2007 Masters Live Blog

18:40 – Tiger fails to hole out for eagle to tie Zach Johnson. The final leaderboard looks like this:

Pos Player         R4  Tot   R1   R2   R3   R3   Total
--- ------         --  ---   --   --   --   --   -----
1   Z. Johnson     -3   +1   71   73   76   69    289
T2  R. Sabbatini   -3   +3   73   76   73   69    291
T2  R. Goosen      -3   +3   76   76   70   69    291
T2  T. Woods        E   +3   73   74   72   72    291
T5  J. Kelly       -2   +4   75   69   78   70    292
T5  J. Rose        +1   +4   69   75   75   73    292
T7  P. Harrington  +1   +5   77   68   75   73    293
T7  S. Appleby     +3   +5   75   70   73   75    293
9   D. Toms         E   +6   70   78   74   72    294

18:31 – Tiger lips in his par putt. He must eagle #18 to force a tie. His drive finds the fairway, but his body language says it all. He is done. Defeated. There will be no Tiger Slam again this year, nor a grand slam. Faldo points out that this is the first time Tiger has relinquished a lead in a major. True, but his “12-for-12” stat is still alive. Little consolation there, though.

18:28 – Tiger must hole out from the bunker (or eagle #18). He fails to do so, leaving himself three feet for par. Zach’s odds increase to 99%. There will be no Palmer-like finish this year.

18:25 – Tiger, from the right rough on #17, finds the the sand. I think the rough could help if he controls his spin. Tiger asks “Honestly, what the hell just happened.” Uhm, you hit it into the bunker, dude. Good luck making that bunker shot. Peter Oosterhuis says Tiger must be under the weather. Nick Faldo slaps him for trying to make an excuse, saying “he’s really battled his swing this week.” He has. He’s hit several balls in the water, after all, and found several bunkers.

18:20 – How much magic does Tiger have, and is Zach Johnson ready for a playoff? As soon as Rose finishes double bogeying the 17th, we’ll get to find out. Zach isn’t practicing, hitting balls, or staying loose. He’s interviewing and taking congratulations. Bill Macatee interviews him as if he’s won. His wife talks about what a great easter present it is for his son Will, he’s giving more interviews, tempting fate. Unwise, Zach, even if you do win in the end. Unwise.

18:16 – From the peanut gallery: “Tiger should have let the red breathe.” He’s still wearing the full black sweater. Rose is out of it, making a mess of the hole. With driver, Tiger’s ball just trickles into the right rough.

18:13 – Tiger just misses his birdie putt at 16 to get to within one. Can he conquer the demons of numbers 17 and 18 to force a tie? Having seen Arnie Palmer win the 1960 Masters with two closing birdies, a little magic may remain in the air. Still, Zach’s odds go up to 95%.

18:09 – Zach Johnson puts it to tap-in range and will post +1. His odds of winning increase to 90%. The only remaining factor: Tiger Woods. Nantz compares him to Jack Fleck. Johnson holes out, leaving the stage for Vaughn Taylor. Classy (or perhaps he was afraid of the nerves!). Nice 69, Zach. Ten years ago it would have been a 64.

18:05 – Zach over-holds his unique swing and comes up a hair’s width shy of the front-right bunker at #18. Tiger stuffs it at 16 to nine feet. Verne calls it 15. Rose ganks it off #17 into the right-hand trees. Zach Johnson classily waits for Vaughn Taylor to join him in making the walk up to the 72nd green.

18:02 – Goosen posts +3 to tie with Gelly in the clubhouse. Zach remains two ahead in the 18th fairway. Tiger makes his par putt at #15 to stay two back. Tiger has not played 17 and 18 well at all this week, bogeying them both Thursday and Saturday. I still put Zach’s odds at 80% despite Rose’s birdie at #16 to get to +2.

18:00 – Phil gets interviewed. I said in my predictions he’d barely make the cut and wouldn’t be a factor on Sunday. True. Zach finds the fairway on #18. Kostis asks Phil about Winged Foot. Phil says “I don’t see the correlation.” How about “you’ve played like butt in the majors since Winged Foot.” But yeah, it’s not like he’s choked it again on the 18th tee in a big event.

17:55 – Zach has two putts to virtually seal the deal. He misreads his first putt and leaves himself a tricky four-footer for par. Rose puts it to two feet on #16 to take second alone and move to +2. Tiger chooses the ball drop area way left. He has to chip in to have a shot at winning. A par keeps him three behind Johnson. Zach’s odds go back down as he misses from four feet on #17 to fall back to +1.

17:52 – Cookie Monster comes up just short of the green at #17, which has a front pin. His caddie looks more nervous than he does. Tiger, from the right rough, overplays a big cut and finds the water at #15. He’ll have to work hard for par. Zach’s odds increase to 90%.

17:46 – Gelly gets in at +3 with a birdie at the 18th. Zach is at E. Sabbatini has a 69. Goosen misses high at 17. Zach on 17 drives perfectly. Tiger off the tee at 15, with driver, finds the right rough. Rose birdies #15 to get to +3. He’s doing well for himself under this pressure, even par today.

17:43 – Phil arrives at #18, applauded nicely. Johnson buries his birdie putt at #16, increasing his lead to three. I’ll give him 80% odds of winning The Masters at this point. I’ve already mentioned that Zach is on my fantasy team this week, right?

17:39 – Johnson puts it to twelve feet, below the hole, at #16. He leads Tiger by two, but could stretch that lead to three quite easily. Tiger, at 14, has what I believe is a must-make. I don’t see Johnson missing his putt or goofing up 17 or 18. Tiger just misses the putt on the low side.

17:37 – Tiger puts it to twelve feet on #14 from the middle of the fairway. Goosen holes his come-backer. Shaggy finds the surface at #14 from the sticks, and Gelly finds the fairway at #18. It’s coming down to Cookie Monster and Tiger, with a little Loosey Goosey thrown in for good fun.

17:35 – Johnson nearly holes the birdie putt at #15 but settles for par. Goosen throws his putt from the top of #16 eight feet by. Jerry Kelly becomes the leader in the clubhouse at +4, holing a long par putt on #18.

17:33 – Gelly leaves one short and stays at +4, three off Cookie’s lead. Goosen stays on top of the 16th tier. He should walk really slowly. Lundquist wonders “how much did the complexion of this tournament change when Goosen teed off on #13 with an iron.” How about when Tiger eagled #13, Verne?

17:28 – Cookie Monster, from 250 yards in on #15, lays up. With his lead, I think it’s a smart play. Tiger’s three-footer finds the bottom of the cup. He’s within two now, T2. Cookie Monster, following the scoreboard change just in front of him, puts it on the back of #15 green. Safe.

17:25 – Zach Johnson nearly holed out on Friday at 16 to take the lead to -5. Instead, he three-putted, sending the lead back to -2 and letting in all the contestants at +8. Among them: Retief Goosen. How much smaller the field would have been if he had only managed to one- or two-putt.

17:21 – Tiger at #13 has 191 yards. Kostis: “this may be a defining moment in this round.” Tiger puts it on the upper level at #13, yet somehow, miraculously, the ball returns to three feet!

17:17 – Cookie Monster stuffs it at 14. Have I mentioned Zach Johnson is on my fantasy team this week? Gelly Belly lips out on #16 to bogey and fall to +4, two back of Cookie. Johnson birdies to make it three back and take a two-shot lead on Loosey Goosey. Padraig eagles #13 to get to +4. Woods is T7, four shots back.

17:15 – Gelly can’t replicate Tiger’s success at #16 and goes 12 feet past the hole. Tiger turns over his 3W on #13 and doesn’t dip his head like crazy.

17:11 – Tiger, cautious at 12, leaves it short. Jerry Sabbatini goes long and left on #16 and will likely bogey. Shaggy double-bogeys #12. An Australian will likely not with the Masters yet again. Curse you, Greg Norman! Nick Faldo remains silent. Tiger holes out from four feet short for par.

17:09 – Vijay taps in for par and a back-nine 39 to finish +8. Paul Casey has the lead in the clubhouse at +7 currently. Jim Furyk and Jerry Kelly are due in next, and Kelly is currently at +14 through 16.

17:06 – The Cookie Monster is gobbling up the course right now. His lay-up on #13 produces a birdie, moving him to +2, in sole command of the lead at Augusta on Sunday. Goosen’s putt travels around the hole, and he stays at +3. Sabbatini’s gel is wearing off, as he misses on #15.

17:03 – Shaggy finds the aqua on #12. Tiger to Stevie “7-iron.” Stevie: “Uhh, Tiger, you snapped it on the last hole.” Jokes aside (I do wonder if he’s replaced whatever club it was yet), Tiger finds the putting surface with a funny looking swing.

16:57 – Zach Johnson, tied for the lead and doing his best Chip Beck impersonation, lays up from 213 on #13. Sabbatini lays up on #15. Zach would later put it six feet below the hole. The Goose is Loose on #14, putting it to about twelve feet.

16:55 – Gelly Belly bogeys, and the peanut gallery says “see, the lead is falling back.” I say “not as fast as Tiger is.” Tiger puts it inside two feet on #11, earning a barkie, a pine strawy, a snappy, and a bunch of other bets which have yet to be named.

16:52 – One wonders what score Tiger would be at if Stevie, at the start of each round, snapped Tiger’s driver across his knee. From behind a tree in the forest right of #11, Tiger snaps his club in half on the follow-through, but manages to get the ball onto a flat spot 50 yards short of the green. Goosen misses his birdie putt.

16:48 – Jerry Kelly two-putts for birdie at 15. He’s ahead of Tiger at +4. Tiger was last seen driving fifty yards right of the 11th fairway into the trees. Justin Rose holes a bomb at 11 to go to +4. Everyone is making putts but Tiger, who can’t even get a look at a reasonable birdie putt.

16:41 – The new leader, Gelly Belly, finds the trees on 14. Cookie Monster finds the wrong lobe of #12 green near to where Goosen three-whacked. Tiger’s six footer on #10 doesn’t touch the cup, missing right. You know how I wrote that there are no more cheers at Augusta? Tiger needs about six on the back nine alone to pull this out.

16:36 – The peanut gallery gives up on Tiger, as he splashes into a bunker right and short of #10. Goosen misses his testy four-footer on 12, three-putting, to fall back into a tie with Gelly Belly, who will likely go ahead with a birdie at #13. At least Tiger keeps his “12 for 12 when leading” stat alive. Last year, Tiger could have won, too, but couldn’t putt down the stretch. This year, it’s his iron game and driving that are killing him.

16:33 – The Nick Faldo introspective/retrospective makes me remember one important thing I’d since forgotten: no Lanny Wadkins! Gelly Belly reaches #13 in two and leaves a makable 25-foot eagle putt.

16:26 – Tiger turns in 37. The Peanut Gallery is still taking him over Goosen, who pars #11. Despite being dressed in blue as well (as is Shaggy – Lake Nona colors?), I’ve yet to come up with Goose’s nickname.

16:23 – Tiger sails it pretty long past the pin on #9. Goosen, from 70 feet on #11, comes up four feet short. There’s some meat left on that bone, but he’ll make it. Tiger will have a tricky two-putt. And Gelly Belly is still hanging around in second with Cookie Monster and Shaggy.

16:15 – Paul “I properly hate Americans” birdies #16 from the top tier. At +5, he may be the leader in the clubhouse soon.

16:13 – The Peanut Gallery and I conclude that Tiger Red only works when uncovered. He has to take that sweater off or at least switch to a cardigan. Let the red breathe, Tiger. Shaggy misses a shortish putt to tie the lead after getting a lucky bounce on an uphill wedge.

16:11 – Tiger, from the rough short and left of #8, leaves it in the fairway short of the green. A par is likely here. He’ll have to catch fire on the back and hope Goosen’s putting pace cools. Rose holes a long one to move to +5.

16:06 – From the peanut gallery: “See, this is great. The only time Phil’s on my TV is when I go for a drink or to the restroom.” Retief has only hit two fairways through ten holes, but has only 11 putts.

15:59 – Goosen only needs an iron (maybe a hybrid) at #10. Tiger putts poorly at #7 and pars, as does Appleby. Tiger takes 3W on #8, oddly, and hits a stinger cut tot he heart of the fairway. But well short.

15:53 – 56 minutes of golf coverage per hour and we can’t see Tiger and Stuart drive off #7? He found the fairway, so I wanted to see it. He hits it to the correct level at 15-20 feet.

15:47 – Goosen stiffs it at 9 to about seven feet. If he holes out, that’s a 31 on the front nine. The softer greens are actually making it exciting for at least one player. He’d go out in 32, lipping out.

15:41 – Tiger flips his chip well past the hole to the back of the green on #6. Stuart and he are a hole behind. Where’s the warning crew? He misses it on the low side and it rolls four feet by and is still away.

15:37 – Goosen birdies to tie Sabbatini. Tiger comes up way short on #6, and Stuart Appleby, in Lake Nona Blue, stuffs it to a foot or two. Sabbatini then chokes away a putt shorter than three bottles of hair gel on #9. Goosen leads alone – the fifth leader in the last 70 minutes.

15:30 – Luke Donald comes up short at 9. Three times. Tiger, from the front of #5, leaves it five or six feet short. Johnson leaves a makable birdie putt short at #7. Tiger holes out for par on #5.

15:25 – Rory Sabbatini takes the lead at +2 with a 90° eagle putt at #8 from the back of the green. From the peanut gallery: “They should check the ball for illegal substances… possibly hair gel.”

15:23 – Faldo: “The greens have been heavily watered overnight.” Tiger, from the pine straw on #5, to the shout of a fan’s “get in the hole,” finds the front of the green from where Zach and Vaughn three-putted.

15:16 – Donald chips in for eagle at #8 and Faldo mentions the “lovely tumbler” eaglers get. From what I can tell, that’s eagle #9 this week. Perhaps the course is set up as it is because there’s a tumbler shortage? Nah – I’m still going with a brain cell shortage. Woods drives into the trees right of #5 while Goosen, from the trees, puts it inside his shadow ahead. Could Goose be the sole leader soon?

15:08 – Retief Goosen is the closest major winner to Tiger, currently, at -2 for the day and +4. Will he give some back? The scoring average has dropped from 77+ yesterday to 74-ish today.

15:05 – From the peanut gallery: “Was Zach Johnson dressed by Cookie Monster this morning?” I can’t say that color goes with green very well. He fails to hole a long come-back putt on #5 and Tiger now leads the Masters alone. Hi ho the dairy-o the Tiger leads alone.

14:55 – From the peanut gallery on Phil’s first-hole triple bogey: “Winged Foot waited till 18 to out Phil – The Masters just did us all a favor and did it immediately.” A few minutes later Phil blows his 8-foot birdie putt on #9 about ten feet past.

14:53 – Comment from the peanut gallery: “Appleby looks like Shaggy. Too bad he’s playing like Scooby.” Vijay posts a front-nine 34 to make the turn at +5. Tiger and Zach sit at +3.

14:45 – Tiger punches out and then stuffs the ball to a foot or two at the second with a beautiful wedge. Is it only apparent to everyone not named “Woods” or “Haney” that when Tiger dips his head at the start of his downswing, he usually hits a poor shot?

14:38 – Zach Johnson takes the lead at +3. Vaughn Taylor misses a short eagle putt at #2 to tie Johnson and settles for bird. Tiger’s 3W off the second tee finds the trees (and maybe the creek?) left.

14:36 – There are some people under par earlier today. Sabbatini is -2, as is Goosen. Mark Calcavecchia started birdie-eagle and remained -3 after four before falling back to -2. The hole locations are in the traditional Sunday spots, but it’s warmer and the winds are a little less subtle. Tiger bogeys the first, but Appleby doubles. Tiger is now tied with five others at +4.

14:34 – The 1960 replay was nice. It shows how far we’ve come, and yet, also hints at how things could be better today if they just paid attention to the way it used to be done.

14:32 – Tiger is wearing red. Will he win his fifth? He’s never won a major without going into the final round with a lead. But he’s only one shot back of a field that can’t stop killing itself. Stuart Appleby’s 7 on #17 yesterday could prove costly.

14:30 – Welcome to the live blog of the final round of the U.S. Open, errrrr, The 71st Masters. I almost forgot we were playing it given the lack of cheers and plentitude of bogeys.

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