, since they might be dominating football and golf. One amusing tidbit I hadn’t heard previously about Ludvig. When he first matriculated from Sweden to Lubbock, Texas he didn’t know what he was going to find. Ludvig is a lover of tacos, and he packed a lot of taco seasoning because he was worried he wouldn’t be able to get them in Texas.
2) Xander Schauffele- I really considered picking Xander to win this week. Then I remembered he hasn’t won a golf tournament since 2022 (unless you count a tie for 1st in the net championship in August). We have also already seen him blow a five-shot lead to Scottie this year. Xander is the second-best player on the PGA Tour week to week. He has made 42 cuts in a row. His finishes this year are 10th, 3rd, 9th, 54th (final round rained out, would have finished strong for a high finish I am sure), 4th, 25th, 2nd, 5th. I almost feel better about picking him to finish 2nd than I do picking Scottie to win.
1) Scottie Scheffler- One thing that really stood out to me when I watched Full Swing this year was how insulated the golf world is. They would show everyone working out at the tournament with the golf channel on, talking about the tournament they are all playing. After he won The Players, I saw an interview where Scottie marks not interested on any golf related story that pops up on his phone. That is probably a healthy way to operate. Scottie just goes out hits every fairway and green, makes a few putts and moves on to the next day.
Scottie is of course the overwhelming favorite coming into the week, as he should be. So, I must apologize for picking him. I really tried to think of a way to not pick him. The putter is a concern, and he didn’t putt great in the last round of the Houston Open. Is the new putter charm wearing off? The question I could not answer was, who is going to beat him? Nelly Korda is on fire, but she isn’t in the tournament. No one else gets me excited. There is one issue I have concerns about. His wife Meredith is very pregnant and is expected to give birth in late April. There have been babies born two weeks before their due date. I can speak from experience. How is Scottie going to handle this? Is Ted Scott carrying a pager ala Bones at Pinehurst in 1999? That said, Scottie has been the best player in the world for two years and it isn’t very close. It is time for him to start winning more majors to validate his greatness. That starts this week.
A second Green jacket and a healthy baby. It is going to be a big April. Let’s do it Scottie!
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