There is very simply very little in sports that, year after year, provides the kind of drama and grandeur of The Masters golf tournament.
I know this because my wife, who is not much of a golf fan, actually got caught up in the drama yesterday.
The last thing I really wanted to be doing was sitting in front of the tube. It was a decent afternoon after a thoroughly miserable winter. I should have been outside, doing yard work or almost anything that got me out of the house.
But I could not tear myself away from the TV.
I knew this was going to be a special afternoon as soon as my guy, Tiger Woods, came out smoking on the front nine at Augusta National. Tiger started seven shots off the lead. But in the blink of an eye, and a sizzling 31 on the front line, he was tied for the lead.
They say the Masters does not begin until the back nine on Sunday. It held true again this year. But after putting himself in contention to grab the tournament by the throat, Tiger instead basically wound up treading water.
He had a putt that would have put him in the lead alone, but it rimmed the cup on the way by.
He never got close again. Adam Scott blew by him, as did eventual winner Charl Schwartzel of South Africa.
Tiger got it to 10 under, but could do no better. He wound up tied for fourth. For most golfers, it would be a very good showing. Not for Woods. He hit the ball well all week, but was again betrayed by a hot-and-cold putter.
It seems like every year Augusta tortures one soul. This year’s version of Greg Norman was 21-year-old Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland. He led the entire tournament, until the wheels came off on Sunday.
There was a time when Tiger Woods was a little bit like Mike Tyson. That being that he beat most guys before he ever stepped into the ring – or the first tee – with them.
Woods’ advantage was as much psychological as physical. Very simply, he got inside other guys’ heads. He was The Intimidator, the Dale Earnhardt of golf.
Not anymore.
There is an entire new generation of golf superstars, none of whom seem the least bit nonplussed about sharing a stage with Woods, Rory McIlvoy’s meltdown notwithstanding.
Yesterday, Tiger was Tiger again, at least for a few hours. But that’s not good enough anymore.
Some things don’t change at The Masters. It still creates a day of high drama.
What has changed is the guys making the most noise. Move over Tiger, there’s a new bunch of young lions clawing their way into golf’s winner’s circle.
I know this because my wife, who is not much of a golf fan, actually got caught up in the drama yesterday.
The last thing I really wanted to be doing was sitting in front of the tube. It was a decent afternoon after a thoroughly miserable winter. I should have been outside, doing yard work or almost anything that got me out of the house.
But I could not tear myself away from the TV.
I knew this was going to be a special afternoon as soon as my guy, Tiger Woods, came out smoking on the front nine at Augusta National. Tiger started seven shots off the lead. But in the blink of an eye, and a sizzling 31 on the front line, he was tied for the lead.
They say the Masters does not begin until the back nine on Sunday. It held true again this year. But after putting himself in contention to grab the tournament by the throat, Tiger instead basically wound up treading water.
He had a putt that would have put him in the lead alone, but it rimmed the cup on the way by.
He never got close again. Adam Scott blew by him, as did eventual winner Charl Schwartzel of South Africa.
Tiger got it to 10 under, but could do no better. He wound up tied for fourth. For most golfers, it would be a very good showing. Not for Woods. He hit the ball well all week, but was again betrayed by a hot-and-cold putter.
It seems like every year Augusta tortures one soul. This year’s version of Greg Norman was 21-year-old Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland. He led the entire tournament, until the wheels came off on Sunday.
There was a time when Tiger Woods was a little bit like Mike Tyson. That being that he beat most guys before he ever stepped into the ring – or the first tee – with them.
Woods’ advantage was as much psychological as physical. Very simply, he got inside other guys’ heads. He was The Intimidator, the Dale Earnhardt of golf.
Not anymore.
There is an entire new generation of golf superstars, none of whom seem the least bit nonplussed about sharing a stage with Woods, Rory McIlvoy’s meltdown notwithstanding.
Yesterday, Tiger was Tiger again, at least for a few hours. But that’s not good enough anymore.
Some things don’t change at The Masters. It still creates a day of high drama.
What has changed is the guys making the most noise. Move over Tiger, there’s a new bunch of young lions clawing their way into golf’s winner’s circle.
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