For a few hours on Masters Sunday, the excitement was back. Righty and lefty. Red and black. #1 and #2.
Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.
Shaking hands at the first tee. Both at 4-under par and seven strokes off the lead.
It was a supercharged duel that was pure theater.
The galleries were immense. The roar was back at Augusta. For those who feared Augusta National had become too tough, too dull and far too quiet, the roars returned in a big way.
Mickelson and Woods played together in a final round of a major for the first time in eight years, and they proved to be the best undercard in golf.
Mickelson tied a Masters record with a 30 on the front nine to get into contention. Woods chased him around Amen Corner, then caught him with three birdies in a four-hole stretch that captured the imagination of thousands of fans who stood a dozen deep in spots for a view.
But it ended with a thud.
Mickelson lost his momentum with a 9-iron into Rae's Creek on the par-3 12th, and when he missed a 4-foot eagle putt and a 5-foot birdie putt down the stretch. He had to settle for a 67 that left him three shots behind.
Woods bogeyed the last two holes for a 68 to finish another shot back.
The final hour was almost enough to make a dizzy gallery forget about the Woods-Mickelson fireworks hours earlier.
And the most magical thing of all happened just as the sun began to set.
Perry, a 48-year-old on the verge of becoming golf's oldest champion, had gone 22 consecutive holes without a bogey until he dropped shots on each of the last two holes for a 71 to force a three-man playoff that included Chad Campbell and Angel Cabrera.
Campbell was eliminated on the first extra hole when he found a bunker from the middle of the 18th fairway, then watched his 6-foot par putt lip out of the hole.
When luck turned against Perry on the second extra hole -- a splotch of mud on his ball in the fairway that led to a bogey -- Cabrera made a routine par to become the first Argentine in a green jacket.
At No. 69 in the world, he became the lowest-ranked player to win the Masters since the world ranking began in 1986.
Two years after winning the U.S. Open at Oakmont, Cabrera became the sixth player this decade to win multiple majors.
And he finally gave Argentines some happy memories of the Masters.
It was 41 years ago when Roberto de Vicenzo made one of golf's most famous gaffes, signing for the wrong score that denied him a spot in a Masters playoff.
When Cabrera returned home as the U.S. Open champion two years ago, de Vicenzo gave him a special gift.
"He gave me a frame where he has in his hand a green jacket, and he says, 'I hope this gives you luck, so someday you can bring back a green jacket for yourself,'" Cabrera said.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
Tiger is Back/the Recession is Over
Golf's recession is about to end.
The stimulus package golf fans have been waiting for has arrived. The recession in golf will soon be over.
Tiger Woods is back.
Woods' return figures to spike golf interest, television ratings and the gate.
He announced yesterday on his web site that he will defend his title next week in the Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona, his first competition since he underwent knee surgery a couple of days after winning the U.S. Open on a broken leg. He also said that he believes his reconstructed left knee and game are good enough to win the Feb. 25-March 1 tournament at the new Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, a Jack Nicklaus design at Dove Mountain in suburban Tucson.
"I'm now ready to play again," Woods said.
The last shot Woods hit for real was a short par putt on the 91st hole of the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, where he defeated Rocco Mediate in a playoff to capture his 14th major, which Woods described as "probably the best ever" under the circumstances.
He had surgery after the Masters last year to repair cartilage damage in his left knee and suffered a double stress fracture in his left leg while preparing for his return.
He limped badly over the final few days of the U.S. Open, later saying the swelling was so bad at night that he couldn't see his knee cap. A week after winning, he had reconstructive surgery. What to expect?
"He's human," swing coach Hank Haney said. "He has played one tournament in 10 months. I would think he would be a little rusty, but I really don't know what to expect. Nothing with Tiger ever surprises me."
Haney said the swing hasn't changed, but there might be one difference."He's working on the same stuff that he's always been working on, but he'll be able to do it with a strong leg now," Haney said. "It will be a little different in the finish because his knee doesn't give way."
"He came out five years ago and said he had 20 percent of his ACL, and then none of it," Haney said., "Now he has 100 percent of his ACL and his legs have never been strong, and somehow people want to think, 'Will he be OK?' They're not following logic. The only thing he has to deal with his being away for a long time. How long it takes him, I don't know. But he is Tiger Woods."
If none of the 64 players in the field pull out, No. 1 seed Woods would draw Australian Brendan Jones in the first round. Jones, 33, played a full PGA Tour season in 2005, finishing 144th in earnings, and won three times on the 2007 Japan Golf Tour, where he was second in earnings. He has won eight times in Japan, playing there full-time every year since 2000 except for '05. Jones made four cuts in five 2008 PGA Tour starts, with a best finish of T-33 at the Match Play.
The stimulus package golf fans have been waiting for has arrived. The recession in golf will soon be over.
Tiger Woods is back.
Woods' return figures to spike golf interest, television ratings and the gate.
He announced yesterday on his web site that he will defend his title next week in the Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona, his first competition since he underwent knee surgery a couple of days after winning the U.S. Open on a broken leg. He also said that he believes his reconstructed left knee and game are good enough to win the Feb. 25-March 1 tournament at the new Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, a Jack Nicklaus design at Dove Mountain in suburban Tucson.
"I'm now ready to play again," Woods said.
The last shot Woods hit for real was a short par putt on the 91st hole of the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, where he defeated Rocco Mediate in a playoff to capture his 14th major, which Woods described as "probably the best ever" under the circumstances.
He had surgery after the Masters last year to repair cartilage damage in his left knee and suffered a double stress fracture in his left leg while preparing for his return.
He limped badly over the final few days of the U.S. Open, later saying the swelling was so bad at night that he couldn't see his knee cap. A week after winning, he had reconstructive surgery. What to expect?
"He's human," swing coach Hank Haney said. "He has played one tournament in 10 months. I would think he would be a little rusty, but I really don't know what to expect. Nothing with Tiger ever surprises me."
Haney said the swing hasn't changed, but there might be one difference."He's working on the same stuff that he's always been working on, but he'll be able to do it with a strong leg now," Haney said. "It will be a little different in the finish because his knee doesn't give way."
"He came out five years ago and said he had 20 percent of his ACL, and then none of it," Haney said., "Now he has 100 percent of his ACL and his legs have never been strong, and somehow people want to think, 'Will he be OK?' They're not following logic. The only thing he has to deal with his being away for a long time. How long it takes him, I don't know. But he is Tiger Woods."
If none of the 64 players in the field pull out, No. 1 seed Woods would draw Australian Brendan Jones in the first round. Jones, 33, played a full PGA Tour season in 2005, finishing 144th in earnings, and won three times on the 2007 Japan Golf Tour, where he was second in earnings. He has won eight times in Japan, playing there full-time every year since 2000 except for '05. Jones made four cuts in five 2008 PGA Tour starts, with a best finish of T-33 at the Match Play.
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