A Tradition Like None Other

Barstool Sports gets you ready for the 2005 Masters with another A to Z primer for the year’s first major.

A is for Anniversaries. It seems like every year at The Masters there’s a significant anniversary or two and this year is no different. 2005 is the 70th anniversary of Gene Sarazen’s famous double-eagle to put the tournament on the map in 1935. It’s the 30th anniversary of the 1975 duel between Jack Nicklaus, Tom Weiskopf and Johnny Miller that Jack won, in part, thanks to a 40-foot bomb on 16. (You can count on seeing that during the coverage this week with Henry Longhurst’s famous call…”Now, up the hill...ho, ho! Did you ever see one like that?”) And it’s the 10th anniversary of Ben Crenshaw’s emotional win in 1995. You can bet that Gentle Ben will get some run this week as well.

B is for the Big Four. Tiger, Phil, Vijay and Ernie. More on Tiger and Phil below but, collectively, these are the guys with the spotlight on them to start the week. These are the big guns. They couldn’t live up to the pre-tourney hype at The Players Championship but look for them to be much more of a factor this week.

C if for CBS. I’ve been watching the Masters on CBS for about 20 years now, many times when I watched every single second of live coverage, so I think by now I’m pretty well prepared for what to expect. Jim Nantz will have his sappy opening homage to Augusta National and cheesy scripted line for the winner. Bobby Clampett will ramble on endlessly about the swirling winds at 11 and 12 and “loblolly pines.” Whoever covers the 14th will preface all remarks by mentioning it is the only hole on the course without a bunker. The Augusta theme music will be ever-present. The crowd will be referred to as patrons. The pins will referred to as hole locations. But any and all transgressions will be forgiven on account of the commercial free coverage which, quite frankly, could be the greatest thing in the world.

D is for dogwoods and azaleas. Couldn’t tell you a single about them but you can be certain they’ll be in “full bloom” for Masters week.

E is for Eldrick Tiger Woods. There was a time, not so long ago, that Tiger was considered a virtual lock at the Masters and the undisputed heavyweight champion of the golf world. No more. 75s in three of his last five rounds at Augusta, including one on Sunday in ’03 when he begin the day in contention, have taken away a touch of his Masters aura of invincibility. Where he once stood alone at the top, he’s now merely one piece of the so-called Big Four with Ernie, Vijay and Phil. Well, watch out. That’s all I can say. The man hasn’t won 57 tournaments and 8 majors by accident. He’s still the greatest player of his era. He’s still chasing Nicklaus as the greatest of all-time. And he’s still the favorite this week in my book.

F is for Former Champions. Don’t be surprised to see former champs like Jose Maria Olazabal and Fred Couples play well. They hold the two lowest career stroke averages at the Masters for players with more than 50 rounds. Other former champions like Nick Faldo and Bernhard Langer aren’t far behind. It wouldn’t shock me one bit to see any of those guys in the hunt.

G is for The Goose, Retief Goosen. Considered be many to right there with the Big Four. Solid record at Augusta in the last three years after missing the cut in two of his first three trips. Outstanding touch and putting give him a great chance to contend.

H is for Augusta chairman Hootie Johnson. I look forward every year to Hootie joining Nantz in the Butler Cabin to present the green jacket on Sunday. That’s almost guaranteed to be the most awkward and humorous five minutes of the broadcast.

I is for Ian Woosnam. Woosie hasn’t cracked 70 since 1997 and hasn’t made a cut since 2000 but I always enjoy having the Wee Welshman around.

J is for Jack Nicklaus. There are a ton of ridiculous stats at The Masters when it comes to Nicklaus including 6 wins, 15 top 5s, 22 top 10s and 29 top 25s. Here’s a few more. 6 top tens, including a win, after turning 40. 39 rounds in the 60’s. 71 rounds under par. Amazing stuff.

K is for The King, Arnold Palmer. I’m glad Arnie’s walking away because it’s definitely time to go but it still won’t be the same without him there.

L is for Lobster Ravioli, which is what Phil is reportedly serving up at the Champions Dinner this year. Not sure how I feel about that.

M is for Masters green, the official color of the green jacket. Seriously. The jacket has its own color named after it.

N is for no chance. Although several have come close, no amateur has ever won the Masters.

O is for Overalls. One of those Masters quirks. The caddies in their white overalls. Apparently, it gets hot as hell in those things and several loopers through the years have gone commando underneath to battle the heat. Let’s move on.

P is for Phil. Only three men (Nicklaus, Faldo and Woods) have repeated as Masters champion so Phil’s got history working against him in his attempt to defend his title. It’s sure to be a hectic week for him between getting in a day late because of the Bellsouth going to a Monday finish, plus all the extra duties and media attention he’ll face as defending champ. I think he’ll play well in spite of all the distractions and I think he’ll definitely be somewhere in the mix on the weekend. I don’t see him winning it though. Not this week.

Q is for quick starts. Every Masters winner since Nick Faldo has had at least one of his first two rounds in the 60’s.

R is for Rae’s Creek. I think we can all agree… the most dangerous creek in the world.

S is for Sudden Death. There have been 6 playoffs decided by sudden death at The Masters but only one (Mike Weir in 2003) since 1990. If there’s a playoff this year it’ll still be sudden death but, instead of starting on 10, it would start on 18 and go back and forth between 18 and 10 until there’s a winner.

T is for the 10-shot rule. The Masters cuts the field to the lowest 44 scores plus ties after 36 holes, plus anyone that’s within 10 shots of the lead.

U is for the United States. For some time now, The Masters has been the only major on US soil that’s been kind to foreign players. Since 1978 foreigners have won 14 of 27 green jackets. Americans have won 6 of the last 10, however, as well as 3 of the last 4. If an American wins this year it’ll be the best run of domestic success since the late 70’s.

V is for Veterans. Augusta National, among many things, is a course that rewards experience. Aside from the former champions highlighted above keep an eye on guys like Davis Love and Tom Lehman. Davis, in particular, has a fantastic record at Augusta. If you’re looking for a guy to pick outside of the Big Four, Davis could be the way to go.

W is for Wednesday’s Par-3 contest which has traditionally spelled doom for the winner. Several Masters champions have won the par-3 but none in the same year they won the tournament. I still think it’s bound to happen one of these years but plenty of players would just as soon let someone else win the par-3 just to be safe.

X is for Xavier McDaniel. You got something better?

Y is for Yancey. Bert Yancey to be specific. A good player in his day, Bert loved the Masters so much he built clay models of the greens in his basement so he could study their contours. I love the Masters too but that’s downright creepy.

Z is for Zimbabwe-the birthplace of co-course record holder Nick Price. Nicky’s 63 in ’86 was matched by Greg Norman a decade later in 1996 but, as Nick did it first, and with a huge head of hair, I have to rate his 63 slightly higher. Could’ve easily been a 62 too. His birdie putt on 18 finished on the lip after a violent 360. I’m not sure why I remember these things.

Questions? Comments? Send feedback to Michael James at feedback@barstoolsports.com.