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Thoughts on the Third Day at the Masters

/ The Grateful Golfer / 2 Comments

To be fair, I did not watch any of the Masters yesterday. I was off having fun doing life stuff. I was a bit taken aback with the result from moving day and I was not surprised either. Augusta National is a tough track and Rory McIlroy did not have his best game according to the results on the leaderboard. That is the nature of professional sports. I was surprised at the lower scores that propelled players to the top of the leaderboard. Specifically, Cameron Young and Scottie Scheffler shooting 65 and Russel Henley and Patrick Cantlay shooting 66. I mentioned yesterday that low scores like these were needed to make a run at the top of the leaderboard. Right now, Cameron Young is the only score that made a significant difference.

With 9 players within 5 strokes of the top players, anything thing can happen today. The walk down the 18th hole could be any of the top players as they all vie for the green jacket. So, who will come out on top, will I still think Rory McIlroy will come through in the end. He is has the game if it shows up. Again, staying in play off the tee will be his greatest challenge. The rest, just need to play solid golf. The lower down the leader board, the more chances you need to take in order to make a run. It is going to be fun to watch for sure.

In case you missed Rory’s rollercoaster ride, here is a quick recap:

I looking forward to watching today’s action. Anything can and will happen. I hope you have time to catch the action today at Augusta National.

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!

Thoughts About The First Day At The Masters

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The first day is in the books at the 2026 Masters golf tournament. ‘A tradition like no other’ seems to fit the bill this year as 91 golfers vie for the Green Jacket. There are some past champions like Freddie Couples (one of my all time favorites), Vijay Singh, Mike Weir, and José María Olazábal are playing one of their favourite courses. There are many young guns who I do not recognize, but the top players in the world are still showing that consistency is key to playing at Augusta. This is one of my must see events through the year and my top pick, defending champion Rory McIlroy, is a co-leader after day one. With great weather forecasted for the weekend, what do the players chasing the top of the leaderboard have to do in order to be in Butler’s Cabin on Sunday?

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The 2024 Masters – Day 2 Thoughts

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What can be said about the second day at the Masters? It was a crazy windy and reeked havoc on all the players. Everyone to a tee said that the conditions were horrific and took all their skill to carve out any possible gains. With only 6 players breaking par during the second round (compared to 28 on the first day) this tells a story all on its own. Of course the wind was the main cause for all the players challenges on day 2, but it was not the only thing that had the field scratching their heads.

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The 2024 Masters – Day 1 Thoughts

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The 2024 Masters commenced yesterday with the traditional tee off by the honorary starters. This year Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson showed that golf can be a timeless sport for athletes of all ages. It is fun to watch these living legends hit a ball off the first tee.

After a rain delay, the action started. There were many great scores considering the windy and wet conditions. It is not difficult to understand that Augusta National is playing differently because of the weather, which in turn forces the players to adjust a bit to be successful. Rory McIlroy explains it best:

The first round is not finished due to the early weather delay. Thirty percent (30%) of the field still needs to finish this morning. Some are near the top of the leaderboard, so the final standings for round one are yet to be determined. I will add, that Bryson Dechambeau’s -7 round was a great start. Scottie Scheffler is one stroke back and some pundits are marveling at their start. I would like to remind the readers that three players started with -7 last year and one (Jon Rahm) did go on to win his first green jacket. There is still plenty of golf left and it is way to early to think the players currently at the top of the leaderboard will be there on Sunday afternoon.

Today’s big influence will be the wind. It is forecasted to gust between 20 and 26 mph (34 and 42 kph). This is a fairly strong wind at any time, but for a Major and at Augusta National, this type of wind will reek all kinds of havoc for the players. I am thinking Tiger Woods stinger shot might come in handy today.

There is plenty of golf still left to play at this year’s Masters. It is too early to suggest who a clear winner will be until after the field is set for the weekend. Of course moving day will set the stage for Sunday, but I am getting way ahead of myself. For now, I am going to enjoy the action and keep cheering on my picks for this year.

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!

The Top Of The Leaderboard At The 2021 Masters Just Got Tighter

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With Justin Rose shooting even par yesterday, he opened the door for the rest of the field to narrow his four stroke lead. It is not as if Rose failed to score well, shooting even par, it just that the other players took advantage of the better scoring conditions. I am actually surprised at how many players actually shot under par (11 on day one); 38 players were in red numbers on day two with Bernd Wiesberger and Tony Finau shooting 66. The conditions must have been very friendly to scoring to have just under half the players shooting under par. Yesterday was atypical and all the movement reminded me of what should happen today – moving day!

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