2007 Masters Aftermath

[email protected] · April 12, 2007

It's been a great golf season for me so far. Charles Howell III has a win and is right in the middle of The FedEx Cup race and Zach Johnson outlasted the world's best to win a green jacket. Johnson has been one of my favorites since I realized how similar our respective golf swings are, even if his has paid off a little more. It was truly great to see the Iowa native hold on in such a huge tournament. You could tell he was blown away by everything, and that was refreshing.

Overall, I've heard a lot of negatives about the 2007 Masters. The course was a lot tougher than usual, and there weren't as many birdies or eagles throughout the four days of competition. Also, some fans get a little bent out of shape when Tiger or Phil don't win every major championship. All this aside, this year's Masters was still pretty damn good!

Seeing Zach Johnson with his family after he finished his round was a priceless moment for a soon-to-be father like myself, but there were other things that stuck out to me as well. I'll do my best to cover the most notable stories from the PGA Tour season's first major championship.

Augusta National Fought Back

Last week, I predicted the winning score at Augusta would be -11 (277). Wow, I was only off by 12 strokes! I'm not the only one that predicted something in the 270s, however. Before the tournament began, I'm not sure anyone was even close to predicting the winning score. The course was nastier than ever this past week, whether anyone liked it or not.

After the first two rounds, I was still on the fence with my opinions about the course difficulty. The Masters is always exciting because of Amen Corner followed by the risky par-five 15th hole. It was slightly different at the 2007 Masters. Not only were holes 11 and 12 playing over par, the 13th and 15th were also right around par (if not slighly over most of the week).

The U.S. Open is undoubtedly my favorite major championship, and I love seeing guys struggle for pars in that event. Some fans, including myself, seemed to think the new setup at Augusta resembles a U.S. Open setup a little too much. The rough at Augusta is getting taller and taller each year, and it may eventually be identical to most U.S. Open venues. That isn't currently the situation, but you never know.

In the end, Augusta National is still one of the most beautiful courses in the world, and the winning scores could have been -10 with a little more rain the previous week. After the first two days of play, I jumped to conclusions a little. Sure, the course was a little too tough and boring for some fans this year, but we may not see those conditions again for another 20 years. If the next couple years go the same way, then changes will have to be made to bring a little more excitement back. Until then, I'm calling this year's conditions a fluke.

The winning score was a lot higher than most people guessed, but there were all types of golfers in the top 10. There were short hitters like Zach Johnson, Jerry Kelly, etc. And there were big bombers like Tiger, Retief Goosen, and Stuart Appleby. At Augusta, it still comes down to hitting greens in regulation and taking advantage of key opportunities. Zach Johnson did that better than anyone else, and that's why he won his first green jacket. The tournament was still very exciting to watch, regardless of course difficulty or the high winning score.

Tiger Tamed Himself

Did Tiger really hold a solo lead in the final round of a major championship and lose it? Woods didn't go into the final round in the lead, so his 12 out of 12 streak is still alive. On the other hand, who cares about the streak after watching the most dominating golfer of all-time crumble under the pressure like never before? He still shot a final-round 72, but that's crumble city by his standards. It was great!

Tiger has struggled in the past, but he always seems to turn it on over the last few holes. That wasn't the case last week. Woods didn't hit many clutch shots at 17 and 18 all week, and that cost him the tournament. When Tiger took the solo lead in the final round, I felt a big sigh of relief around the world. I'm sure a lot of fans turned the channel at the same time because they knew the best of the best couldn't possibly lose his lead. That's what made things even sweeter for a fan like myself.

Contrary to what some believe, I don't dislike Tiger Woods at all. I'm not planning on being the president of his fan club anytime soon, but I don't have a problem with him. It's just nice to see him show off his human side every once in awhile. All I hear every week in the golf world is Tiger this and Tiger that. It's awesome when a quiet guy from Iowa sticks it to the world's best. It's even better when he comes from behind in the final round to do it. That made my week. Actually, that made my year! It was a breath of fresh air.

It Wasn't Easy for Ernie and Sergio

I already mentioned how bad my winning score prediction was. What I didn't tell you yet was that I picked Ernie Els to win this year. Els missed the cut. The Big Easy has had his good moments in 2007, but his lackluster finish at The Masters was awful. Not only did he miss the cut, he missed it after shooting rounds of 78 and 76. That's unbelievable for a guy who always seems to play well at the season's first major. Maybe next year (or not).

Sergio Garcia is another disappointment. I've been a fan of Sergio for six or seven years, but it's getting old in a hurry. I couldn't care less about him spitting in the cup, but it's getting pretty painful watching his performance in major championships. Garcia either contends and chokes down the stretch or misses the cut completely. For once, maybe it would be nice to see him walk away with a sturdy top-10 finish without ever contending. Or even better, how about winning one Sergio?

The Sunday performance of Phil Mickelson was bad, but at least he made it to the weekend. The biggest disappointment of the week was the play of Ernie Els and Sergio Garcia. If they don't play better at the U.S. Open, I might lose complete faith in both of them.

The Goose Survived in Style

Going into The Masters, I figured Retief Goosen would be the South African to struggle. What I failed to remember is just how great a putter The Goose is on lightning-fast greens. The easy-going South African finished in a tie for second and had a great chance to win his first green jacket, but he almost didn't even make it to the weekend. Zach Johnson three-putted from three feet at the 16th hole on Friday, then finished with two more bogeys to give all golfers at +8 (including Goose) a shot on the weekend.

To say Retief Goosen made the most of his second chance is a huge understatement. Goosen went out early on Saturday and shot the day's only round under par (70). He moved up about 40 spots on the leaderboard. During the final round, The Goose held the solo lead for a few holes before a so-so finish left him on the outside looking in.

All in all, it was great to see Retief at the top of the leaderboard in a major championship. I hope this snaps him out of his recent funk because he is fun to watch when he is at the top of his game. Unfortunately for Goosen, he doesn't always play as well in regular events compared to his great play in big events. Here's to hoping he starts playing well in all events. It would be nice to see him win another major championship at Southern Hills later this year.

The Final Say

Like I mentioned above, I thoroughly enjoyed this year's Masters! There weren't as many eagles and birdies as I would have liked, but that's not a big deal to me. The course was still fair, and great shots were still rewarded. There was also a great mix of talent, and that adds a lot of to major championships. The 2007 Masters gets a B+ from me.

It will be interesting to see the fallout from this year's Masters. It's not every day Tiger loses a final-round lead at any event, much less a major championship. It will also be interesting to see how Zach Johnson handles himself the rest of the year. Whether he thinks it or not, winning the green jacket will definitely change his life. I hope he backs it up by winning a couple more events. Johnson's game should fit the U.S. Open as well, so keep that in mind when making those predictions.

Now it's your turn to tell me what you thought about this week's article. How would you grade the 2007 Masters? Also, give reasons for your grade. Finally, what was your favorite storyline from this year's Masters? If you have anything to add, please comment below or discuss it in the forum. Thanks for reading this week's Thrash Talk, and now it's time to gear up for The Players Championship!