The 2020 Masters Tournament has reached its conclusion. 2020 has been a different kind of year and this was a different kind of Masters. Congratulations to World #1 Dustin Johnson on winning his first Green Jacket. Who knows, there might be a couple of more in him before he’s finished. More in him later.
The 16th Green – I know that it’s been a different kind of year and with it, the committee at the Masters opted to change the pin placement on the 16th green. The commentators had said that it was a more difficult pin placement, but even with the lack of fans present (if that was the reason for the change) going away from the traditional Sunday pin placement was boring. I hated it and there has to be an overwhelming majority of golf fans that, even though we were without the buzz and roars, would have preferred to watch some shots into the usual pin location. The pin placement on Sunday was a bogey.
An imPerferct 10 – Speaking of bogey’s. How about heptuple (if that’s a word) bogey? Was anyone else in shock watching Tiger in “Amen Corner” take a 10 on “Golden Bell”. My mouth just hung open and I was in absolute shock. Golf is a funny game. It just goes to show you that if it can happen to Tiger Woods, it can happen to anyone else.
Im – How good is Sungjae Im? If he wasn’t on your radar by now as a golf fan, he should be. Watching him, you can see the potential greatness in this native of South Korea. His driving at the 2020 Masters Tournament was like watching “Iron Byron”. Had it not been for a couple of big pulls, who knows. He could’ve placed a ton of pressure on the champion. He’ll take a lot from this Masters Tournament and now that he has the experience of “where to” and “where not to” hit it he will contend again. Im isn’t going to be #25 for long as he’ll be Top 5 at some point. Under the radar, Im will win a Green Jacket before his career is finished. Imagine the celebration in South Korea and that of South Korean golf fans.
Smith Sub 70 – The Aussie served notice this week. The runner-up played all 4 rounds under par. Cameron Smith is the only player in the history of the Masters Tournament to fire 4 rounds in the 60’s.
Don’t Mess With the Golf Gods – The ghost of Bobby Jones was in attendance this week at Augusta National. Par 67? How’d that work out?
Silence is Deafening – Other than a smattering of applause from volunteers and what I assume are members of ANGC as well, the silence was deafening. Say, who else heard the random “hoots” on Saturday? Where did those come from? Imagine the gasps from the galleries during Tiger’s miscues on #12. It was so weird seeing nobody lining the fairways, surrounding the greens, or hearing the roars from the patrons. It was so bizarre. I still say it didn’t feel like a Major.
The Champ – On his way to winning The Masters, Dustin Johnson set a scoring record. The record previously set by Tiger in 1997 and tied by Jordan Spieth was broken by Johnson with a cumulative score of -20. He was masterful going around Augusta National, where his discipline never strayed and he never really played under stress or duress.
Just think, we get to do this all over again in a few short months.
Until The Next Tee!!
#fightandgrind #seeuonthenexttee
The Next Tee (TNT) 