U.S. Open Preview

Hopefully Faldo will show up here to give his much more in depth and intelligent U.S. Open preview but in case he doesn't, and since I like to hear myself type, I figured I'd give you a little preview myself.

Here are your top ten contenders to take this one down (after Tiger, of course):

1. Jim Furyk - My pick to win this week (my super sleeper pick I referenced before was Davis Love, but it turns out he didn't qualify to play so there goes that idea). It makes me a bit nervous that he missed the cut the last time the Open was at Bethpage in 2002, but he was in the midst of one of his worst years, missing the cut in three of the four majors so I'm going to throw that out. Furyk has one U.S. Open win (2003) and four other top fives in his career, so you know he likes this kind of courses. He's also having a quietly awesome year - quiet because he has yet to win this season. Instead, he has six top tens in his twelve events, as well as finishing no worse than 11th in his past four. With a third place finish in a WGC event, a fifth at the Players, and a 2nd last week at the Memorial, he's in great shape to take home the trophy.

2. Paul Casey - Did you know Casey is the 3rd ranked player in the world? Me neither, but it's the truth. I suppose that will happen when you finish in the top 20 in six of your eights starts on the PGA Tour. He also picked up not only his first ever PGA victory this year at the Shell Houston Open, but has two wins across the pond on the Commie tour as well. Since coming into his own he's made the cut at the US Open the last three years, including a 10th and a 15th place finish.

3. Geoff Ogilvy - He's cooled off a bit since his hot start to the season and didn't play in the Open here in 2002, but Ogilvy might be peaking at the right time once again. The 2006 US Open Champion is coming in off a 10th place finish at the Memorial, and would have been better except for a single nightmare of a blow-up hole on Sunday - take that out and he played very well. And you can never count Ogilvy out of a high profile tournament; of his six career PGA Tour wins, four are high-profile events (US Open and three WGC events).

4. Steve Stricker - He's having one of his best years (a win and five other top tens) and he's a very good US Open player (6th, 13th, 29th last three years). In fact, he's actually a pretty phenomenal player overall, with five top tens in his last 11 majers, due to steady iron play and being one of the best putters on the tour year after year. His major issue is that he is kind of a headcase when it gets to the final round, having coughed up several leads on Sunday over the past few years. He did pick up a win at Colonial just three weeks ago, so maybe that part of his game is behind him.

5. Camilo Villegas - Everyone is still waiting for him to make that huge leap (his win in the Tour Championship in 2008 almost counts), and the timing might be right. Camilo plays well in the US Open, including a 9th place finish last year, and has improved his finish each year (CUT-59th-26th-9th). He's been steady this year, not spectacular, but seems to be zoning in and has made his last 8 cuts after a rough start, including three top 15s. He is thisclose to breaking all the way through.

6. David Toms - Since I can't have my Davis Love pick, I'll take David Toms instead. Similar to Love, Toms was one of the better players on tour a while back, and then faded away only to roar out to a very, very good year this season. He has six top tens already this season (compared to just one all of last year), and finished in second place last week at TPC Southwind. He's not a big hitter, but he's very accurate and plays well in US Open conditions (3 top tens in 8 starts). Like Love, things just seem to be lining up perfectly.

7. Tim Clark - Interesting stat. Guess who leads the PGA Tour in Proximity to the hole? Yep, Tim Clark. He's also top 20 in putting. Those two things seem pretty important when it comes to the Majors, and especially the US Open. He also has two top tens in his last four starts and, although he hasn't been great in the majors, has made a couple of runs at it. Could be his year.

8. Phil Mickelson - The only guy who can take the spotlight off of Tiger, Mickelson will be the media darling this weekend if he's in contention thanks to his dealing with his wife's cancer. He's a stud when it comes to the US Open, with seven top tens in his career and a second place finish last time it was at Bethpage in 2002. Normally he'd be a no brainer pick for #2 contender, but for a guy who sometimes gets caught up in his own head the family issues, combined with the pressure he always seems to feel in the US Open, might be too much for his sensitive self. He's only played once since May 10th, but I can't count him out. Toughest guy to rank this week.

9. Lee Westwood - Westwood hasn't been heard from much over here, but that's because he's been spending most of his time playing across the pond, including putting up a couple of top tens. Westwood is one of those sneaky communist bastards who only shows up over here when he wants something, like a big tournament victory, and usually manages to get himself in the running. He has three top tens in the U.S. Open in his career, topped off by a third place finish last year when he just missed being included in the playoff with your boyfriend Tiger and Rocco.

10. Brian Gay - Normally I wouldn't pick someone who just qualified for the Open the weekend before and who hasn't played in a US Open since 2004 and has never made a cut in the US Open, but Gay is just so impressive sometimes (insert your own joke here). When he's playing well, he's not messing around and kicks some serious ass, as he did last week at the St. Jude. He got out to the first round lead, and unlike most slackers, never relinquished it, winning going away by five strokes. That wasn't even his biggest win, as earlier this year he won at the Verizon Heritage by 10 shots. Tough to bet against a guy who can be that dominant, especially when he's coming in hot.


A few notable names missing, but that's because they have no shot. Garcia and Harrington suck right now. Els and Goosen are too old. Anthony Kim and Hunter Mahan have regressed. Kenny Perry looks like a cartoon character. O'Hair is dealing with an injury and is kind of a baby. Bubba Watson is a side show. Nick Watney and Rory McIlroy are too green. Stewart Cink is too gay. Ian Poulter is too Euro, and Vijay is awful at the US Open.

Two guys who didn't make my top ten do get honorable mentions, Zack Johnson and Henrik Stenson. If one of the twelve mentioned (thirteen with Tiger) I'll be shocked.

The Masters Preview

Since we seem to lose all our golf guys (ok, maybe a golf post every week was a little excessive) I'm going to have to take the reins here for a preview of The Masters, which begins tomorrow. Don't worry, there will be plenty of Twins talk to come.





The Favorite: Tiger Woods. Obviously. Tiger would almost certainly have been the favorite no matter what happened his last time out, but winning at Bay Hill two weeks ago tells the world know that he is all the way back. If you had to choose between Tiger and the Field, who would you pick? The field, obviously, but you'd at least have to think about it.

The Top 10 Contenders:

1. Paul Casey. Yes, I consider Casey your best bet to knock off Tiger this week. He's only played in the US three times this year, but those include a win at the Shell last week and a runner up finish in the Match Play Championship. Add in a 10th and 11th at the last two Masters, and a made cut in eight straight majors, and I think he's the guy to watch out for.

2. Zach Johnson. He won here two years ago, but then followed that up with a pretty mediocre 2008. It looks like the Hangover has abated, with Joaquin Phoenix's double having a pretty nice 2009, with a win at the Sony Open and five top 17s on the year.

3. Retief Goosen. Probably the best golfer at the Masters to never win the tournament, Goosen has finished in the top 3 here four times, and his career finishes since 2002 are very impressive: 2, 13, 13, 3, 3, 2, 17. He seemed to be on the downslope of his career last year, but has seen a resurgence this season with a win already at the Transitions Championship and another top 3 on the resume. This could be the year he finally gets his green jacket.

4. Phil Mickelson. Can't put Lefty any lower than this, and it was a tough call putting him even this low. Mickelson is incredibly uneven at times, but there's no doubting his ability when he's on. He also loves this tournament, with two wins and a total of eleven top 10s in 15 tries as a pro. If that's not enough, he's already got two wins this year, including a WGC event. I'm starting to wonder why I put him fourth.

5. Padraig Harrington. Since Paddy won his second straight Major at the PGA last year, he had been in coast mode, missing the cut in the next two tournaments and not finishing in the top 50 until March this year. The good news for Paddy fans is that he seems to be rounding into shape, with a 20th, 11th, and 26th in his last three. With the last two majors under his belt, and a 7th and 5th in his last two trips to Augusta, Harrington might get one step closer to the Paddy Slam.

6. Geoff Ogilvy. Ogilvy, despite a bit of a final round collapse last week, usually thrives in big tournaments, with four of his six career wins being either Majors (1) or WGC Events (3). He's also playing well right now, with two of those six career wins coming this season already. He's never seriously contended at Augusta (career best T-16th), but he's also never missed the cut here.

7. Mike Weir. Do you remember that Weir won here in 2003? Me neither. I always forget that and then realize it right before the tournament, and then realize again that Weir is pretty damn good at Augusta, with four top 20s in five tries since he won. He's also playing solid golf so far this season, with zero missed cuts and two top 3 finishes.

8. Nick Watney. I'm as surprised as you are to see this kid on the list, but he's burst on the scene in a big way this year, and has probably been the most consistent golfer so far this year. Watney has a win at the Buick and two other top 5 finishes. In fact, Watney has finished in the top 25 in seven of his eight tournaments this year. This is his second trip to Augusta, and he proved last year that he can handle it, finishing in a tie for 11th place. Stranger things have happened.

9. Robert Karlsson. I didn't know this until I was looking up his majors record on Wikipedia, but apparently he has two nicknames: "Ivan Drago" and "The Scientist." How awesome is that? If you need more, Karlsson finished in the top 10 in three of the four majors last year, including 8th at the Masters, finished 20th in the other Major, and won the European Order of Merit (the commie Player of the Year). He's also looking good, coming into the tournament with a T-14 finish last week.

10. Brandt Snedeker. He's not exactly having the best year, with as many missed cuts as made so far, but I have a hunch about the 2007 Rookie of the Year, particularly after he finished 17th his last time out at the Arnie Palmer. Snedeker generally plays well in Majors that aren't the British Open, with two top tens last year including a T-3 at Augusta.


10 "Contenders" Who Have No Shot:

1. Sergio Garcia. This pains me. If you pay attention to the Golf posts I make round here, you know I love the Sergio, but it's not his year, at least not at the Masters. The sexy Spaniard hasn't done much this year, with just one finish in the top 30, and the Masters is not where he's going to turn it around, with three missed cuts in his last four attempts here.

2. Vijay Singh. One of the more obvious "big" names to put on the list, the big Fiji has really struggled this year coming off knee surgery in January. Since his return, he has missed three cuts and finished 53rd and 59th. The Masters is generally not a place where players return to form, and Singh's streak of 10 straight top 25 finishes here is in jeopardy.

3. Luke Donald. As long as we're talking injuries, let's talk Donald's wrist. Luke had wrist surgery and missed the second half of the season last year, and then had to withdraw from the Match Play Event due to wrist trouble again. He's played in two tournaments since then, and managed a top 20 at the WGC, but comes in with a MC at the Houston Open. He also missed the cut at Augusta last year.

4. Adam Scott. Here's another one who is trying to return from an injury, and not at all succeeding. Scott injured himself surfing last December (note: Surfing is stupid. You look like a seal from below. Sharks eat seals. Ergo, if you surf, sharks will eat you) and hasn't hit his stride in his return, coming into the Masters on the heels of missed cuts in his last two events. Considering he's never finished better than 25th here since 2003, I don't see this being his big return event.

5. Jim Furyk. I never thought there would be a tournament where I'd consider Furyk to not be a factor, but since a 3rd place finish at the last WGC event, he's played really poorly, finishing 52nd and missing the cut in his last two times out. In fact, in the last six rounds he's played he's only broken 70 once, and has carded two separate rounds of 78. Add in that he hasn't really contended at Augusta since 2003, and I don't think this is Jimmy's week.

6. Ernie Els. Unlike Goosen, who seems to have pulled himself out of a career decline, the same can't really be said for Els, who has won only once since 2004. It's not that he's playing terrible golf, but he just doesn't really seem to ever be a serious threat to win anymore, much less at a major. Particularly Augusta, considering he's missed the cut the past two years.

7. Anthony Kim. Remember when Kim was the next big thing? He was one of the hottest golfers last season, picking up two wins and finishing fourth in the Fed Ex Cup Playoffs. He started out hot again this year, with a second place finish in the first tournament of the year, but has really cooled since then with nary a top 25 finish to his name. Add in that this is his first trip to Augusta, and I'm not seeing it.

8. Stewart Cink. People like Cink. People like blood sausage, too. People are morons. I can't stand this guy. Sure, he finished 3rd last year at Augusta, but he's sucked all year, with a 24th place finish his best, has only won once since 2004, and generally chokes anytime he's in contention for anything except for biggest homo on the tour. Want more? He named his two sons Connor and Reagan, and has a twitter account or page or whatever it is. H-O-M-O.

9. Steve Stricker. Speaking of choking when the pressure is on, holy cow has Stricker had his hands around his throat this year. On paper, his three top fives already this year look great, but consider that he had the lead at one point in all three of those tournaments and gave it back. Google "Steve Stricker chokes" and you'll see a ton of hits. Sound like a guy who can handle the pressure of the final round of the Masters? Add in that he's missed the cut here in five of his eight tries, including his last three attempts, and you can rule him out.

10. Kenny Perry. The Dan Akroyd clone may have had a good year last year, but he did it playing only one round in a major: he didn't qualify for the Masters or the US Open (and didn't attempt to), declined to play in the British, and got hurt after one round at the PGA. Perry is playing well this year (four top-10s already) but his lack of success at Augusta (five missed cuts in 8 tries), unfamiliarity with the course and tournament (hasn't played in the Masters since 2005), and overall lack of Major experience (only played five rounds total in the last 8 majors) tell me to stay away.


THE WILDCARD:

- Rory McIlroy. If you pay attention to golf, you know who this is. If you don't, he's the next young challenger to Tiger Woods, or at least is being portrayed that way. He's a 19-year old kid from Northern Ireland, and has already risen to the #17 ranked golfer in the world rankings. He already won in Dubai earlier this year, and finished 5th at the Accenture Match Play to go along with three other top 20s in the states. Simply put, he's young, he's untested in a Major, and by all rights shouldn't be in contention. However he's played well this year under pressure, seems completely unflappable and in control at all times, and is supremely talented. Really, I have no idea how to place him. I had him in both the Top Contenders and Players With No Chance categories at different points when I was thinking about this. Nothing would shock me.


There you have it. As a reward, here's a fun little picture of Natalie Gulbis:

Weekend Review

WHO WAS AWESOME

1. Providence. I mentioned this previously, but the Friars win over Pitt on Tuesday was a huge lift to the Friars’ postseason chances. They still have a lot of work to do, but that was a step in the right direction. They also picked up a huge win at Rutgers on Saturday – not hard as in Rutgers is any good, they aren’t, but good to go on the road at a traditionally tough place to play and not show any letdown, going in and winning 73-66. They are doing it with defense, forcing both Pitt and Rutgers into 16 turnovers, a very good sign. Plenty of work left to do, and they close out the season on the road against a surprisingly very good Villanova team (despite Scotty Reynolds) in a game they probably have to win to have any hope. But if the Friars can pull that upset off and win a game in the Big East tournament, I don’t see any way they don’t make it.

2. BYU. Another team looking for a bid, the Cougars had a huge week coming up with wins over fellow Mountain West contenders San Diego State 69-59 and Utah 63-50. The win over the league leading Utes is huge, giving BYU its third victory over an RPI Top 50 opponent. With games at Wyoming and at home versus Air Force remaining, BYU should end up finishing 12-4 and second in the Mountain West. The real question is will that be enough? The computer numbers are pretty good, but they are just 3-5 against RPI Top 50 teams, which looks bad when compared to fellow conference bubble team UNLV who is 5-2. There isn’t much here outside the conference, so BYU better get to at least the MWC tournament finals, although the RPI ranking of #21 will certainly help.

3. Oklahoma State. Here’s a weird team that has come out of nowhere to suddenly be included in the bubble conversation, and they just got a signature win they badly needed by beating Texas 68-59 on Saturday, running their winning streak to five straight and pushing their conference record to 8-6, good enough for fourth in the Big 12. A pretty aggressive non-conference schedule and a slow start had them off the radar, but with the recent winning streak that same aggressive schedule has them with some pretty good numbers (#30 RPI, #11 SOS). They haven’t fared well against top teams, going just 3-8 vs. RPI Top 50 and 7-9 vs. The Top 100, but if they can split the last two (home vs. Kansas State, @ Oklahoma) that would put them at 20-10, 9-7 in conference. Take that, along with the good computer numbers and strong finish, and the Cowboys are looking pretty good for a bid.

4. Kansas. They certainly don’t need any help to get in the tournament, but suddenly a “depleted” Kansas team is playing for a possible two seed and took a good step in the right direction this week. They are 13-1 in the Big 12, and just beat the only other two ranked teams in the conference this week, taking down a Blake Griffin-less Oklahoma on the road 87-78 and followed it up by whooping #11 Missouri 90-65 in Lawrence. You knew Sherron Collins would be a stud this year, but the biggest reason for the team’s success despite losing so much talent after last year’s Championship has been Cole Aldrich – and yes, it pains me greatly to say that. After minimal playing time last year, he’s jumped to 30 minutes, 15 points, and 10 rebounds per game, put up 19 and 14 against Missouri, and is projected to be a top five NBA after next season by NBAdraft.net There are a bunch of newcomers who are also helping out, but Cole is definitely the biggest reason the Jayhawks are an unexpected Final Four contender.

5. Geoff Ogilvy. Ogilvy didn’t just win the Accenture Match Play Championship, he dominated it. In a week when Tiger Woods was the main story, Ogilvy moved passed him into first place on the all-time Accenture winning percentage, going 6-0 to push his record to 17-2 overall, a .895 winning percentage – ahead of Woods who is 32-7, .821. Ogilvy beat Paul Casey in the championship 4 & 3, following a run that saw him beat the gay Stewart Cink, teen phenom Rory McIlroy, Dr. Acula’s boyfriend Camilo Villegas, the Chinese Cowboy Shingo Katayama, and Kevin Sutherland. Ogilvy shot a combined 25 under in his last 66 holes (3 matches worth) and never trailed against any of his last three opponents. Ogilvy tends to play better in big events, this is his second time winning the Accenture, winning in 2006 as well as winning the US Open that year. He’s definitely one to watch in the majors this season.


WHO SUCKED


1. Siena. Well, the good ole DWG Jinx strikes again. This time hitting the MAAC leading Saints who, after last weekend’s win over Northern Iowa in Bracket Busters, looked to have a chance, however slim, at an at-large NCAA bid if they didn’t win their conference tournament. You can pretty much forget it now, as Niagara’s Purple Eagles knocked off Siena on Friday, 100-85. The Saints played a tough schedule, but were unable to grab a signature win, with their best win on the season coming against the previously mentioned Purple Eagles. Unfortunately, letting Niagara shoot 52% from the floor was too much to overcome, and the talented, and dangerous, Saints will have to win the conference tournament in order to get a chance to repeat their success from last season.

2. Utah State. The Aggies were in a similar situation as Siena, most likely needing to win their conference tournament to get in, but having an outside shot at an at-large. And, just like Siena, those hopes are now over with their loss at Nevada on Thursday night. It’s just the Aggies second WAC loss, the other being at Boise State, and losing on the road to the #2 and #4 teams in your conference isn’t anything to be ashamed of, but when your at-large resume contains only one win over a RPI top 50 opponent and your strength of schedule is 133, you can’t really afford any losses. So Utah State will now need to win the WAC tournament, and, bad news Aggies’ fans, it’s held in Reno on Nevada’s home floor. Ruh roh.

3. Kentucky. Another team that really hurt itself, the Wildcats haven’t completely locked themselves out of at-large consideration, but it’s really, really close. They completely bombed this week, going into South Carolina and getting steamrolled 77-59 and then following that up on Saturday by dropping a home game to LSU 73-70. Kentucky has been done in by poor perimeter shooting and sloppy ballhandling, as they shot just 7-26 from three in the two games and turned it over 20 and 15 times – trends that need to stop if they have any chance of making the tournament. They have Georgia at home in an easy win, and then close out the regular season by traveling to Florida in what will be a must win. If they can’t win both of their remaining games, the Cats might need to win the SEC tournament to get in.

4. Arizona. Another Wildcat team that didn’t do themselves any favors, Arizona also went 0-2 this week in getting swept by the Washington schools. This was following up a loss to Arizona State, and their safe NCAA hopes are suddenly looking a little more precarious. Losing on the road to a very good Washington team is nothing to be ashamed of, but they needed to win at Wash State, and unfortunately didn’t even bother to show up, getting blown out 69-53. The Wildcats have two home games to close out the season, playing Stanford and Cal this week, and probably need to win both or head into the Pac 10 tournament very nervously. Arizona has some very good scorers in Wise, Budinger, and Jordan Hill, but they need to fix their rebounding issues. Both Washington schools outrebounded them by 9 in their most recent games, and it’s been a season long issue with Arizona being one of the worst in the country in keeping team’s off their offensive boards. Couple that with their inability to turn other teams over, and they are giving up a boatload of shots every game.

5. Marquette. They certainly aren’t in any danger of not making the tournament at 12-4 in the Big East, and actually their 0-2 week wouldn’t normally land them in the WHO SUCKED column since those two losses were at Louisville and versus UCONN. The reason they are here is because they lost their senior leader, starting point guard, and top four conference assist man Dominic James for the season thanks to a broken foot suffered against UCONN. This takes the Golden Eagles from a sleeper final four contender to a sweet 16 max upside type team. They still have their top 3 scorers, and Jerel McNeal and Wes Mathews are still one of the top guard tandems in the country, but it will be very difficult to replace James. Even though they managed to hang tough with Louisville yesterday, losing just 62-58, but they also managed to scrounge up a total of just seven assists in the whole game, where James averaged five per contest by himself.

Tiger wins again...Huh, oh he's not playing...

Well if you didn’t see it Bubba Watson played like a true champion and just fell a couple strokes shy of the win. Well actually he failed to make the weekend but what did you expect, I can’t just give you the winner every time, I have an 1-800 gambling line for that. Furyk, Weir, Kim and Calc were there so I did have some half way decent players in my folks to watch but Watson let me down and for that I will not pick him again this week. Chez Reavie won going away, played extremely well on Thursday and Friday and didn’t fade on the weekend when no one would have held it against him if he realized where he was on the leader board and simply puked all over himself. Realistically this guy hasn’t even been on the map since January when he turned in a T5 finish, he is a young kid in his first year on tour and he made the most of his best opportunity to win. Now he will enjoy the life of a tour winner, two year exemption, trip to the Masters, setting his own schedule and his pick of second tier PGA Tour groupies. Not bad kid…

The Tour moves south this week for the third WGC event of the year to be played at Firestone Country Club in Akron, OH. But really this is a huge week overall in golf, the Seniors tee it up in Colorado for the US Senior Open, chicks are in Europe for the Women’s British and the rest of the PGA Tour’s players who aren’t good enough to play with the best players in the world head to Tahoe for the Reno Tahoe Open. It is the event where whoever wins will most likely be overshadowed by a whiney little teenager named Michelle Wie. It won’t be because she becomes the first women to make the cut on the PGA Tour, for the love of all things holy if she makes the cut I am going call shenanigans and get the brooms, she will steal attention for being a non factor freak of nature. Seriously, she is six feet tall and Hawaiian (that’s like Asian mixed with short Americans), her parents are six feet tall combined can someone please test this girl for HGH and maybe run a battery of tests to find out why it seems like she is always on her period. I seriously can’t stand this side show and hopefully with a poor enough showing this week she will finally head back to the women’s circuit.

Ok getting back to the real show, the WGC at Firestone. This course is a bear, 7300 yards and plays to a par 70, what that means is that there are only going to be two par fives in play over the course of 18 holes each day. They also boast some of the longest and tightest par 4s on tour and almost every par three can be played over 200 yards. The player that wins will need to drive the ball long, hit a lot of greens and putt like he has a pair. Yes that is the combination to winning a lot of tournaments and no one has done it better than Tiger, he is long, hits a ton of greens and is arguably the best putter on tour especially on weekends so since he is being a sally and taking some time to bang his Swedish wife, take long swims in his money vault (think Scrooge McDuck), oh and rest his double stress fracture and newly constructed knee; who can take down the beast this week? I think these are the top five guys that have the makeup to win here: Kenny Perry, Anthony Kim, Adam Scott, Sergio Garcia and Geoff Ogilvy. Kim is drained, as I said last week, he looked tired coming down the stretch in Canada and this week will be no different top 20 for sure but he will not contend. Where has Ogilvy been lately? Well he hasn’t been playing much on Tour and yet he is back on the radar as a trendy pick, so I will shy away from him because he plays better when no one thinks he will. That leaves Scott nursing a bad wrist, but I think he will still contend, Garcia has been consistent this year and if the putter works this weekend he will finish no lower than the top 5 but I think the winner will be Kenny Perry. This guy has been a fireball lately and didn’t play last week and was not one of the guys that had to readjust himself after coming back from Europe so he should be rested after a week of sipping sweet tea and eating cornbread or whatever hicks from KY do in their free time. Hey Faldo what about Phil? Pound Sand Losers, he will not contend, this guy should be making hay while Tiger is gone but he is not, he is putting like crap and I just don’t think he will hit it straight enough to win.


Dark Horses:
Vijay-Just make a putt.
Rose-Just try to forget this is America.
Immelman-Just quit telling everyone you won the Masters and play golf.

Cink-I hate Stewart Cink, did you ever realize how big this guy is, well look next time he is big...and probably a closet homo.

News and Notes:
Senior Open-Watch for Norman, Kite, Sluman and Scott Simpson
W. British-God I just hope Paula Creamer and Gulbis contend so I can watch the highlights
Reno-Tahoe-Watch for Moore, Duval and Merrick

This is pretty long, get used to it, not like anyone else is posting.

NF

Masters

Grandslam is back with some extra words for Masters Week:

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Well last week there was a first time PGA tour winner in the likes of Johnson Wagner. Wagner a former alumn of Va. Tech won his first tournament, thus giving him his first ever trip to Augusta. Normally i might make a big deal of this, but blah blah blah.

I hope all of you have your office pools ready for this weeks tournament. Did everyone know that this week the tour will head down Magnolia lane to Augusta National Golf Club for the 74th playing of The Masters. This may be the greatest weekend on earth to sit on your ass and watch golf (at least that's what i will be partaking in)

I think the best part of this year's tournament, is that for the first time in the coverage of The Master's is that they will be televising the Par 3 tournament on ESPN. I see highlights year after year and have always wondered why they never have shown this, but this year we will see the PGA Tour's version of a game of darts. In last years tournament first time major winner Zach Johnson won with a score of -1 which equaled the highest ever 4 day total for the tournament. Zach Johnson had an interesting strategy last year, not going for a single par 5 in two all week long. Although many questioned his game plan, come sunday afternoon it would appear that this was the right thing to do.

Yes, we have seen many long hitters win this tournament recently with the likes of Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, and Vijay Singh, but The Masters is a tournament where a good ball striker with the right game plan can sneak up on anybody which Johnson was evidence of last year. Lately the scores at The Masters have resembled scores of the second major of the year The US Open. I would pretty much say this is the toughest test of golf the players will see all year. You have to drive your golf ball not only straight, but with alot of length. If you don't you will be in some pretty deep rough, and your distance control is a must at Augusta because these will be the toughest greens the players will see all year, and I will guarantee that whether its putting or chipping/pitching around the greens.

They have done alot within the last ten years to change this course. They have lengthened the course by almost 600 yds, they have made the fairways more narrow and very fast, and of course making the greens lightning fast. Back then the shortest players on tour could still reach #13 and #15 in two, now there are only a select few that will do this on a regular basis. Unlike the US Open, the Masters will challenge every club in your bag for the week. If the weather is hot and dry this week, look for the scores to resemble last years tournament.

One thing that i look forward to, as i do year after year is who is gonna be right there, but just won't win it. With the likes of Greg Norman, David Duval, Johnny Miller (although i hate that bastard)and Ernie Els, its seems almost every year there is drama right up to the 72nd hole which makes this the most exciting tournament to view.

The other story that will intrigue me this week is can the #1 player in the world Tiger Woods win the first major of the year and possibly win the Career Grand Slam in one season?? Of course Tiger will be the favorite this week, next week, basically every tournament he tees it up in. However this week, although i see him being right there at the end, I don't think he wins this week. My pick to click this week is Geoff Ogilvy. The reason being he has really been on a roll that last month or so, but not only that but I think he's got the perfect game for Augusta. He drives the ball long and straight, he has a wonderful short game, a decent putter, but most importantly he probably hits the highest long irons on tour which is a must to play well at Augusta with the fast hilly greens.

I would love to give you a pick of "my sleeper of the week", but its just too hard. I know for a fact that there will be a name on top the leaderboard that many of you have never heard of, but more than likely come Saturday afternoon that name will fade, I just don't know who that is.

Everyone enjoy the greatest week of golf that we get to see every year. Peace Out!!!

-Grandslizzle

Bay Hill? More like GAY Hill.

Am I right? Come on people.

Anyway, here's Grandslam's half-hearted contribution this week:

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Well first off Nick Faldo, i will apologize for my great golfing mind pick of Joe D. Nice MC!

This weeks recap is gonna be short and sweet, because lets face it selection Sunday is this weekend and the majority of you could give a shit less about what i have to say about golf this weekend.

As for the PODS Stewart Cink pretty much had an ass explosion down his leg and Sean O'Hair took advantage of it and won!

And as for this weeks Arnold Palmer Invitational aka The Bay Hill, it will be possibly the best field that we have seen thus far this year. Invitational tournaments on the PGA Tour are basically like majors, you have to be someone to get invited to these things. That being said, guess who's in the field this week???? That's right the #1 player himself Tiger Woods. I will really go out on a limb for my pick this week and pick Tiger Woods. Lets face it the way this guy has dominated in the last 2 years, you would have to be a complete dumbass not to pick him. My honorable mention pick will be Geoff Ogilvy. Hopefully he found his game again last week at the PODS and will start to get on a hot streak, i really like this guy.

But again, the majority of you don't give a shit about what i say, and you especially won't this week with maybe the biggest week of college basketball all season. So enjoy the week and i will talk to you knuckleheads next week.

GO Oral Roberts!!!

- Grandslam

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