Author: Erik J. Barzeski

Keep on Pluggin’, Duval

Welcome back, David Duval. Your +7 missed the cut at The Masters, but you beat out some other good golfers. Keep pluggin’.

David Duval Leading MastersDavid Duval finished T13 last year at the Deutsche Bank Championship. Then, his game went south while he spent the winter snowboarding. It went so far south he barely broke 90 a few times and I urged him to go home!

Duval went home and then came to Augusta. He missed the cut by three, shooting 75-77. His +7 beat out José Maria Olazabal, Tom Watson, Sean Micheel, John Daly, Nick Price, Ben Crenshaw, Paul Casey, Shigeki Maruyama, and a few others. I took the screenshot to the right as David began playing on opening day. David Duval was leading The Masters!

Welcome back, David.

A Win for the Changes – Tiger Takes Augusta

Tiger Woods wins his fourth Masters in dramatic fashion!

Tiger Woods, Augusta 2005Tiger Woods went 27 holes today, but it took one more to fend off the ever-battling, ever-clawing, ever-fighting Chris DiMarco. A birdie at the first playoff hole, and Tiger Woods his fourth Masters.

The rest of the field? They never factored into the play, and never got within six shots of the lead. Ryan Moore, perhaps the best amateur since Bobby Jones himself, finished T13 and will be back at Augusta next year. Trevor Immelman earned a hole in one at sixteen in the group ahead of Tiger. And defending champ Phil Mickelson? T10 with a final-round 74.

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Tiger Takes the Lead at Augusta

Tiger Woods continued his birdie streak and Chris DiMarco falls back in dramatic fashion. We have a new leader at Augusta, and his name is Tiger Woods!

Tiger WoodsOnly two hours ago, Chris DiMarco held a four-stroke lead over Tiger Woods. Play ended yesterday with DiMarco at -13 and Tiger Woods at -9. Oh how a lead can change at Augusta!

In the span of two hours this morning, Chris DiMarco double-bogeyed the tenth, bogeyed the 14th, bogeyed the 15th, and bogeyed the 17th to fall to -8. Tiger Woods continued the birdie streak he began on 7, 8, and 9 right on through 10, 11, 12, and 13 to get to -13 before bogeying 14 and 15. He parred in and finished the third round at -11 after a firing tournament-low 66 and then a new tournament low (with Trevor Immelman) 65. Tiger is now three strokes clear of Chris DiMarco, whose third-round 74 matches Woods’ first round score.

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DiMarco Leads, Tiger Lurks, and 27 to Go at Augusta

Tiger Woods made a charge, firing nines of 33, 33, and 31, to get within four shots of Chris DiMarco heading into the final 27 holes at the 69th Masters.

Chris Dimarco Masters LeanChris DiMarco fired a second straight 67 to finish off his second round in the morning, then came out firing in the afternoon with three birdies and no bogeys to get to -13. Tiger Woods, who finished off his morning with a tidy little 66, birdied five holes against no bogeys in the opening nine of the third round to get to -9.

Jack Nicklaus made news as well, noting that he would be playing in his last Masters. “I knew it was my last time walking up the fairway,” said Nicklaus. “Obviously, I had made up my mind. This is just too tough for me. I just can’t do this.” He tipped his hat to the gallery at the ninth – his last hole – and received a round of applause. This year marked the 45th Masters for the Golden Bear, winner of six. He finished at 153, +9 and five off the cut.

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Thursday at The Masters

Chris DiMarco started where he left off last year and Tiger Woods never really got started at all in the rain-shortened Thursday at Augusta.

Chris Dimarco MastersChris DiMarco started where he left off last year and Tiger Woods never really got started at all in the rain-shortened Thursday at Augusta.

DiMarco, who last year played in the final group alongside eventual winner Phil Mickelson, finished fourteen before play was suspended. His four-under-par total currently leads The Masters.

Tiger Woods found the water on the thirteenth… with his putter. His eagle putt was struck too firmly and rolled off the front of the green. He later birdied 15, but had an interesting front nine. Looking to make a move at +1, his approach to the first hit the flagstick and careened into a bunker. He failed to get up and down from a bad lie in the bunker and bogeyed. At the par-5 second, he chunked his driver 100 yards up the left-hand side of the hole, but somehow managed to save a par.

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Masters Suffers Rain Delay(s)

The Masters won’t kick off at 8am. In fact, it won’t even kick off at 10:30am. Instead, officials are now hoping for a 1:00, two-tee start to the 69th Masters.

Masters LogoGo figure: another tournament affected by Mother Nature.

The Masters, first delayed to 10:30, will now move to a two-tee start at 12:30pm. Gates will open at 11:30am, and television coverage is still expected from 4-7pm on USA Network.

With rain and thunderstorms forecast for the rest of the day, it’s likely the tournament may be further delayed. Fortunately, with only a 92-man field, it will be somewhat easier to make up rounds than it has been for standard PGA Tour events, which feature 130-man fields.

The last time a day of play at The Masters was completely rained out was in 2003. Mike Weir, the eventual winner, played 30 holes on Friday, 24 on Saturday, and 19 – including a single playoff hole – on Sunday.

Update: Tee times have once again been pushed back to 1:00pm.
Another Update: Make that 1:30pm.

Masters Tee Times

The tee times have been made, and the pairings have been set. Find out when your favorite player tees it up in the opening round of this year’s Masters.

Masters LogoThe tee times have been made, and the groupings have been set. This year’s Masters tournament start at 8:06am on Thursday morning with Jonathan Kaye, David Howell, and Ted Purdy. The last group – John Daly, Shigeki Maruyama, and Jesper Parnevik – tees off at 1:55pm.

Ian Poulter will play with Craig Stadler and Joakkim Haeggman at 9:16. Padraig Harrington follows him at 9:27. Retief Goosen and Stewart Cink play alongside Tiger-slayer Nick O’Hern at 9:49. Nicklaus goes off at 10:11. Phil Mickelson, last year’s winner, plays with Ryan Moore at 10:38 and is followed immediately by Vijay Singh at 10:49.

Davis Love III, Luke Donald, and Charles Howell III go off in the 26th group at 1:00pm sharp. Tiger Woods will play with Darren Clarke and Carlos Franco, and will be followed by one of the most exciting threesomes on the grouping sheet: Ernie Els, David Toms, and Adam Scott kick off their 2005 Masters at 1:44.

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Most Memorable Masters Moments

In this first installment of a new weekly feature here at The Sand Trap, we take a look at the most memorable Masters tournaments.

Trap Five LogoWelcome to a new column here at The Sand Trap .com. Every Tuesday, the “Trap Five,” an admittedly non-clever play on words (“top five”) will count down the top five… whatevers! One week we’ll have the top five swings in golf, and the next week we may have the top five hottest player’s wives.

We’re starting it off in style as we count down the “Most Memorable Masters Moments.” Our criteria vary, and any list is up for debate. You won’t find Phil Mickelson’s victory last year here, nor will you find Faldo’s in 1996 over Greg Norman. Larry Mize’s chip-in didn’t make the list, and Mike Weir’s victory was pretty ho-hum. Roberto de Vicenzo is missing, as are a whole host of others. Who did make the cut? Find out…

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Adidas Launches Tour Metal

Expect TaylorMade staff players to be sporting some new shoes in the next few weeks on Tour: the “Tour Metal” is here.

Adidas today announced the addition and expansion of their shoe line with the “Tour Metal.” Sergio Garcia, among others, has been seen in the new shoes lately, and hopes to walk in them towards his first major this weekend.

The Tour Metal combines a classic, full-grain leather upper with chrome and brushed stripes. It combines Adidas’ z-traction tread with the dual-density lugs for good traction, is completely waterproof, and utilizes the FastTwist™ spike system for quick change outs.

Adidas Tour Metal

Available in white, black, and mahogany, the Tour Metal meets Adidas’ other shoes: the Seeker, Balance Tour, Balance Nitro, and Balance Mod to fill out the 2005 lineup.