NFL
By: Noah Thomas –
No Tiger? No problem.
Eldrick will miss the sport’s most famous event for the second time in three years. At 40 years old, Tiger Woods’s numerous back injuries will prevent him from making his first PGA appearance since August (T-10 at the Wyndham Championship).
Not that it matters to everyone else. In a world that once thought golf could not survive without the four-time Masters champion, the sport seems to be thriving as well as it did in Woods’s heyday.
With veterans such as Phil Mickelson and Bubba Watson still in the mix from year-to-year, as well as the young stars that follow in this article, the Masters tournament is not likely to lose any viewers without Tiger in the mix.
Recent rumors told of Tiger’s back issues not going away. He shot them down with a video of his swing in its current state, which seems to be as strong as ever.
Despite everything, top ESPN analyst Skip Bayless was quoted this week saying he would be shocked if Tiger ever competed for a major championship again. It’s been eight years since he won one of the big four—the U.S. Open in 2008.
Rory looks to complete his career Grand Slam
Moving along from the No. 472 golfer in the world to No. 3, Rory McIlroy is preparing to take his best shot at becoming just the sixth person to complete the career Grand Slam.
The four-time major champion has yet to claim a green jacket. Not that they have started to creep up, but Rory doesn’t want to draw any Phil Mickelson comparisons in the next couple of years. A win this weekend would certainly nip those in the bud.
Wee-Mac has competed for wins so far in the events he’s participated in. He finished two shots behind Adam Scott in the WGC-Cadillac Championship a month ago. Two weeks ago, he finished fourth in the WGC-Dell Match Play event, losing to Rafa Cabrera Bello in the third-place match, 3-and-2.
The biggest thing Rory has going for him is that the pressure is off—mainstream media have kept their focus on the other two guys we’re about to talk about, and that’s great for him heading into golf’s greenest pastures.
Day in, Day out
There’s a golf sensation sweeping the nation. His name? Jason Day.
The new world No. 1, two weeks removed from taking the top spot from Jordan Spieth during the aforementioned WGC-Dell Match Play event, is riding high off a stellar start to the 2016 season.
The funny thing is that he makes it all look easy.
Day, who has continued his end-of-year dominance on the Tour from 2015, has already won two events this year. Cruising to a win in the Arnold Palmer Invitational and emerging victorious in a tough WGC event has made him the odds-on favorite to take home the green jacket this weekend.
He’s finished in the top-3 in the Masters twice before (2011 & 2013) and his only major victory to-date is last year’s PGA Championship, where he finished at -20 and set the event record.
Day’s biggest competition at the moment seems to be Adam Scott. The No. 6-ranked Aussie has exploded in recent months, winning both the Honda Classic in February and the WGC-Cadillac Championship, as mentioned previously.
With longtime friend and caddie Steve Williams reuniting with Scott for this weekend only, all signs are pointing to a clash between him and Day on Sunday afternoon.
Jordan Spieth attempts to right the ship
You would think, with all the press coverage he has been receiving in recent weeks regarding his play on the golf course, that Jordan Spieth had suffered a Tiger-esque meltdown (circa 2009-2010).
Fret not, the defending Masters champion will show up to compete on Thursday. Hopefully, for his sake, he’ll be able to avoid any over-par rounds this weekend—he’s had five in his last 10.
The 20-something phenom from Texas corralled two of the four major championships in 2015 and finished in the top-4 in the other two. His play, for whatever reason, has suffered thus far.
You wouldn’t know the pressure was on Spieth by talking to him, though. According to him, the most anxious part of his week will be deciding what everyone will eat at the Champions Dinner tomorrow night.
“That’s what would be the most nerve-racking thing right now, which is a pretty good thing if that’s the most nerve-racking [about] next week,” Spieth said. “I’m really looking forward to that Tuesday night.”
In an advertisement for Under Armour, tweeted out last night at around 10 p.m., Spieth stood in a still photo holding a white piece of paper reading “NEVER SATISFIED.” See it here.
He will need to bring that same attitude with him to Augusta this weekend for a chance to be the first back-to-back Masters winner since Tiger did it in 2001 and 2002.
The Masters – By the Numbers*:
- $3,975 – Average price of a 4-day pass purchased on the secondary market (down 36% from 2015).
- $34.75M – Estimated revenue from 2015 ticket sales.
- $250 – Cost of producing each green jacket.
- $10K – Annual dues for members of Augusta National Golf Club.
- 90% – Of the golf carts used in the world are produced in Georgia.
- 57K – Georgia jobs are supported by the golf industry.
*All statistics provided by WalletHub.com
