If you are a sports fan, and in particular, a golf fan, Sunday afternoon at The Masters had to be as good as it gets for you. After all of the drama we were treated to during Masters Week, with 14 year-old Tianlang Guan being penalized a stroke for slow play at the 17th hole on Friday, and the escapades of Tiger Woods on the 15th hole, the ending was classic.
When Adam Scott hit his second shot to the 10th green, and I saw Angel Cabrera give him the smile, and thumbs-up, which in any language, means “Great Shot”, I knew I was watching golf history. If you didn’t see the end of this tournament, and the playoff, I urge you to find somewhere to watch it. Golf doesn’t get any better than this.
Adam Scott, the 32 year-old Australian ended a year of talk behind his back that he couldn’t win the big one after his four hole slide at Royal Lytham St Annes last July in the British Open. He also ended 77 years of frustration for the people of Australia. Scott exorcised the demons that have hidden in the fairways of Augusta National since it was built in the 1930′,s and did what no other Aussie in history has been able to do, win The Masters.
Adam Scott’s caddie, Stevie Williams, who was on the bag for three Masters wins by Tiger Woods, said in an interview on New Zealand TV after returning home Monday that his former boss should have been disqualified for his actions at the 15th hole on Friday. Woods’ breakup with Williams resembled a celebrity divorce after he agreed to caddie for Adam Scott during the 201o season. There is no love lost between the two.
Now that the Masters is in the books, it’s time for all of the tours to get back to work. The PGA Tour moves into South Carolina for the start of The RBC Heritage on Thursday morning. Sweden’s Carl Pettersson is the defending Champion from 2012. [ ref First Look RBC Heritage ].
The Ladies get to work in Hawaii for The LPGA LOTTE Championship. Ai Miyazato is the the defending champion, [ ref First Look LPGA LOTTE Championship ]. Former number one in Rolex Rankings, Stacy Lewis lost her number one position during the one week layoff for the Masters, after her poor performance at the Kraft Nabisco Championship two weeks ago. She drops to second place while Inbee Park was elevated to the top spot in lieu of her convincing win at the LPGA’s first major of 2013.
Sergio Garcia leads a group of Spaniards back home to play in one of the worlds oldest golf tournaments at The Open de Espana. This European Tour event also tees off Thursday morning and will have a nice field of European players who finished well at The Masters last week, including Garcia who finished tied eighth. [ ref First look Open de Espana ].
Miguel Angel Jiminez will return at The Open de Espana after missing the early season with a broken leg. The 49-year-old Spanish star broke his leg in a skiing accident during the off-season.
It’s going to be difficult to find an ending like we had Sunday afternoon in the pouring rain at Augusta, but there is a great bunch of tournaments lined up for the weekend. The next PGA event that will take on a major feel, is The Players Championship next month. It is generally referred to as the year’s fifth major, and carries a ten-year exemption on the tour. Matt Kuchar won in 2012, and will defend when it gets underway mid month.
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