Here's the top ten after the first round of the 2022 Masters:
1. S. Im (KOR): -5 (67)
2. C. Smith (AUS): -4 (68)
T3. D. Willett (ENG): -3 (69)
T3. J. Niemann (CHI): -3 (69)
T3. S. Scheffler: -3 (69)
T3. D. Johnson: -3 (69)
T7. J. Kokrak: -2 (70)
T7. C. Conners (CAN): -2 (70)
T7. P. Cantlay: -2 (70)
T10. H. Higgs: -1 (71)
T10. K. Na: -1 (71)
T10. D. Berger: -1 (71)
T10. T. Woods: -1 (71)
T10. T. Finau: -1 (71)
T10. W. Simpson: -1 (71)
T10. H. Varner III: -1 (71)
T10. W. Zalatoris: -1 (71)
Tiger was really close to finishing about 3- or 4-under, and he was really close to finishing about 2- or 3-over.
ReplyDeleteSo, you know ... wow!
Current leaders:
ReplyDeleteT1. Im (KOR): -4 (29 holes)
T1. Smith (AUS): -4 (18)
T3. Conners (CAN): -3 (31)
T3. Niemann (CHI): -3 (18)
T3. Scheffler: -3 (18)
Tiger tees off at 12:41 P.M. Central Daylight Time.
ReplyDeleteESPN's coverage of the Masters starts at 2 PM Central, so in the meantime I'm going to watch the Red Sox and the Yankees on the MLB Network.
ReplyDeleteBob Costas is doing the Yankees game! I always like to hear Costas do baseball.
ReplyDeleteBilly Crystal throws out the first pitch to start the season at Yankee Stadium.
ReplyDeleteIm bogeys the 12th, and falls back to 3-under. Schwartzel is 3-under for the day through 16, and 3-under for the tournament. Smith hasn't teed off yet; he's alone in first place at 4-under.
ReplyDeleteThe BoSox open the season with a walk and a homer, which is a pretty good start.
ReplyDeleteT1. Im (KOR): -4 (31 holes)
ReplyDeleteT1. Smith (AUS): -4 (18)
T3. Schwartzel (RSA): -3 (35)
T3. Conners (CAN): -3 (33)
T3. Willett (ENG): -3 (19)
T3. Niemann (CHI): -3 (18)
T3. Scheffler: -3 (18)
Red Sox lead 3-2 after a long first inning.
ReplyDeleteSchwartzel finishes with a 3-under par 69 and is 3-under for the tournament. Willett birdies the second hole and moves to 4-under.
ReplyDeleteRed Sox lead 3-2 after 2.
ReplyDeleteT1. Im (KOR): -4 (34 holes)
ReplyDeleteT1. Willett (ENG): -4 (23)
T3. Schwartzel (RSA): -3 (36)
T3. Smith (AUS): -3 (21)
T3. Niemann (CHI): -3 (20)
Giancarlo Stanton homers to right, and the Yankees are tied 3-3 with Boston in the bottom of the 4th.
ReplyDeleteBob Costas is great. He just had to do the read for Capital One: What's In Your Wallet? And then he said, "A rather personal question, but one that has sustained Capital One for some time."
ReplyDeleteIm finishes with a 2-over par 74.
ReplyDeleteT1. Schwartzel (RSA): -3 (36 holes)
ReplyDeleteT1. Im (KOR): -3 (36)
T1. Willett (ENG): -3 (26)
T4. Varner III: -2 (36)
T4. D. Johnson: -2 (35)
T4. Gooch: -2 (26)
T4. Smith (AUS): -2 (24)
T4. Niemann (CHI): -2 (23)
T4. Matsuyama (JPN): -2 (22)
T4. Scheffler: -2 (22)
T4. Finau: -2 (22)
ESPN's coverage is now underway, so I'm leaving the baseball. Red Sox lead 4-3 in the top of the 6th.
ReplyDeleteTiger has bogeyed the 1st, 3d, 4th, and 5th holes. He is now 3 over, and in danger of missing the cut.
ReplyDeleteThis will be a tough afternoon for ESPN, as the conditions are difficult and most of the well-known golfers are out of it.
ReplyDeleteActually, I've talked myself out of the Masters for now. I'm going back to Yankee Stadium.
ReplyDeleteThe Phillies are opening their season at home against the Swingin' A's. That's not something you see every day.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if anyone is Philadelphia is still really mad about the A's leaving and superjazzed to get their revenge tonight.
DeleteHere's Oakland's announced batting order:
1. Tony Kemp, second baseman
2. Billy McKinney, designated hitter
3. Sean Murphy, catcher
4. Chad Pinder, left fielder
5. Seth Brown, first baseman
6. Elvis Andrus, shortstop
7. Kevin Smith, third baseman
8. Stephen Piscotty, right fielder
9. Cristian Pache, center fielder
Oakland’s starting pitcher is right-hander Frankie Montas, which, of course, depends on his not being traded before first pitch. This is a legitimate possibility. The A's traded a pitcher the other day to the Padres just a few hours before a exhibition game with San Diego, so then that guy was the starting pitcher against Oakland.
Dustin Johnson finishes with a 73. He is 2-under for the tournament and tied with Varner for low American.
ReplyDeleteThe Yankees and Red Sox are tied 5-all in the 11th, but I'm no longer watching because I won't watch any game once the ghost runners come in.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, an American has taken over first place at the Masters:
ReplyDelete1. Scheffler: -4 (27 holes)
T2. Schwartzel (RSA): -3 (36)
T2. Im (KOR): -3 (36)
T4. Varner III: -2 (36)
T4. D. Johnson: -2 (36)
T4. Lowry (IRL): -2 (31)
T4. Niemann (CHI): -2 (29)
T4. Matsuyama (JPN): -2 (28)
At first glance, that leaderboard isn't very impressive, but Schwartzel, Johnson, and Matsuyama are all former winners.
DeleteAnd Scheffler is the number-1 player in the world right now.
DeleteHere's the current top 10 in the World Golf Ranking:
Delete1. Scott Scheffler
2. Jon Rahm (ESP)
3. Collin Morikawa
4. Viktor Hovland (NOR)
5. Patrick Cantlay
6. Cameron Smith (AUS)
7. Justin Thomas
8. Dustin Johnson
9. Rory McIlroy (NIR)
10. Xander Schauffele
Lots of big names are out of it: Justin Rose is 8 over after 36 holes. Koepka and Spieth are 6 over after 36. DeChambeau is 9 over after 28.
ReplyDeleteOthers are almost out of it. Bubba Watson, Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia, Jon Rahm, and Rory McIlroy are all 2 over after 36 holes.
Yankees drive in their ghost runner in the bottom of the 11th to win 6-5.
ReplyDeleteTiger birdied the 7th and 10th to get back to 1 over, but then he bogeyed the 11th and 12th to fall back to 3 over. Right now anyone who's better than 5 over is projected to make the cut.
ReplyDeleteScheffler misses the green at 11 but gets up and down to save par. He stays at 4 under and walks off the green with a big grin on his face, as he should.
ReplyDeleteAnd now Scheffler rolls in a birdie putt on the dangerous 12th hole, and moves to 5-under par. He has a two-shot lead.
ReplyDelete1. Scheffler: -5 (30 holes)
ReplyDeleteT2. Schwartzel (RSA): -3 (36)
T2. Im (KOR): -3 (36)
T2. Lowry (IRL): -3 (33)
T2. Niemann (CHI): -3 (30)
Tiger birdies the 13th hole and moves back to 2 over.
ReplyDeleteTiger birdies the 14th hole and moves back to 1 over. On the back nine so far, Tiger has gone birdie, bogey, bogey, birdie, birdie.
ReplyDeleteScheffler is 25 years old. He was born in New Jersey but grew up in Dallas, and played golf for the University of Texas. Just as his PGA career was getting started, the world was all shut down for COVID. But he was ready when things got going again. He finished in the top 10 in last year's PGA, U.S. Open, and British Open. And this year, he's already won the Phoenix Open, the Arnold Palmer Invitational, and the World Match Play title. So while he hasn't gotten much attention in the HP, he clearly has great potential.
ReplyDeleteScheffler birdies the 13th hole and moves to 6-under. He now has a three-shot lead on the field.
ReplyDeleteJustin Thomas birdies the 14th and moves to 1 over.
ReplyDeleteLouisville's own.
Delete1. Scheffler: -6 (31 holes)
ReplyDeleteT2. Schwartzel (RSA): -3 (36)
T2. Im (KOR): -3 (36)
T2. Lowry (IRL): -3 (35)
T2. Niemann (CHI): -3 (32)
Tiger pars the 15th to remain at 1 over.
ReplyDeleteAfter he won the 2008 U.S. Open, Tiger had to leave the tour due to an injury. That was the beginning of his serious health problems, which have haunted him ever since. Even at the U.S. Open in 2008, he was plainly injured. So if we counted only tournaments won by Tiger after the 2007 season -- his last full season before the injury -- what did he do?
ReplyDelete21 PGA victories
2 Majors (the 2008 U.S. Open and the 2019 Masters)
3 World Golf Championship titles
That's an amazing career in and of itself. To put it in perspective, consider that Davis Love III had 21 PGA wins and 1 major in his career. So Tiger Woods -- since 2007 and mostly while being injured -- did better than Davis Love III for his entire career. That's how good Tiger was.
Excellent note.
DeleteMatsuyama birdies 15 to move to 3-under. This leaderboard, like most leaderboards at the Masters, is becoming more impressive as time moves on.
ReplyDeleteThomas birdies the 15th hole to move to even par for the tournament.
ReplyDeleteThomas is rolling now. His tee shot on the par-3 16th rolls to within about a foot of the hole.
ReplyDeleteThomas taps in his third birdie in a row. He's now 1-under for the tournament with two holes left in his round.
ReplyDeleteScheffler birdies the 15th and 16th holes to move to 8 under par. He now has a five shot lead.
ReplyDeleteTiger shoots a 74 to make the cut at 1 over par. He is tied for 19th place, which is an extraordinary performance for someone who hadn't played a tournament in over a year.
ReplyDeleteScheffler's drive on 18 goes into the woods, but his second shot reaches the green. On a day where almost everyone has struggled, he's working on a 67.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of which, Justin Thomas -- who shot a 76 yesterday -- shoots a 67 today. He's 1-under par for the tournament.
ReplyDeleteScheffler pars the last. He goes out in 35, and comes home in 32, for a 67 that gives him a five-shot lead. That's a type of old-school dominance we haven't seen in a while. It will be interesting to see how he handles the next two days.
ReplyDeleteI'm listening to "A's Cast," and they are getting ready to have on Dwayne Murphy! This is a clear sign that the A's are going to be surprisingly fantastic this season.
ReplyDelete