Today was the final round of the 75th Masters, arguably golf's biggest tournament. Played at Augusta National every year, fans are familiar with the golf course which adds a lot because we know what's coming up and it builds anticipation. In fact, it's rated the #1 Golf Course in the country in the latest Golf Digest rankings. Yes, I get excited about golf tournaments and golf courses!
Augusta National is one of the most exclusive clubs in the world. I think there are roughly 300 members, and it's a course that is only open for play from October through May. Bobby Jones, one of the greatest golfers in history, built Augusta National to be a Winter Golf Club for it's members. Many of the rumors about Augusta make people think it's a stuffy, old boy's club. I'm not even going to speculate on that. That isn't the point of this blog.
The point of this blog is that the members of Augusta National put on the greatest golf tournament in the world. Every year they set the golf course up in a way that makes for an exciting tournament and a thrilling finish. Additionally, they insist on limited commercials during the broadcast, running 56 minutes of golf for every hour of coverage. This is so great...when you watch the US Open, it seems like you get typical network coverage, which means ~15 minutes of commercials per hour. The British Open and PGA Championship are similar to the US Open.
The course setup though is everything. Augusta National is always set up in a way that a player can make birdies and go win the tournament. The US Open is a survival contest, with few chances for birdies and players often struggling for par. The British Open is great, but it's a bit too reliant on the weather. The PGA Championship comes the closest to the Masters in terms of course setup, but falls short on tradition and nostalgia.
Today's final round was no exception. Rory McIlroy started the day with a 4 shot lead, but struggled mightily with an 80. This brought a lot of players into the mix, and at one point, 9 players were within 2 shots of the lead. The winner, Charl Schwartzel of South Africa shot a 66, and birdied the last 4 holes to win by 2 shots. Australians Adam Scott and Jason Day finished tied for second, and shot 67 and 68 respectively. Tiger Woods also put up a 67 to finish in a tie for 4th. There were birdies and eagles to be had and it was a riveting tournament. This is what we get from the Masters every year, and even in a year like this one, where none of my favorite players were in the mix, I still enjoyed every minute of the Masters final round.
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2 comments:
Aren't you glad for golf???
I agree completely. I really enjoyed watching the Masters, and most of my viewing was on Saturday where there wasn't as much leaderboard drama. I didn't know the thing about the commercials. That is cool. I wondered why the TV station was showing so much golf...
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