I love the Masters. Always have, but some of this reverence and awe stuff has its limits.
Maybe it's cool to keep galleries far away from some greens so Augusta National can show off their flower gardens instead of letting the cha-ching paying fans get an up close look at the putting action. Or maybe not.
Name any other sporting contest and the paying public in attendance are free, even encouraged, to make as much noise as possible. DEE-FENSE!!. At the Masters, speaking in hushed tones continues to be in order. Even the announcers, who as talking heads would rant and rave over a spectacular shot at any other golf tournament, are quite subdued. Instead of "Holy Ben Hogan, that shot was INCREDIBLE", they're much more likely to murmur "Well played". Such is the aura that continues to surround the Masters, and maybe that's not such a bad thing. After all, the thought of Dick Vitale or your average Latino soccer announcer handling such duties certainly gives reason for pause. We'd likely cringe at a young golfer being called a "diaper dandy", or a futbol play-by-play man screaming, "GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL, when a golfer sank a putt. That could get old quickly. Given a choice, hushed tones seem preferable.
There is also the legend of the course itself. In order to be proficient as a player, one has to be patient, take it slowly, and gradually learn the nuances over the years before one can hope to become a worthy competitor.
One word. BS.
Augusta National is like fine wine, they say. One is supposed to savor it, sniff the aroma, ever-so slowly sip it and let one's palate fully appreciate the ecstasy of such a magnificent blend stimulating one's senses.
Then again, what's the difference between a 200 year old bottle of French burgundy and a half gallon of Mad Dog? Pretty much the price. Chug either one and you'll be on your knees worshipping the porcelain god in about 30 minutes begging for forgiveness. It's wine, and will your headache in the morning be any different depending on which variety you chose the night before? Likely not.
Nevertheless, Augusta National at the Masters certainly poses its own unique challenges to the players. Lightning fast greens, some with contours bordering on the ridiculous. It's supposed to take time and years of experience playing this course for any participant to fully grasp the complexities of it. They have to "mature", like the above-mentioned fine wine. So sayeth the people that continue to speaketh in hushed tones.
But there's a major flaw in their holier-than-thou logic. If it takes so much experience, how could some 21 year old kid named Tiger come along in 1997 and blister the course to the tune of 18 under par, still a record, in his first go-round at Augusta National as a pro? He wound up winning that Masters by a whopping 12 shot margin. Also still a record.
This year another 21 year old is shooting the lights out. Enter Jordan Spieth. Though barely old enough to legally imbibe with riesling or rice wine, god help him, Spieth torched the venerable course with an opening round 64. Eight under par. Impressive indeed.
Sure, there were those that said one-hit wonders at the Masters are a dime a dozen. History is full of them, and Spieth would be another. But then he came out in the second round and chalked up a 66, another 6 under, to sit atop the leaderboard at 14 under par. A full five strokes ahead of the nearest competitor. Equally impressive.
Will the pressure of the Masters get to him on the weekend causing him to choke? Maybe, but maybe not either. Though he hasn't won a Major yet, he's still only 21 and, in fact, tied for second last year at the very same Masters. It should also be noted Spieth is currently ranked #4 in the world.
Since November of last year, Spieth has won a tournament in Australia where he shot a final round course record of 63, then followed it up by winning an event in Florida, also setting another record by posting a score of 26 under par.
As recently as March 15, Spieth won the Valspar Open. The following week he was runner-up at the Valero Texas Open. Seven days later he lost in a sudden death playoff at the Shell Houston Open.
Spieth has either been winning or knocking on the door for the last several months. And now he showed up at Augusta and has posted a tournament record 14 under par after two rounds.
What will happen on the weekend is anybody's guess. Young Jordan could choke up and fold under the enormous pressure. Or he could continue his stellar play and shatter Eldrick's 18 under mark at the Masters. Hey, if Tiger could do it at 21, who's to say somebody else can't come along and do the same?
Methinks it will be somewhere in between. Spieth has been there, done that enough already, where his collar isn't likely to get tight.
But the powers that be at Augusta likely aren't too fond of having their hallowed course brought to its knees either by another young whippersnapper.
Look for them to toughen up the course any way they can. There's not much they can do with the water hazards, bunkers, and Rae's Creek. They are what they are. Even moving the tee boxes back a bit would have little effect. But tweaking the pin placements and mowing the greens down to turn them from already fast into putting on glass is certainly within their power to do, and I'll just betcha they will.
This might get very interesting before it's over.
I dare say watching the final two rounds of the Masters beats the hell out of chugging a bottle of merlot, or was that strawberry hill? Doesn't matter. Yours truly tried that once many moons ago. It didn't work out well then either.....
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