Kerplookee Fantasy Golf – The Masters Day 4

Congrats to Phil Mickelson! Not to take anything away from Phil but only at Augusta could you drive the ball so poorly and still have the opportunity to win. It seemed like Lefty missed every other fairway today and was still putting for birdie (or eagle) on almost every hole. The second shot he made on #13 from the pine straw between two trees landing 6 feet from the pin for a eagle putt (which he missed) was one of the best shots I’ve ever seen in my life. But the pine flower that landed right smack in his line (I think it was the 4th hole) while in the middle of his back swing during his putt was all the evidence I needed to justify he deserved to win. That was the strangest thing I’ve ever seen in golf! It was awesome to see Amy again waiting for Phil at the 18th green! Lee Westwood was fairly steady all day long and ended with an admirable 71. Westwood is a great  guy and proved to be the perfect pairing for Lefty. I’m going to go ahead and pick Westwood right now for the British Open this year. Anthony Kim came up a bit short but it wasn’t for lack of effort with a final round 65. The coverage of Kim was terrible and we only got see a few of his shots. It’s pretty obvious to me however that Kim loves Augusta National and it’s only a matter of time before he gets his chance to slip on a green jacket. Woods and Choi played together four straight days and both ended up 4th at 11 under. That has to be the first time that has ever happened. KJ Choi sealed his fate on #13 with a bogey and followed that up with another bogey on #14. I actually found myself rooting for Choi today. It was no easy task to be paired with Tiger all four rounds and KJ dealt with it great and is a true competitor. Tiger was obviously not on top of his game which is pretty sad considering he still finished 4th. Mark O’meara predicted Tiger was only about 80% but even at 80% he would still be in the hunt come Sunday. I’m sure it was a combination of factors including all the press coverage, lack of competitive play, new V grooves on the wedges and probably a hex that was put on him by Elin.  I mean let’s get serious here. Does anyone think Tiger actually deserved to win The Masters after what he did to Elin? Not a chance! The fact he even had a chance to win was probably more than he deserved. And why in the world would you play with new wedges for the first time at the Masters? Of all the places, Augusta requires an absolutely delicate touch around the greens. I wouldn’t have even considered trying one new club let alone all new wedges with different grooves. I will say however with Tiger lurking all day it did make things more interesting. And I do tip my hat to Tiger for avoiding any excuses in his interview. He could have made all kinds of excuses but chose to take the high road and simply say “I entered to win and I didn’t”   Then there was Fred Couples….For the first 10 holes Freddie kept us on the edge of our seats. There was a brief moment when Freddie was within one shot of the lead. Unfortunately however Freddie’s chances were ruined with a double bogey in #12. You could almost see it on his face as he walked across Hogans Bridge. In fact it seemed like he knew that may have been his last best chance to win the Masters. Hold your head high Freddie! You played very well and gave us all reasons to continue cheering for you. And finally Tom Watson deserves another mention. At 60 years old Watson carded a tournament total 1 under 287. It may have been unrealistic to expect much more than that from Mr. Watson but it was fun to dream while it lasted. I sure hope Tom gets invited to play at the US Open in Pebble Beach. After his last two majors he has certainly proved he deserves it. If not there is something seriously wrong with our system.

Well the Masters is in the books and golf season is officially started. For me this will go down as one of my favorite Masters of all time. 1986 is etched in my mind forever but 2010 makes the list for sure.

Congrats again to Phil Mickelson and all the best to you and your family.