Masters Preview

Now that Tiger Woods (who used to be the Best Athlete I Ever Saw) has largely retired from competitive golf, the Heath Post has significantly reduced its golf coverage. (Similarly, our tennis coverage hasn't been the same since John McEnroe retired).

Nevertheless, we will of course cover the Masters, which is the third best sports event in the world (after the NCAA tournament and the Kentucky Boys' Basketball State Championship). Keep checking for updates.

For now, we will predict that the Masters will be won by either Phil Mickelson or a non-American. In retrospect, it appears that Woods and Mickelson were the Sampras and Agassi of American golf -- the last representatives of a great tradition. The Americans under 35 strike me as a collection of Andy Roddicks -- big, good-looking goofs who can't come through in the clutch.

By the way, here are the PGA Tour winners so far this year (American unless otherwise noted). As you can see, it is a pretty undistinguished list Mickelson is the only name on the list with more than six tour victories in his career. As usual, I give each tournament the name it had when I started watching golf:

Jan 9: Tournament of Champions (Hawaii): Jonathan Byrd
Jan 16: Hawaiian Open: Mark Wilson
Jan 23: Bob Hope Classic: Jhonattan Vegas (VEN)
Jan 30: Andy Williams Classic: Bubba Watson
Feb 7: Arizona Open: Mark Wilson
Feb 13: Bing Crosby National Pro-Am: D.A. Points
Feb 20: Los Angeles Open: Aaron Baddeley (AUS)
Feb. 27: Match Play Championship: Luke Donald (ENG)
Mar. 6: Jackie Gleason's Inverarry Classic: Rory Sabbatini (RSA)
Mar. 13: Doral Open: Nick Watney
Mar. 20: Tampa Bay Classic: Gary Woodland
Mar. 27: Arnold Palmer Invitational: Martin Laird (SCO)
Apr. 3: Houston Open: Phil Mickelson

Here are the top five guys on the money list:

1. Mark Wilson: $2,430,825
2. Nick Watney: $2,278,000
3. Phil Mickelson: $2,107,131
4. Gary Woodland: $1,964,130
5. Martin Laird (SCO): $1,891,763

Woods (who has only played in four events since he is semi-retired) is 97th on the list with $240,696 -- which would still be a very good year for most folks in western Kentucky.