Thrash13

I agree it's probably the least prestigious of the four majors nowadays, but to be honest, it has probably been the most exciting major the last decade or so. It always seems to be tightly contested between several big names. I really enjoy the event, even though it definitely seems like the other three take precedence.

Congrats to Rory on the great win! The course played like a major most of the event, and Rory grinded out a tough and hard-fought victory. Yang definitely made him work for it down the stretch, but he ran out of holes. McDowell and Luke Donald played well on the final day, and both will be a factor next weekend at Doral. I was hoping CH3 would at least move up a little, but he still finished in a tie for 10th. That's four top-14 finishes this season which is pretty solid, but I'd still like to see another victory or two. I'm ready to see how things shake out in Doral next weekend. It's going to be a hell of an event with a lot of hype surrounding it.

On behalf of another Okie, welcome to The Sand Trap. You have quite a few nice golf courses to choose from up by Broken Arrow! You will definitely learn some things here at the website and forum. Welcome again!

Positives -Watson hits it a mile, and that never hurts at Augusta. -Watson is the 15th-ranked golfer in the world. That instantly makes him one to watch in any event. Wow, is he really 15th?? -His win at Torrey Pines proved he can win at a tough venue with great golfers breathing down his neck. Negatives -Watson's putting stats really don't set up well for Augusta. I've always picked guys who can roll it on the greens with the best of em' to win a green jacket. -Watson's on-course composure is too up-and-down for my liking to win at Augusta. He contended at Whistling Straits, but this is a completely different animal. What does all this mean? It probably doesn't mean much, but I'm guessing it all equals something around a tie for eighth or something like that. He will play well, but he won't win.

I was happy to see Charles Howell III go out early and shoot a 67 today. He went from T29 to T6. I'm sure he will disappoint me tomorrow, but if he can shoot something around even par, he will get a big paycheck. It looks like it's Rory's tourney to win or lose, but if he falls down, it's really anyone's ball game. I'm looking forward to another grueling day tomorrow.

The Masters is a fantastic event, and to say it should be scrapped is ridiculous. The players who deserve to be there are there, and that's all that matters. The course is outstanding, and the tournament provides some of the most exciting Major Championship golf on a yearly basis. It's right near the top of my list of important tournaments. 1. U.S. Open 2. The Masters 3. The Open Championship 4. PGA Championship 5. The Players 6. WGC Match Play 7. WGC- Doral (whatever sponsor they have this year) 8. WGC- Bridgestone 9. HSBC Champions 10. Tour Championship 11. The Memorial 12. Quail Hollow/Arnold Palmer The Ryder Cup is something completely different, but it's probably right near the top of this list with the majors. It has become a HUGE event in the world of golf and sports.

I'd love to see Hunter Mahan win The Masters, but I can't see his putting holding up at Augusta National down the stretch. I'd sure love to be wrong though! Poulter, on the other hand, can definitely putt well enough to win at Augusta. As far as my pick goes, I'll take Tiger even though he is struggling right now. He can probably finish in the top five at Augusta with one eye closed, and by the time this year's playing rolls around, he will be playing better. I've never cheered for the guy, but his record at Augusta speaks for itself. And he is WAY overdue for another major.

It's almost tough for me to say this about an Oklahoma Sooner, but I've started to cheer for Anthony Kim over the past year or so. I didn't really care for the guy when he made his big impact early on, but he is growing on me a little. The fact he has had to endure some injury struggles the past year may be the key factor in it, but who knows. Like I said, it's tough to even admit it. :) I hope AK has a solid 2011 and beyond because he could be great for the game.

It's really a great situation either way, but I'd prefer to see Bethpage Black in U.S. Opens only. It creates such a huge buzz when the U.S. Open is there, and that makes it even more special in my opinion. That being said, I won't be too upset if it ends up in the FedEx Cup Playoffs on occasion.

He hasn't kept things going today, and that happened last week as well. If he can find some consistency, he will be tough to beat. That's definitely an "if" though. Charles Howell III started his season with a 68. I still haven't figured out what he loves about this course, but he is almost a guaranteed top-five finish at Sony. I'm hoping he keeps it up and gets another high finish this year as well. He is off to a solid start. Another name that keeps sticking out is Matt Kuchar. He is turning into Mr. Consistency on the PGA Tour.

Yeah, Jason Day's drive made AK's iron shot look good. :) I was very impressed with how Day handled the situation, and the par save made it that much more impressive. It was just crazy because you definitely don't see that happen very often.

Ogilvy has pulled out because of the finger injury, so there won't be a three-peat. That could definitely put a damper on his early-season plans, and he usually does most of his damage the first three months of the year.

Bingo! I got up to 225 pounds last summer, and I started feeling like garbage. I went on a mission to lose 30 pounds, and in three months, it was accomplished. Even after my diet, I've lost another five or six pounds. As of this morning, I'm now at 189 pounds. I have eaten better, and when the weather was warmer, my family walked a mile or two per day. However, the biggest key to my diet was cutting out the sweet tea (I drink tea REALLY sweet) and soda. I was amazed at the difference that made, and it's been pretty easy to keep things up since. Eating better is nice, but the drinking part was HUGE for me. Now I just have to stay in my routine and keep the pounds off. So far, it's gone really well.

I was watching the FedExCup Kickoff last night on The Golf Channel, and AK is in dynamite shape. If he is right mentally, he is going to win a lot of money in 2011. Dustin Johnson looked a little off, but he might turn it on when it counts. I'm interested to see how everyone plays today.

The 2011 PGA Tour season tees off tomorrow at Kapalua. As always, the field is pretty strong and filled with winners from the previous season. We can just discuss the tournament in this thread. Feel free to give your predictions, thoughts, etc. I'm picking Dustin Johnson to win this week, but there are plenty of others capable of winning the first event of the season. What does everyone else think about the first tourney of 2011?

I have usually gone to 4 or 5 Thunder games by this time of the season, but I took the first couple months off to get through the holiday season. That being said, I'll be going to watch the Thunder/Grizzlies Saturday night and the Thunder/Magic next Thursday. I'm excited to get back into the groove, and I'm especially excited to watch us play the Magic. They have retooled their roster and are playing well. The Thunder is in a similar position as last season, but we are a few games better at this point. We are playing decent, but it could definitely be better. We have a ton of road games in January, so we need to stay afloat after losing a couple in a row. We haven't lost 3 in a row all season, but it will be tough to keep that streak going against Dallas tomorrow night. We shall see. I'm not a Heat fan, but it's been cool to see them gel and start to take over games the past month or so. They are going to be extremely tough down the stretch. If Boston is healthy, they are still a better overall team. But will they be healthy? Also, how about those Lakers? I'm definitely not a fan of them, and it's been nice to see them struggle lately. It wouldn't hurt my feelings to see them lose a lot of games down the stretch. :)

I couldn't agree more. I've never had anything against Kelly Tilghman, but her voice was pretty boring on the video game. Nantz and Feherty will provide a much-needed boost to the commentary in Tiger Woods 12, and I'm looking forward to seeing how well they mesh since they already work together with CBS. A lot of the attention has been on the addition of Augusta National and rightfully so. The announcement of Nantz and Feherty shouldn't be taken lightly though.

K.J. Choi has won 7 PGA Tour events, so he is good to go. I finally gave up on Montgomerie a few years ago, although I would have liked to see him win a major.

I'll have a Thrash Talk published on this soon, but I wanted to open it up for discussion here at the forum. Rickie Fowler is the obvious choice here, but who else will win their first PGA Tour event in 2011? Let the discussion begin.

This is a first-day purchase for me for the PS3. I'll probably just go ahead and get the Collector's Edition too because it comes with 5 extra courses for only $10 more. In addition, it says you can now play those downloaded courses in your career mode as well. That's a very nice addition. And with Augusta National finally making its way into the game, it's icing on the cake. I'm also happy to see Zach Johnson and Bubba Watson in the game, although I'd love to see Rickie Fowler get the nod as well. I'm highly looking forward to this one, and it comes out in late March as well. That's also a bonus.

I wrote a Thrash Talk a couple weeks ago that centered around this question. I wanted to get everyone's opinion on the subject. Who will win more events in 2011, Lefty or Tiger?

It's a BCS game, so Oklahoma isn't too scary. :) They have lost their last 5 BCS Bowls. I was pretty upset with Oklahoma State's bowl opponent, Arizona. We are 10-2, and they are 7-5 after losing 4 straight. That's not even a fair fight.....I hope. :)

I think the NFL is getting WAY too soft. It's professional football for crying out loud, and things were just fine the way they were. I love to see big hits, and half the players in the league are scared to even try them now because a fine will be coming their way. It's hard to remember a good hit without seeing a flag after the play. Honestly, the college game lets the players play more than the NFL, and that's pretty sad. The No Fun League is definitely a watered-down product of what the NFL used to be.

Ben Martin, Michael Thompson, and Billy Horschel all had great college careers. It will be interesting to see if they can take their games to the next level like Fowler. I always thought Michael Putnam would do better on the PGA Tour, but he struggled during his first attempt. He qualified for the PGA Tour by finishing in the top 25 on the Nationwide Tour and Q-School, so hopefully he will live up to the hype he had a few years ago.

I know Fowler played in 12 more events, but he still ended up with more top-10 finishes, more money, and a higher FedEx Cup ranking. I can agree with the players who said McIlroy felt more like a part-timer on the PGA Tour. Sure, his win at Quail Hollow was outstanding, and he finished third in a two majors. On the other hand, Fowler had a damn good year and was deserving as well. If I would have had a vote, I would have voted for Fowler as well. I'm still trying to figure out how McIlroy was a PGA Tour rookie in 2010. On a side note, the PGA Tour obviously needs to change the way these awards are determined. Dustin Johnson said he didn't even vote, and he was an important part of the PGA Tour in 2010. Either have all the players vote or have a committee determine the winners. It's doesn't make much sense to me. Also, I wonder if Westwood would have taken up for Fowler if the results were flip-flopped for the two golfers?!? Nah.