Ok, now for the let down. With all the anticipation that leads up to Masters week the post Masters let down is inevitable. Fathers day weekend seems like a year away- that's the weekend that coincides with the US Open by the way and it's the second most anticipated event on the calender. The great thing about Masters weekend is that it also signals the beginning of spring so we have that going for us- which is nice ;-)
Where do we start? I guess I should take my medicine in regards to my picks.
Win- Phil Mickleson T27 -70-72-71-74 - Lefty just didn't have it. I think that he left most of his good drives in Houston last week because he couldn't hit it in the ocean. How can a player with the skill and talent of Phil Mickleson be such a poor driver of the ball? Most of you that have worked with me for any amount of time know how much emphasis I place on getting the ball in play. If you can't hit 75% of your fairways then you put too much pressure on the rest of you game. All Phil has to do is sacrifice about 20 yards off of the tee and he will be virtually unbeatable. I haven't done the research but I would bet that 75% of the players that finished above him are on average 20 yards shorter than him off of the tee. Wonder what Schwartzel's driving starts are?
Place- Bubba Watson T38 - 73-71-67-78 - I was really disappointed in all of the high scores from players whose current form would suggest that they were ready to put on the green jacket this week. Westwood had a 74 on Saturday. Ricky Barnes a 75 on Saturday. Furyk 75. Ian Poulter took himself out of it with a 74 Thursday. After a 67 on Thursday Alvaro Quiros went 73, 75, 74. Of course just as we thought Sergio was going to make a statement-69, 71, 75, 73. Paul Casey a 75 on Saturday. Rickie Fowler went 76-75 on the weekend. Not to mention all the trunk slammers that didn't even make the weekend. How about these names: Clark, Cink, Glover, Mahan, Kim, O'Hair, Goosen, Vegas, Oosthuizen, Kaymer 78, 72, and VJ. I knew Kaymer had struggled at Augusta in his 2 starts but an opening 78? Really?
Show- Matt Kuchar T27- 68-75-69-75- Now here is arguably the hottest player on the planet shooting 7 and 6 shots worse following rounds of 68 and 69 respectively. I read where several pundits didn't give him much of a chance because of his lack of length. Two words Charl Schwartzel.
Low Amateur -Peter Uhilein- 72-78- Talking about the lucky sperm club. How can you not be a good golfer when your old man is the CEO of Titliest? This kid is going to be special. He stated after his US Amateur win last year that he didn't want to play at Augusta until he had earned his way there. Shooting 72 on Thursday after never playing the golf course in competition is impressive. Especially with the previous years champion who just happens to be the most popular American golfer these days. What I like about him is he seems to have a mean streak in him. He is a super competitive player. Which is one thing that I don't see from a lot of these youngsters currently on tour. As cool and poised as Rory McIlroy is, I would like to see a little more fire. Not the whining and crying after every less than perfect shot like we get from Eldrick, but maybe a little more like Raymond Floyd. I would like to see him locked in a room with the Stare Master for about a week. Then we would have a player that might be unbeatable. Because one thing Rory has is poise. At 21 years old I'm not sure I have ever seen a more mature and poised young man. The 19 year old Japanese amateur champion Hideki Matsuyama was the only amatuer to make the cut with rounds of 72-73-68-74. How do these kids do it? 19 years old, traveling across the globe to play in the most important international golf event in the game, and shooting the scores that they shoot. It's absolutely amazing.
Lastly I want to talk about what everyone thought was going to be the resurgence of Tiger Woods. It looked like he was going to shoot 63 or 64 and win the golf tournament. But after the 8th hole he couldn't get a putt to drop and after about the third missed short putt on the back we were back to the old whining and entitled attitude that he claimed upon his return last year that he was going to change. He was also hard on the interviewers this week. He seems to be right on the edge of going off on one of them if they lob another question about the progress of his swing. If I said I was pulling for Tiger to shoot 63 I would be lying. I have a difficult time pulling for Tiger anymore. It's not so much his social life off of the golf course that I disapprove of but more so his behavior and attitude on it.
Everyone thinks it's his swing change that is holding him back but it's not, it's his attitude. Of course it's the reason he's not able to put 4 rounds together, but if you remember back to his swing changes under Butch and Hank Haney he never showed much emotion over a bad shot or missed putt. He knew that those changes were going to take time and that his short game would carry him while the changes took. Not now, his body language suggests that he is the only player in the world that can't make a putt or that fate is against him and him only. I tell my young players all the time that any negative display of emotion or body language is you just saying " I don't have confidence in my ability to change and improve". Tantrums and negativity are for everyone else anyway. It's way of showing everyone watching how much you care. Trust me, I know. For the best part of my golf career I spent more time trying to control my emotions than I did improving and becoming the best player I could be. You can't do that when you are undermining your own development by beating yourself up.
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