I think it's funny how the press wants so badly to sing praises for champions, especially golf champions... and especially at a supposed magical place like Augusta. Nobody would want to talk about the calm demeanor, winning stroke of prescience of a guy who did his best to choke away a major.Trevor Immelman did just that, my friends. Don't let anyone tell you differently. He only won because Tiger Woods also played very un-Tiger-like, shooting an even-par 72 on Sunday.
Gene Wojciechowski sort of points this out in his story, but ESPN.com's main page says this:
Trevor Immelman too shaky to seal the deal? The steady South African put his stamp on the 72nd Masters after a testy Augusta National threw caution, tradition and Tiger Woods to the wind.
Well, he went from three straight rounds under 70 to a 75, he had a six stroke lead on Tiger that he let slide to three strokes -- while Tiger was shooting par. Which means if Tiger does what he did on Saturday -- a 68 that could easily have been a 65 or better -- Tiger would win. So spare me him "putting his stamp" on the win, unless his "stamp" is a knee-knocking finish.
At least he didn't cry, though.
Of course, this'll probably piss off Tiger and he'll go win the US Open in June by a dozen strokes or something.
7 comments:
I really disagree with you on this. The best player of this generation, maybe ever...who's currently at the top of the game could only muster an average of 1.25 strokes under par for four days...this guy smokes the rest of the field and really only had one bad hole and you're giving him the business this way?
I don't know about that. Woods never looked great last week, but that might have something to do wit the fact that Augusta is an absolute mother. It was Immelman's tournament to win or choke away. He had a double on the back nine, and gathered himself enough to win by three strokes over Tiger...I'm impressed...Just as I was last year when Johnson did the same thing with Woods close by.
Here's the deal- NO ONE can beat Tiger Woods if they're in his group on the final day...You have to get far enough ahead that you're not paired with him and he can't play jedi mind tricks on you...TI played it well.
Also, the top 5 outside of Woods and Immelman all fell by the wayside as the brutal course and strong winds knocked the best golfers in the world off of their games. The guy who won deserved...the guy in second deserved it as well.
Disagree. He had a 3+ shot lead for most of the final day. There is no reason to take any chances when you have a lead like that. Best to keep it conservative and make someone else have to do something spectacular to beat you. Immelman played it perfectly.
i'm sure he wasn't aiming at the pin. even pros misfire from time to time. and also, good god, did you see the wind there? i don't remember ever seeing a masters sunday where it was that windy. playing in those conditions isn't just a physical challenge, it's a mental one. that could explain tiger's putting woes - putting in the wind is a LOT toucher than doing so on a calm day.
I played on Friday and the wind was 40-50 mph...It stunk. I mean, I'm a bad golfer, but it wasn't too great.
Dude, did he kill your puppy or something?
Do you know anything about golf? The top fifteen players going into sunday AVERAGED a 75.07 on sunday. So you still think he tried to give it away? Then I guess the whole field did! He played conservatively on a windy day. Did you see his clutch chip out of the bunker? Didn't look like he choked there. Last time I checked, the lowest score after 4 rounds is what wins. Doesn't matter how you get there.
Don't disrespect the Masters champion by constantly having to mention Tiger Woods. You are sounding just like ESPN. Ooooooh, that's gotta sting!!
If you ladies like watching guys shoot over par, come on out and watch me play sometime. You'll love it!
No, you're all right... I was hard on him. But still... it was windy? That's your defense? Tiger misses many puts and the gap still closes... he shoots even par -- unusual for him -- and if he had shot, as I said, the 68 that is basically a par score for him on that course, he wins. And yet we act like Immelman slammed the door. He did not, you can at least admit that.
I don't mean to sound as though what he did over four days isn't impressive -- it is, for sure. But his final day was undeniably not that impressive.
Also, Eric, so the top 15 players averaged what Immelman shot... so what? Shouldn't a champ be better than the average?
"Shouldn't a champ be better than the average?"
He was. By quite a bit.
Ken
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