2017 Masters Tournament

[DrvFrShow]

Now I have to give it to my neighbor. My neighbor sold his old TaylorMade Rossa putter a couple of years ago - that thing was like golden on the green. He had it specially weighted and balanced. It looked exactly like the one Sergio used today. So I have to wonder.... did Sergio buy his old putter off e-Bay and win the Masters with it? I'll have to tell him I was up at the driving range today (I was) and the pro up there knows Sergio and that he did. This guy will go nuts looking for another one. It'll be hilarious. 

[Gunther]

Happy Serge got his 1st.   But woulda never happened without that pairing. Thought earlier JR would be the one that took advantage but Serge thrived off of Justin's encouragement.  Wish Rickie and Jordan woulda done same.  Different mindset here in the US, which is OK.  

[DeadMan]

Haven't ever been a huge fan of Sergio, but this was pretty cool. Happy for him.

[colin007]

Lee or Rickie, who's better?

[DeadMan]

By the way, I'm just in awe of Sergio's ballstriking today. The approaches on 13, 14, 15, 16, and 18 (twice) were awesome. And only on 14 was it really more than a 10 foot putt. That's just the back nine, too. 

[Valleygolfer]

Great outcome. Glad Sergio pulled it off and got that monkey off his back.

[BallStriker]

3 hours ago, nevets88 said:

I'd like to know more about what happened on that 2nd shot from the pine cones. He topped it?

Exactly.....that had to be a horrible mis-hit there...I know the branches were low in front, but I thought he could hit a solid low stinger up to 40 or so yards....that said, would like to hear from JR what exactly happened...has he elaborated yet?

[70sSanO]

Nice to see Sergio finally win one.

I don't think this puts him in the discussion for more, but who knows.  Maybe he has less pressure and is able to put together great final rounds in future majors.

John

Edited April 10, 2017 by 70sSanO

[tlazzol]

2 hours ago, iacas said:

Yep…

This is why when I  say things like that (about Sergio's ball striking) I say them softly, so I don't break a tooth when I have to eat them later.

Edited April 10, 2017 by tlazzol
some clarification

[mvmac]

I think Sergio is the first major winner on the PGA Tour to use a claw grip? Phil wasn't using the claw yet in '13.

Awesome ball striking exhibition by Sergio and Rose, fun to watch.

[Shorty]

4 hours ago, Gunther said:

Happy Serge got his 1st.   But woulda never happened without that pairing. Thought earlier JR would be the one that took advantage but Serge thrived off of Justin's encouragement.  Wish Rickie and Jordan woulda done same.  Different mindset here in the US, which is OK.  

Dear me....let's look for some obscure way to turn a wonderful victory into something less. "Would never" is a big statement to say about something that did actually happen.

Why didn't Rose win because of Garcia's encouragement? 

Edited April 10, 2017 by Shorty

[b101]

7 hours ago, JetFan1983 said:

True. I want a post-mortem on what was going on there. Was Rose's back affecting him at all? Also, was that really the best play, just a punch out? It seems like he could've tried to get it closer to the hole than what he ultimately chose to do.

Contact didn't look clean either, but I haven't seen a replay, just when it happened live.

 

7 hours ago, nevets88 said:

I'd like to know more about what happened on that 2nd shot from the pine cones. He topped it?

 

3 hours ago, BallStriker said:

Exactly.....that had to be a horrible mis-hit there...I know the branches were low in front, but I thought he could hit a solid low stinger up to 40 or so yards....that said, would like to hear from JR what exactly happened...has he elaborated yet?

Evidently he didn't say what he did on the UK interview with Sky Sports - basically, he said he just didn't have a shot at it and had a pine cone just behind the ball that he couldn't move, so just tried to get up and down for par and see what happened. Video of the interview below:

http://www.skysports.com/golf/news/24512/10832359/justin-rose-magnanimous-in-sudden-death-masters-defeat-to-sergio-garcia

---

A couple of my thoughts the morning after:

1. So, so happy for Sergio. That makes three of the last four majors where I've just been thrilled to have the winner we've had (didn't really care for Jimmy Walker winning the PGA. Don't really care about the PGA...)
2. It always amazes me how a pairing will drag each other down or raise each other up - Rickie and Jordan did to each other what Andrew Landry did to Shane Lowry at last year's US Open, whereas down the stretch, watching Justin and Sergio was a flashback to Henrik and Phil.
3. Justin Rose will win this. He's too good and has been in contention too many times. He'll think about the putt on 17 a load over the next few years, but I'd be surprised if he hasn't got a green jacket in the next 5 years or so. It helps that Sergio birdied the playoff hole - should make the loss a little easier to bear.
4. Every year, that back nine at the Masters just gets better, but it was nice to see this one not end with a collapse.

Awesome tournament, from start to finish.

[Marty2019]

Matt Kuchar is such a great guy.  When he signed his hole in one ball, blew on it to dry the ink, and gave it to the young fan, that was really a great moment.  For me, at least.  

[GolfLug]

Just a hunch, but I thought JR was secretly rooting for SG too.. Is that possible? He (JR) didn't look overly upset that SG won and not him.

[jbishop15]

I really, really dislike Sergio, but it was certainly a deserved win. 

[Bucki1968]

First off...was glad to see Sergio win. The Masters is my favorite tournament all year (as I sure it is with most of you). That being said, I always thought what made the Masters great was the fact that guys could really make a charge on the back 9. Since they "Tiger Proofed" the course, you just don't see those really low rounds on Sunday to make that Charge. 65 and 66 was pretty common before the course changes but now your lucky if you get a 67 or 68. Still the best tournament however.

[tlazzol]

39 minutes ago, GolfLug said:

Just a hunch, but I thought JR was secretly rooting for SG too.. Is that possible? He (JR) didn't look overly upset that SG won and not him.

I'm sure JR was very disappointed in losing this major.  At the same time he was happy for a good friend's win.  Mixed emotions.

[Braivo]

52 minutes ago, GolfLug said:

Just a hunch, but I thought JR was secretly rooting for SG too.. Is that possible? He (JR) didn't look overly upset that SG won and not him.

I thought the same. I wasn't sure if JR had just reached a point of fatigue or what, but his body language suggested that he was conceding to SG immediately after the errant tee shot on the playoff hole.

 

18 minutes ago, Bucki1968 said:

First off...was glad to see Sergio win. The Masters is my favorite tournament all year (as I sure it is with most of you). That being said, I always thought what made the Masters great was the fact that guys could really make a charge on the back 9. Since they "Tiger Proofed" the course, you just don't see those really low rounds on Sunday to make that Charge. 65 and 66 was pretty common before the course changes but now your lucky if you get a 67 or 68. Still the best tournament however.

I agree. With the exception of Kuchar (aided by the ace at 16) we just didn't see many low scores on the back nine. You just don't get the feel that a Jack 1986 style 30 is a realistic possibility anymore. A 30 on the back would've put Rickie, Spieth, Hoffman, etc. a chance to win.

Although I say this without stats in front of me, I'd like to see the back nine scoring average over time to verify this. Perhaps it is the rarity of the back nine 30 that makes it so special. 

Edited April 10, 2017 by Braivo