The player who eclipses them all
Tiger Woods offers an early morning treat, Malnati finally lives the dream and ANWA-inspired Stray Shots
(Thomas Lovelock/Augusta National)
They really do think of everything at the Masters, as everyone who entered the gates at Augusta National on Monday received solar eclipse viewing glasses exclusively made for the tournament. This once-in-a-lifetime confluence of a stellar phenomenon with Masters week provided something unique for Monday’s patrons as the sun was 76.1 percent blocked by the moon as practice rounds went on. The free glasses started showing up on eBay for $199.99 before the eclipse reached its peak Monday afternoon.
On with some Daily Drive notes from Masters Monday …
Tiger Time
Patrons who ventured out early to Augusta National on Monday were treated to a Tiger Woods sighting. And for many of them, it was their first time on the ground, and a rare chance to catch a glimpse of the five-time Masters winner who played the back nine holes with Will Zalatoris after a warm-up session on driving range.
Woods’ wont is often to play as early as possible. But for some reason, a good number of players did not share that same desire on the first full day of Masters practice, when ticket lottery winners swarm the grounds and causes massive traffic delays outside of the gates of Augusta National.
Those who arrived by 8 a.m. were treated to seeing Woods and Zalatoris play the back nine almost by themselves. Tiger stiffed an approach shot to within 5 feet at the 11th, hit a nice iron shot on the green at No. 12 and even hit the par-5 13th in two strokes.
He spent considerable time chipping and putting around the greens while talking a good bit with his caddie, Lance Bennett, who has caddied for several players over the years, including Matt Kuchar.
Caddie Lance Bennett and Tiger Woods (Joel Marklund/Augusta National)
“He played great today,’’ Zalatoris said of the five-time Masters champion. “He outdrove me a couple times, so there was some chirping going on. He looks great. He’s moving as well as he can be.’’
Woods has not played since withdrawing from the Genesis Invitational in the second round due to the flu in February. Why he declined to play a tournament last month is a question for his Tuesday news conference, a grilling which figures to run the gamut of subjects due to his lack of availability in recent weeks.
One line of inquiry might even center around Woods taking a few swipes with Zalatoris’ long putter — an odd site to be sure.
Soaking in the Journey
Peter Malnati has been offered opportunities to play Augusta National in the past. It’s the kind of perk that is extended to professional golfers. But Malanti always declined the invitations. He wanted to earn his way to play the course that hosts the Masters.
Malnati did just that two weeks ago when he won the Valspar Championship, his first victory in nine years and the first that got him an invitation to the Masters. He played Augusta National for the first time on Sunday. Needless to say, the experience was memorable.
“I had heard so much that it seemed like one of those situations where I almost … it could only be a letdown because I was so incredibly excited — and it wasn’t a letdown,’’ he said. “There’s just so many times on the course where you get to a spot and you’re like, ‘Wow!’ You just say wow.
“I think the highlight, when you hit your tee shot on 11 and you’re walking to it, you get to the top of the hill, and you can see 11 green, the entire hole of 12, the azaleas hidden back toward 13 tee, the bend in the fairway on 13, so that spot from the top of the hill on 11, it’s truly — for a golfer and someone who’s dreamed of playing at the highest level, that was . . . I had high expectations for it, and it exceeded them.’’
Malnati said he gets eight tickets a day for the entire week and wanted to take care of many people as possible. “Those eight tickets over seven days fill up very quickly,’’ he said.
No first-timer has won the Masters since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979 and Malnati is under no illusions regarding his chances to win the green jacket. But he does believe the course suits him, and getting all of the nerves out of the way over the next few days will help him, he said.
“Honestly, if I can just get all my awe out of the way early in the week, my game fits the course superbly,’’ Malnati said. “If anything has been a weakness lately — lately there haven’t been many. I’ve played well the last handful of weeks since we got to Florida, but historically a weakness for me would be driving accuracy. The corridors here aren't terribly narrow.
“But I’ve added a lot of distance. I hit it a lot farther than I did two, three, four years ago, a lot farther than I did 10 years ago. Touch on the greens, around the greens has always been a strength, and that’s something you need here. I think the course suits my game absolutely, like, perfectly.
“Rookies historically don’t do awesome here. ,,, I go into it expecting to do my best and expecting that to give me a chance. But I certainly don’t think there’s anything about the course that is going to give me issues if I’m playing well.’’
What’s new at Augusta?
For those who can’t get enough on the things that go on behind the scenes at Augusta, there is a lot to take in this year thanks to ANGC’s seemingly bottomless well of funds at its disposal.
The only announced significant course change involves the par-5 second hole — Pink Dogwood. The tee box was moved 10 yards further back and slightly to the golfer’s left, requiring a little more shape to drives to avoid the fairway bunkers on the right side where the hole doglegs left down the hill.
The added yardage brings the official total for the course to 7,555 yards – 630 yards longer than it was in 1997 when Tiger Woods won his first Masters.
“I know it’s 10 yards back, but thought it was going to be more left,” said Zalatoris after getting his first loom at it this week. “In reality, I think it’s more the fact that carrying the bunker is completely out of play with the exception of about four or five guys in the field.
“I think now it’s really a premium of hitting that fairway with the driver, you’ll have an iron in. If you are back at the top of the hill, you’re just not going to get there?”
Shane Lowry says he’s not one of those guys who can carry the fairway bunkers off the tee now.
“Funny, I was here last week and I wasn’t playing with Rory (McIlroy),” Lowry said. “He was out at a different time. I asked him, ‘Can you carry that bunker?’ And he says, ‘Yeah,’ and I’m like f---in’ hell. I certainly can’t. I remember there was a couple of times last year when I could carry that bunker but I definitely can’t this year.
“I’ll go back to where I played it a couple of years ago where I lay back and … hit a 5-wood down there and try to make birdie that way.”
There have been multiple changes to other greens that didn’t get amplified with specific mentions in the media guide — namely adjustments to green contours at 2, 4 and 6 that create additional pin placements on each. On 2 and 4, potential hole locations were added near the back of each green.
But Lowry said the unpublicized changes at the par-3 sixth might have a larger impact this week. Two new potential pin positions were added back right and left, but it’s the back right shelf that poses the biggest challenge with a steeper drop off behind the green.
“The back right of 6 green is different,” Lowry said. “There’s a new spot back right on 6 … and there’s more of a run-off back right so if you hit it long of the green it’s a lot harder shot. When the pin was back right on 6, you’d usually go right at it and if you went over it was fine. But now if you’re over the green it’s very tricky.”
Stray shots after a delightful ANWA
By Peter Kaufman
1. Augusta National Women’s Amateur. The fifth ANWA was about as exciting as it gets. Augusta National marches to its own drummer, and when Masters chairman Fred Ridley announced seven years ago the creation of this tournament it immediately vaulted into the top three women’s amateur events before a shot was ever struck. Unlike the U.S. and British women’s amateurs, however, only the ANWA gets to play its final round in live television at Augusta National.
I was anticipating that Saturday’s final round was going to serve as an interesting hors d'oeuvre for this week’s Masters. But it was much more than that. First of all, these women amateurs are really, really good. I mean really good. Firing at flags, draining important and clutch putts from a lot farther than kick-in distance and showing the world what they can do.
Bailey Shoemaker is much-celebrated and deservedly so. On Saturday she tossed an ANWA-record bogey-free 66 at the field. And then she waited and waited in the clubhouse at 7-under. Sweden’s Ingrid Lindblad, the top-ranked female amateur, fashioned a 69 but could not make up for her desultory 76 the previous round at Champions Retreat and settled for solo third place at 4-under, three shots shy of Shoemaker.
Who could fail to be impressed with just-turned 16-year-old American Gianna Clemente, who, paired with eventual winner Lottie Woad, hung tough in the crucible of national TV and finished T5 at 2-under. It’s expected that much will be heard from Clemente in the future. It was really fun to see someone so young go toe-to-toe with her “elders.’’
Finishing well ahead of the chasing Woad, Shoemaker did not really know what to do. She alternated between hitting balls on the range, dashing into the clubhouse, and interviewing with the Golf Channel. With all that, and the viewing world anointing her the presumptive champion, she just had to sit and wait.
First Lindblad couldn’t get closer than two strokes after 15. Then came Woad, who came to the 15th hole two shots shy of the clubhouse leader. Woad, a 20-year-old from England who plays for Florida State, is very long (looked to be 40 to 60 yards longer than Clemente) and based on her stretch run, is one heck of a clutch putter.
All Woad did was birdie 15, par 16, birdie 17 and thus came to 18 tied for the lead at 7-under. A birdie would win, par forces a playoff and bogey means Shoemaker wins.
Woad could not finish with three birdies in her last four holes, could she? She could, hitting a huge drive, an approach to 15 feet and draining yet another important putt for the win at 18.
Riveting, remarkable stuff. In addition to the skilled women, the course itself showed very well. It was also interesting to see it through the prism of the member tees, and it leaves us both applauding the ANWA tournament, the field and 2024 champion, but also salivating for the big dance this weekend.
2. The 2024 Masters. Golf viewership is widely reported as being down at least 20 percent, and the PGA Tour (especially Rory McIlroy) places the blame squarely on the shoulders of LIV’s existence. There is little doubt but that an alliance needs to take place, although I am not quite sure it’s a panacea to the viewing woes.
Golf — despite all the Monopoly money tossed at PGA Tour defectors — remains a fringe sport compared to the big boys like football, basketball, baseball and even hockey. Also, the game has a clear best player in the world, one who is a wholesome, likeable role model on and off the course and puts on a ball-striking clinic weekly. However, no one will ever call Scottie Scheffler “Mr. Excitement.”
Do I think that if Tiger (duh) or Phil (also duh) was at the top of their games viewership would improve? I do.
Right now for a host of reasons, the PGA Tour, and the majors, lack what the golfing viewing public would deem electric, must-see TV. Rory could be that guy but Garfield was president the last time he won a major. And Jordan Spieth has yet, if ever, to regain his 2015-17 supremacy.
For the real fan, we are hopefully looking at a lot of “names” in the 2024 Masters mix — Koepka, Thomas, Scheffler, Spieth, Rahm et al; a cross-section of LIV and PGA Tour players. Tom Kim is tough not to root for, and Si Woo Kim is a lethal combo of driving distance and putting skill. But this week I also have my eye on Matthew Fitzpatrick. I like his form of recent weeks, and I love his confidence.
Here is hoping the Masters is full of drama and that it rouses viewer interest to a fever-pitch again.
3. Reunification Redux. It’s been patently clear for a couple of years that there must be an agreement between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour. Players like Spieth, who insist there can be a deal only on terms acceptable to the PGA Tour, are whistling past the graveyard. Here is a link to the in-depth analysis I did about the state of play with respect to these issues in a letter to the editors of Global Golf Post in February.