[golfugh]

The leaders play together (Ian and Westwood). Then the first in with a score  is next followed by the next in with the same score (don't know who finished first KJ or Ricky, but that is who will play with Tiger - Tiger was in first at -6).  That's why Phil tried to ram in his putt on 18, he needed to get to -7 to play with Tiger.

[werd]

Watching some of the todays holes in 3D. It was really nice and changed out the greens, fairways and everything. Interesting stuff.

[jackman]

Wow!  Looks like Tiger is back in the hunt.  The two Brits are chokers and I don't think they will be able to handle the heat of having the lead.  If Tiger is still within two or three after tomorrow, he could be wearing Green on Sunday.  Amazing feat considering the events of the past couple months. 

If Woods does win this one, I imagine his celebration party will be a bit less exciting.   

[jsaliga]

Westwood and Mickelson are in command of the tournament: both are playing great.  Phil looked like he was actually having fun out there today and that is a look that I have not seen from him in quite some time.  Elsewhere, it seemed like the wheels were coming off for Tiger, with four bogies in a six hole stretch.  He managed to get back into contention on the back nine but it was a pretty sloppy round for him with a couple of terrible chip shots and two really bad putts.  He may get a crack at it tomorrow but he is going to have to play mistake-free golf to have a chance at winning.  Couples had a very good day at -4 for the round but at -7 for the tournament he is in the hunt.  What remains to be seen for him is how his back will feel tomorrow.

I can't wait for the final round.

--Jerome

[rodge827]

What a day 

Phil The Thrill is hittin' it great. 

Except for jacking it left on 18, he had great timming and balance all day.

Hope I finish my round early enough tomorrow to catch the final nine. 

Rodge

[jackman]

Fun round of golf today.  One British choker down, one to go.  Westwood got it together but he was rattled when he heard footsteps.  It was really good to  see Phil play such great golf, he's one of my favorites along with Tiger.  Did anyone catch Phil's two birds and that third shot that missed a birdie by less than a foot?  That was awesome.  Also, Couples' back looked like it loosened up after a rough day yesterday.  It's a shame he was crippled yesterday because he's playing awesome golf.  One of my all time favorite golfers. 


Don't count Tiger out just yet!  He had a rough day and I never count him out.  He just gave up so many holes today with bad putting.  Sadly, if Tiger wins, I suspect the celebration party will be less fun than last time!

Cheers,

J

[drphoto]

I'm glad to see that 16 old kid made the cut. I think that's way cool. I've only been following this online as I don't have TV, but I hope they made a big deal about this.

I'm still rooting for my man Freddie. I don't think he can win it at this point, but I hope he has a good showing in the final round.

Who know what will happen tomorrow, but Lee looked really solid today. Good to see a talented guy back after a long struggle.

[jsaliga]

I'm glad to see that 16 old kid made the cut. I think that's way cool.

I agree and it's a big deal.  I'm trying to imagine what it would have been like at The Masters when I was 16.  Hmmm, I would have been walking the course with guys like Johnny Miller, Tom Weiskopf, Billy Casper, and Lee Trevino.  Oh, and some guy named Jack Nicklaus won it that year. 

--Jerome

[lonewolfny42]

I agree and it's a big deal.  I'm trying to imagine what it would have been like at The Masters when I was 16.  Hmmm, I would have been walking the course with guys like Johnny Miller, Tom Weiskopf, Billy Casper, and Lee Trevino.  Oh, and some guy named Jack Nicklaus won it that year. 

--Jerome

Here's an interesting comparison....1966 and 2009....players and prize money...(Top 15)

1966 Masters Scores

Results from the 1966 Masters golf tournament played at the par-72 Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga. (x-won playoff; a-amateur):

x-Jack Nicklaus    68-76-72-72--288     $20,000.
Tommy Jacobs    75-71-70-72--288   $12,300
Gay Brewer    74-72-72-70--288   $8,300
Arnold Palmer    74-70-74-72--290   $5,700
Doug Sanders    74-70-75-71--290   $5,700
Don January    71-73-73-75--292   $3,900
George Knudson    73-76-72-71--292   $3,900
Raymond Floyd    72-73-74-74--293   $2,500
Paul Harney    75-68-76-74--293   $2,500
Billy Casper    71-75-76-72--294   $1,770
Jay Hebert            72-74-73-75--294    $1,770
Bob Rosburg    73-71-76-74--294   $1,770
Tommy Aaron    74-73-77-71--295   $1,570
Peter Butler           72-71-79-73--295   $1,570
Ben Hogan           74-71-73-77--295           $1,570



2009 Masters Scores

Results from the 2009 Masters golf tournament played at the par-72 Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga. (x-won playoff; a-amateur):

x-Angel Cabrera     68-68-69-71-276  $1,350,000.
Chad Campbell    65-70-72-69-276       $660,000
Kenny Perry    68-67-70-71-276     $660,000
Shingo Katayama    67-73-70-68-278    $360,000
Phil Mickelson    73-68-71-67-279      $300,000
John Merrick    68-74-72-66-280      $242,813
Steve Flesch    71-74-68-67-280      $242,813
Tiger Woods    70-72-70-68-280     $242,813
Steve Stricker    72-69-68-71-280     $242,813
Hunter Mahan    66-75-71-69-281     $187,500
Sean O'Hair    68-76-68-69-281    $187,500
Jim Furyk           66-74-68-73-281      $187,500
Camilo Villegas    73-69-71-69-282   $150,000
Tim Clark           68-71-72-71-282      $150,000
Geoff Ogilvy    71-70-73-69-283      $131,250

[mcgsxr]

What a cool run of 3 holes for Phil - darn near went -6 on those!  Loved the hole out from the fairway, always good to see another lefty doing great.

Tiger was struggling with the short putts yesterday, but I expect he will come out today and play very very well.

I hope that Westwood and Phil battle it out, and I would love to see Lefty in another green jacket!

Looking forward to my first round this spring, trying to fit in a game on Tuesday during the day.

[Dan Driscoll]

Did anyone catch Phil's two birds and that third shot that missed a birdie by less than a foot?

It was two consecutive eagles and a birdie.

I'm rooting for Phil, wary of Tiger and disappointed that almost no one is paying attention to KJ Choi. I guarantee you that the other players at the top of the leaderboard are paying attention to KJ. He's a damn fine player, rock steady and he can go low on a course like Augusta. I would not at all be surprised to see him make a very serious run and possibly even win it.

[jsaliga]

Tiger is having a lot of problems with his swing mechanics.  It started creeping into his game yesterday but he just hit a nasty pull on his drive at the first hole.  He is not getting off to a good start.  He may have another tough day ahead of him.

KJ Choi hit a nice drive from the first tee that just snuck its way into the fairway bunker.  So you never know what is going to happen at The Masters.

--Jerome

[drphoto]

Wow, what a great 4 days. Hat's off to Phil. Some weird tee choices, but matched by brilliant saves.

 Mr. Westwood got beat, but he certainly didn't choke. Nicely done.

I was disappointed to see Freddie miss a few good opportunities, but he still played well.

At one point I thought KJ was going to run away with it. He looked like a machine for a while.

Good show by AK too. He's a hell of a ball striker.

Damn I love golf. Now on to my favorite of the big 4, the US Open.

[jsaliga]

It was a great finish to a terrific four days of golf.  I was a little concerned for Phil when he decided to go for the green from the pine straw through the trees on 13.  He has tried similar shots under pressure in the past that didn't quite pan out so well for him.  Then his ball came to a rest three feet from the hole and I thought he had the tournament wrapped up even though he missed the eagle putt.

I know Tiger is disappointed but honestly he has been away from competition for a while.  He didn't play very well yesterday and today and yet here he is finishing fourth in The Masters.  I've said it before and it bears saying again, you don't win major championships with the driver, but you sure as hell can play yourself out of contention with one.  Tiger has never had great accuracy off the tee with the big stick.  He should consider striving for control over distance.  He may settle for less yardage on his drives, but putting the ball in play in the fairways more often would take some of the pressure off of his game elsewhere.

Lee Westwood, KJ Choi, and Anthony Kim all had a great run.  They will be back.

Fred Couples was right in the thick of it until his tee shot found Rae's Creek on the 12th.  He was not so far out of the lead that he really needed to shoot for the flagstick -- not with him driving the ball so well and two par 5s in front of him.  Still, it was good to see him play well at Augusta.

--Jerome

[jackman]

It was two consecutive eagles and a birdie.

I'm rooting for Phil, wary of Tiger and disappointed that almost no one is paying attention to KJ Choi. I guarantee you that the other players at the top of the leaderboard are paying attention to KJ. He's a damn fine player, rock steady and he can go low on a course like Augusta. I would not at all be surprised to see him make a very serious run and possibly even win it.

Sorry, I was half asleep when I wrote that!  Thanks for correcting me.  Eagles!  It was great to see Phil play so well and pull this one out.  His performance was heroic.  The Brits didn't choke, Phil earned this one.  Brilliant play down the stretch.  It's great to see a great guy play such inspiring golf. 

Another highlight was Couples' play.  That guy was driving the ball farther than ANYONE.  In his day, Fred Couples could hit the ball farther than any top pros.  It's amazing to see an older guy hit the ball that far and accurately. 

Great Masters!

Cheers,

J