Didn't think this guy would be making an appearance, did you?
The European Tour’s lucrative roll along the Gulf coast continues this week, and while the Commercialbank Qatar Masters presented by Dolphin Energy (henceforth, the Qatar Masters) can’t quite muster the glamour of its bigger, brasher sister, the Abu Dhabi Championship, its first round was far from lacking in both excitement and oddity.
Fowler for the Wanamaker? Hm...
Anticipation is building, folks, and it’s time to nail your colours to the mast, be they Oklahoma orange all the way or Tiger red. I put together a little gambling guide for The Score earlier and, though the odds probably won’t be of that much use to you if you live in a Puritan state, I hope the picks prove a useful springboard to larger, more nuanced musings in the comments thread.
Watney closes again
When Nick Watney pushed his drive on No. 12 during the final round of the AT&T National, his ball smacked a fan in the middle of the forehead on the fly and then bounced roughly 25 yards back into the fairway. The spectator didn’t even flinch, insisting he was fine. Uh, buddy, you just got hit in the head by a golf ball that was traveling at a hundred-plus miles-an-hour!
Watney may have been the luckier one in the situation, though. Had his errant drive not taken a favorable kick after thumping the fan, Watney would have likely had a tough shot out of Aronimink’s heavy rough. Right after that happened, I thought to myself, “He’s going to win.”
You see, as much as golf is about skill, it takes good breaks to close for a victory. Sometimes you need the favorable bounces and you definitely need to have a little bit of luck out there.
Is 62 on? This guy seems to think so
As players begin to get to grips with the shape, if not the likely severity, of Congressional’s layout this week, the AP’s Doug Ferguson has busied himself canvassing player opinion. Whereas the like of Lee Westwood and KJ Choi are very much focused on the more challenging aspects of the course, Hunter Mahan claims to see a record score or two just waiting to be made.
G-Mac celebrates: fingers crossed for a Ryder Cup repeat
After the weather-related shenanigans of the last twenty-four hours, we finally have a 54-hole leaderboard, and who should sit atop the pile, but gritty Northerner Graeme McDowell. His third round 68 leaves him on twelve-under par, enough for a one-shot advantage over K.J. Choi and David Toms, who are in turn two shots clear of a group of six players.
The final round of the Masters is underway, but we’ve still got two hours before the leaders tee off. As you know, Rory McIlroy leads by four shots over K.J. Choi, Jason Day, Angel Cabrera and Charl Schwartzel. Adam Scott and Luke Donald are five strokes back. Do you think Rory can pull it off today? I sure hope so. If he pulls a Dustin Johnson at the US Open or Nick Watney at the PGA, who do you think will take control? Can Tiger still win or is he too far back?
I’m heading out to watch some of the action in person, but I’ve already started live-blogging at the Wall Street Journal’s Daily Fix and will return in time for most of Rory’s round. Please come by and say hello and leave your thoughts in either comment section. Thanks! Here’s to a compelling and unforgettable Masters Sunday!
(AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Bromance: Rory McIlroy and Jason Day enjoy each other's company... not that there's anything wrong with that.
With the course as likely to yield soul-destroying runs of bogies as birdies, leaderboards at Augusta National have a great way of remaining fluid thoughout the day, with all manner of charges and retreats, tragedies and miracles taking place all over the course, often simultaneously. Friday at the 2011 tournament was no different, though one name, that of Rory McIlroy, remained a constant at the summit (I’m ignoring KJ’s brief cameo, I know), a sort of pole-star below which other names rose and fell.
Byrne and his boss, Edoardo Molinari
Colin Byrne’s column in The Irish Times this week deals, predictably enough, with the build-up to the year’s first major. In attempting to outline the sheer scale of the practical and psychological challenges facing the competitors this week, he offers some intriguing insight into the preparatory process of one of golf’s most enigmatic players, KJ Choi:
After Bubba Watson finished the final round at the Transitions Championship, he ran into a PGA Tour media official in the locker room. “I need your help,” said Bubba. “I want to do my part. I want to give you a check for $50,000.” Of course, the generous gesture is a donation to help the relief effort for the victims of the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
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