2013 Masters Blog

Angel keeps prodding along.

I have seen this story before. At the 2007 U.S. Open and the 2009 Masters, Angel Cabrera got on the back nine and made it look easy. The man knows how to bring it home and after making par at 12 you have to think that either Jason Day, Adam Scott, Marc Leishman or Brandt Snedeker better got on the dime and make some birdies and eagles.

At Oakmont Cabrera was even par on the back nine. He won it with birdies at 11 and 15, before finishing with bogeys at 16 and 17. With just a one shot lead he made a gutsy par on 18 for one shot win over Tiger and Jim Furyk. At the Masters in 2009 Cabrera had a over par front nine of 37, then bogey 10. But he birdied 13, 15 and 16 to get into a playoff with Kenny Perry and Chad Campbell.

The pure fact is that if you run across Cabrera in a dark alley, he will fight you to the death and win, he’s just that good in getting the job done.

So does that mean that Cabrera will cruise to victory, no he needs to earn it and he will work hard. But the fact is that someone needs to step it up because Cabrera won’t beat himself.

It should be an interesting next hour.

Winners on the last day.

So what does it take to win the Masters?
In the 46 years going back to 1967 only four players have shot over par on the front nine in the final round and won:

• 1999 – Jose-Maria Olazabal shot 38, came back in with a 33 for 71.
• 2004 – Phil Mickelson shot 38, came back in with a 31 for a 69.
• 2008 – Trevor Immelman shot 37, came back in with a 38 for a 75.
• 2009 – Angel Cabrera shot 37, came back in with a 34 for a 71.

Between 1990 and 2012 the scoring average of the winners on the front nine during the final round was 35.00.

Another double digit score at 12.

After hitting three balls into Rae’s Creek in front of the 12th, Kevin Na went on to make 10 on the hole. It’s only the fourth time someone has been in double digits on the hole. Rocco Mediate made 10 on the hole in the final round in 2006, Dow Finsterwald made 11 on the hole in the second round in 1951. The all-time high score on hole was Tom Weiskopf who made 13 on the hole in the first round in 1980.

The good…
Tim Clark had the best round of the day, a 67 that could of been even better if he didn’t bogey two of the last five holes. With the low round he jumps from T37th, eight shots back of the lead to T7th just four shots back of the leaders.

Brandt Snedeker has improved a shot a day on the back nine, he shot 35 on Thursday, 34 on Friday and 33 on Saturday. With his 69 he shares the lead with Angel Cabrera and is looking for a bit of redemption from his 77 in 2008, when an even par 72 would of given him victory.

Angel Cabrera finished strongly, with birdies at 16 and 18 to share the lead. He is 269th on the world rankings and has been a forgotten man since his Masters win in 2009. A third major championship victory on Sunday would raise him into Hall of Fame status.

Adam Scott goes into the final round under the radar. He endured the pressures at the Open Championship last July at Lytham, blowing a four shot lead with four holes to play.  Scott has barley registered on the media richter scale and that could be just what he needs. No longer hounded as one of the best young players not to play well in majors, Scott has blossomed into a major player in contention in eight of his last nine majors. If there ever was a player that has learned the rigors of playing in a major and how to get close enough to win, it has to be Scott who is overdue to break though.

Folklore in golf is always good, but some folklore is meant to be broken. In 2008 Padraig Harrington broke a 90 year streak of Europeans winning a PGA Championship. In 2010 Graham McDowell broke the 40 year European streak in the U.S. Open. This year three Australians will be looking to break the 80 year drought of Australians never winning the Masters. It’s hard to believe, yes Jim Ferrier, Bruce Crampton, Jack Newton, Greg Norman, Jason Day and Adam Scott have been Australian runner-ups in the Masters, but still the only major that hasn’t been won by an Aussie is the Masters. Tomorrow the odds are in their favor as Adam Scott is one back and Marc Leishman and Jason Day are only two back. You have to think that one could have a “masterful” day and finally break the Aussie Masters drought.

It was just a 72 which normally doesn’t register on the third day of a major, but when it’s done by a 55 year-old that started the day just four back that’s not bad. Bernhard Langer made 16 pars, a single birdie at 3 and a single bogey at 5. So going into the final round he is the only senior with a chance of winning. Yes he may be five back but at 55 that is a lot of shots to make up, a more serious goal should be finishing 3rd and tie Sam Snead who at 50 in 1963 had the best finish for a senior at the Masters.

Five players from the top-ten of the world rankings are in the running to win the Masters. 5th ranked Brandt Snedeker has a share of the lead as 7th rank Adam Scott is only one back. 10th rank Matt Kuchar is three mack while world number one Tiger Woods is four back. Finally 8th Steve Stricker is five back so it looks good for a top player to win the Masters.

The bad…

The day started with a lot of controversy as many felt that the Masters was giving Tiger Woods a break by not disqualifying him. The problem with the internet is that stories tend to have a life of there own and judgement is often rendered before the facts have been drawn out and that was the case with Tiger. It took a bit for Woods to get rolling as many had given up on him with his bogey at 11 to put him at even par for the week, but Tiger played his last seven holes in three under and he goes into the final round four back. Of Tiger’s 14 major wins, they have all been with the lead, so maybe this is a perfect opportunity for him to have a come from behind win. Another thing that is bad for Tiger’s Masters week, on 53 of the holes he is 6 under par and the hole that has created all of the problems was off a great shot that hit the pin and backed up into the water. To think if his shot on 15 would of landed gently and close to the pin, he could of made birdie instead of a triple and be one of the leaders.

Jason Day was the story of Saturday, making pars on his first 12 holes before breaking the streak with a birdie at 13. But he ran into trouble on 17 making a bogey and added another one at 18 to drop two shots back and leave a bad taste in his mouth.

Steve Stricker was fighting his way up the leaderboard and got derailed a bit with a bogey on the par 5, 8th. He fought back with birdies at 12, 14 and 15 and was 4 under par. Until a double bogey at 18 provided a very bad finish for him.

Third ranked player Justin Rose who always seems to play well at the Masters except for that one bad round, had it on Saturday. He shot 75 on a day that he made three birdies but also made four bogeys and a double bogey at 12. He is at even par and probably out of contention. Fourth rank player Luke Donald also took himself out of contention with a 75 and is nine back.

and the ugly…

Hard to believe that Rory McIlroy would shot 79. Shades of his final round 80 in 2011, McIlroy was 3 under for the week going into 7, but a bogey on that hole and nine started a slide in which he shot 42 on the back, was 8 over on his last 11 holes for a 79 and is 8 over, 15 shots back.

Everyone always roots for Fred Couples. For the fourth straight year as a senior he went into the third round among the leaders. This was the second time in a row that he was in the last group and after six opening pars, ran into trouble at seven making a double bogey. He did bounce back with a birdie, made bogey at nine but bounced back with birdies at 10 and 13 to still be among the leaders at five under. But he bogey 14 and 15 and then made triple bogey at 17 in a back nine 39 for a 77 and dropped back to even par. Of the other two seniors that we haven’t talked about, Vijay Singh had a 74 while Sand Lyle was ugly with an 81.

Assessing Brandt’s day.

A lot can be said of Brandt Snedeker’s chances on Sunday. He had one of the most successful financial periods in golf when he won $15.8 million between the Barclays Championship the end of August and the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-am the beginning of February. He started the year with a 3rd at the Hyundai, then after a T23rd at the Humana, was 2nd at the Farmers and WM Phoenix. He capped it off with a victory at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Unfortunately he started feeling a soreness in his left rib cage and after win at AT&T Pebble, had it looked at and was force to not play in the WGC-Accenture and WGC-Cadillac. Made his return 5 weeks later at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He missed the cut at the Palmer and Shell Houston Open.

Snedeker shot 69 today to co-lead, it will be the second time he is in contention going into a final round at the Masters. In 2008 he was 2nd, just 2 back but shot 77 on the final day to finish T3rd. Snedeker also was in contention going into the final round of the Open Championship last year, he led after the second round and was 2nd going into the final round. He shot a final round 74 to finish T3rd.

• For the day Snedeker hit 12 of 14 fairways, for the week he is 34 of 42.
• Snedeker hit 15 of 18 greens for the day, he has hit 39 of 54 for the week
• He took 31 putts today, along with his 27 on Thursday and 28 on Friday he has now taken 86. Of the 54 holes he played, he only had one three putt all week.
• One stat that really cries out is his bunker play he has only gotten up and down once in five tries.
• One of the keys for Snedeker’s good play is the par 5s, he is 8 under, each of the par 5s he has birdied twice and made two pars.

Lots will be watching him with his great play the last nine months. If you were to access who is the best player in the world over that time, it’s probably Snedeker and he could solidify it with a win tomorrow.

Assessing Tiger’s Day.

Tiger Woods had a OK day, we can say it was another working day. Woods shot 70, he has now gone seven rounds at the Masters without being in the 60s. One streak that he did break, he shot a back nine 34 today it was his first under par back nine in nine rounds since the 31 he shot in the second round in 2011.

• For the day Woods hit 6 of 14 fairways for the day, for the week he is 24 of 42.
• Woods hit 11 of 18 greens for the day and has hit 34 of 54 for the week
• He took 28 putts today, along with his 30 on Thursday and 27 on Friday he has now taken 85. Of the 54 holes he played, he only had one three putt on 18 on Friday.
• One key for him is sand saves, he was 3 of 3 today and 5 of 5 for the week.

If there is an important stat for Woods not being lower this week it has to be his play on the par 5s. He is just 2 under par on them, of course a lot has to do with his 8 on 15 yesterday. In Tiger’s 16 professional Masters he has averaged 8 under per Masters and in his four wins has averaged 9 under on the par 5s so he has some work to do on Sunday.

With everything that has happened to Tiger in the last 20 or so hours, a 70 is pretty good. But you have to wonder what would of happened if he didn’t hit the pin on 15 yesterday. The shot was good enough to put him in birdie range so he could easily be 7 under and tied for the lead instead of being four back.

One important item to remember, Tiger has never won a major coming from behind.  You have to think it’s only a matter of time and Tiger looks good and may have a 66 or 65 to throw out tomorrow.

Not one but two very consistent rounds.

Not to put the kiss of death on them but Jason Day and Brandt Snedeker have had the two most consistent rounds of the day. Both of them have made nothing but pars, with Snedeker through 12 and Day through 11. Looking at Masters records from 1946 to the present, seven players have accomplished a day of 18 pars.

Here they are:

• 1959 – Gene Little in the first round.
• 1967 – Bob Rosburg in the second round.
• 1968 – Lionel Hebert in the first round.
• 1973 – Gene Littler in the second round.
• 1985 – Charles Coody in the first round.
• 1993 – Gil Morgan in the first round.

Well it looks like Snedeker won’t achieve all pars today, as I was just about to hit the send button on this post, Snedeker just birdied the 13th hole.

Day also birdied 13 so for another day only six are in the all par for the day club.

What has it taken to win the last few years over the last 27 holes?

So with Angel Cabrera making birdie at 10, he is at 7 under and leads by a shot over Marc Leishman and Jason Day. Over the course of the last four years, the winner has been great over the last 27 holes, so here is what this year’s contenders have to do to mirror what the last four winners have done:

• 2012 Bubba Watson – Played the final stretch in 6 under with nine birdies and only three bogeys.
• 2011 Charl Schwartzel – Played the final stretch in 7 under with one eagle, seven birdies and just two bogeys. We have to remember he birdied his last four holes for the win.
• 2010 Phil Mickelson – Played the final 27 holes in 8 under with 2 eagles (on Saturday), six birdies and two bogeys.
• 2009 Angel Cabrera – Played the final stretch in 3 under with 7 birdies and 4 bogeys.

Is it possible to score low today?.

For those wondering how the course is playing today, for the first 11 players four have broken par with Thorbjorn Olesen leading the group with a 68 and defending champion Bubba Watson getting around in 70. The disappointment of the morning guys is 14-year-old Tianlang Guan who shot 77 in a round of no birdies and 5 bogeys. For the amateur, he hasn’t birdied a hole since 18 on Thursday.

Thorbjorn Olesen ties Masters mark.

Dane Thorbjorn Olesen, playing in his first Masters, has put himself in the Masters record book tying the lowest total for playing holes 12, 13, 14 and 15 in a single day. He played the holes in five under today, 12 shots with a 2 (birdie), 3 (eagle), 3 (birdie), 4 (birdie) stretch tying these others:

• Jack Renner in first round, 1983 – 3 (par), 3 (eagle), 3 (birdie), 3 (eagle)
• Bill Britton in first round, 1990 – 2 (birdie), 4 (birdie), 2 (eagle), 4 (birdie)
• Blaine McCallister in fourth round, 1992 – 2 (birdie), 3 (eagle), 4 (par), 3 (eagle)
• Ben Crenshaw in second round, 1997 – 2 (birdie), 3 (eagle), 4 (par), 3 (eagle)
• Phil Mickelson in third round, 2010 – 3 (par), 3 (eagle), 2 (eagle), 4 (birdie)

What a way to start a day.

Good morning everyone, it’s a great Saturday Morning at the Masters.

Or is it?

Saturday’s are great because you can sleep in a bit and leisurely get to the course. Once here is off for some tea and a Krispy Kreme doughnut but things were a bit different when I hit the press room at 10:30. I knew from listening to XM about the Tiger ruling but it’s a firestorm with the world press. Everyone has an opinion but for the majority they feel that Augusta bent a rule to allow Tiger to continue. If your a hardnose rules guy, just what he said to ESPN’s Tom Rinaldi was enough. Tiger said that he found the drop area and then went “2 yards father back” so that he could take something off the shot. To many that seems to be an admission that he did not drop the ball in the place that the rules of golf demand a drop to be. Matter of fact nobody really saw the wrong drop and nothing would of even came up on this if Tiger didn’t say this to ESPN.

So in many people’s lies, this is a declaration that Tiger did violate the rule and should be disqualified. But that isn’t what happened. The rules committee, who had taken heat on Friday for accessing amateur Tianlang Guan a penalty for slow play, accessed a two stroke penalty for Woods under rule 26 and then waived under rule 33 the penalty of disqualification.

Several things come into play on this. First that rule 33 was in place to help events from disqualifying a player that committed a penalty that was only seen on TV and called in after a player signed his card. So many think that Augusta went too far in applying this rule.

The problem here is clear cut “intent” on Tiger’s part. Did Tiger commit a violation, sign a wrong scorecard and should be disqualified? Or did Tiger make an honest mistake that was never picked up before he signed his card?

Many will disagree with me saying a rule is a rule and that Tiger violated that rule and he should man up to it and DQ himself. I think it’s up to the player and if he didn’t think he violated a rule should be saved in this manner. Tiger in the text of golf has lot’s of integrity and knows the rules better than some rules officials. So I think that what Augusta has done is put it into Tiger’s hands. Is that right, you have to interpret it and we will have a lot of discussion on this for months and years to come. What will be interesting, if Tiger has one of those runs that gets him close today and if he was to win, this will be a flashpoint for many years to come.

Many will question Augusta’s motives and say, “if that was John Petterson or Kevin Na how would they of come out with a ruling against them.” That is an interesting question and one that we will never know. So the bottom line on all this, it’s in the hands of Tiger Woods, if he didn’t think that he took an illegal drop on purpose then he should continue to play. But many feel that because of what he said to Tom Rinaldi it’s a admission to doing something wrong.

The bottom line, just like with Guan who made the cut by a shot it’s no longer a big deal, as the famous basketball announcer Chick Hearn said, “no harm, no foul.” But will the same be said on this?

In other news, today has the makings of being a really awesome day. There are 25 players that are within 5 shots of Jason Day who is 36th in the World Rankings. Of the 25 players close to Day, 17 players are in the top-30 of the world rankings, 13 of the top-20 and 8 of the top-10. Only Louis Oosthuizen (only top-ten ranked player to miss the cut) and Phil Mickelson are the only top-ten players not five away from Jason Day.

So we have a lot to look forward to. Oh, one last thing. It’s going to be a great day weather wise, in the high 70s with no chance of rain and very light breezes.

Something that may surprise you

In looking through the leaderboard there are a lot of pre-favorites that are closer than some believe.
Just look at the players at 1 under, Luke Donald (still playing), Matt Kuchar, Dustin Johnson, Steve Stricker and past champion Trevor Immelman will start out on Saturday kind of forgotten. The same with past champion Charl Schwartzel and Bernhard Langer along with Sergio Garcia and Rory McIlroy who are at 2 under. Look at those at 3 under, lot’s of stellar names with K.J. Choi, Jason Dufner, Justin Rose, Lee Westwood and Adam Scott. If that isn’t enough how about the players at four under, past Masters championshp Angel Cabrera and Tiger along with Jim Furyk and Jim Furyk.
If Jason Day finishes at 6 under, there will be 26 players within five of the lead going into the weekend.

Age is no obstacle for Sandy, Bernhard, Larry, Vijay and Freddie.

In Masters folklore the most over 50 year olds to make the cut was 4 when Raymond Floyd, Jack Nicklaus, Charles Coody and Gary Player played 72 holes in 1990. If things work out and the cut comes at 5 over, we will see five over 50 players on the weekend. Right now Larry Mize is on the bubble at 5 over, while VIjay Singh is at 2 over. Sandy Lyle is at one over while Bernhard Langer is at 2 under and contending. The big news is Fred Couples who is at 5 under and could go into the third round with a share of the lead (as of 6pm Augusta time).

So what about Rory McIlroy?.

One of the favorites coming into this week was Rory McIlroy. He has gone under the radar with a first round 72 and after bogeys on 1 and 3 he was 2 over par and way down the leaderboard. His fortunes started to change with an eagle at the 8th hole, his second career eagle at the Masters (first was in 2nd round on the 13th hole in 2009). With the eagle he played his last 11 holes in four under par shooting 70 today and is at 2 under, just three back of the lead which right now is at 5 under.

Adam Scott’s best first 36 holes at the Masters.

Playing in his 12 Masters, Adam Scott birdied his final hole today to shot a 3 under 141 total. It beats his best 36 hole total of 142 that he shot in 2011 when he went on to finish T2nd.

Fred Couples 139 ties over 50 record.

With a birdie on 18, Fred Couples shot 71 today and his total is 139. The 36 hole record at the Masters is 131 by Raymond Floyd in 1976. But Couples 139 gets a piece of Masters trivia because it ties the first two round total made by a player over 50. Raymond Floyd shot 68-71 in 1993 and Fred Couples shot 71-68 in 2011.

Dustin Johnson’s rough finish .

When Dustin Johnson birdied 13 today, he got to 7 under and took the lead, as short as it was. Now if he could of finished like Angel Cabrera in 20 strokes he would of been at 11 under par and had a massive lead. But Johnson finished 5 (bogey), 7 (double bogey), 3 (par), 5 (bogey), 6 (double bogey), a total of 26 strokes. The all-time worst finish at the Masters is 30 by Jacky Cupit in the 1st round in 1963 and Billy Casper in the 2nd round of 1995. For Johnson his 26 strokes makes it the 54th time a player has finished in that fashion as he is 1 under par for the week.

Most eagles on a Masters hole in a single day.

The start of the second round again has brought cloudy skies and around 10 it started to rain. But the front has moved through and it looks like the weather is going to be good for today through Sunday afternoon, except for those pop-up storms if it gets too hot during the day.

In yesterdays first round the 15th hole recorded 10 eagles. On the surface it may just be another number, but the reality is that in no single round of the Masters has more eagles been recorded on a single hole, ever. The old record was 7 done four times, the first in the second round of 1959 on the 15th hole. The next time it happened was in the second round of 1962 when 7 eagles were made on the 15th hole. It happened again in 1975 when 7 were made in the first round on hole 13. The last time was in 1983 when 7 were done on the 15th hole.

Making this record even more appealing, since 1946 there have only been seven different years in which only 10 or less eagles were made the whole week. In 1956, ’58, ’60 & ’73 only nine were made. In 1952 only eight were made while in 1963 only seven were made while i. The all-time low for number of eagles made in a year was in 1966 when only 3 eagles were recorded for the week.

Sergio Garcia goes low today

Sergio Garcia shot 66 today that ties his career Masters round. Garcia shot 66 in the final round in 2004 when he finished T4th. Today he had a bogey-free round of 6 birdies and 12 pars, it’s the second time he has been bogey free at the Masters. Garcia did it in the 3rd round in 2002 when he has 2 birdies and 16 pars in a round of 70. He finished 8th that year. On this day, Sergio’s heros also found Masters glory. Seve Ballesteros won his last Masters 30 years ago on April 11th, 1983. 14 years ago, Jose Maria Olazbal won his second Masters on April 11th, 1999.

Talking about bogey-free rounds, Trevor Immelman was the only other player in today’s first round to also be bogey free with his round of 68. He made 4 birdies and 14 pars. A bit of trivia, this was Immelman’s second bogey-free round at the Masters, he did it in the first round of the 2008 Masters when he again opened that week with 4 birdies and 14 pars. Oh for the record, after that round Immelman went on to win the Masters.

Marc Leishman

If Marc Leishman was to hold on and lead after the first round, he would be the first Australian to lead the Masters after the first round since Greg Norman did it in 1996. Norman finished 2nd that year.

Also since 2003 a foreign player has led or had a share of the first round lead 8 of the 11 years. The only year an American had the first round lead was in 2005 (Chris DiMarco), 2009 (Chad Campbell) and 2010 (Fred Couples).

The ultimate factoid, the Masters is the only major an Australian has never won.

Marc Leishman shot 31 on the back nine today.  Since 1940, 16 players have shot either 31 or 30 in the first round of the Masters.  The last time it happened was in 2011 when Gary Woodland did it, he shot 69 for the day and went on to finish T24th.  Three players went on to win the Masters, shooting 30 or 31 on the front nine, Jimmy Demaret in 1940, Jack Nicklaus in 1972 and Tiger Woods in 1997.

Welcome to our Masters blog for our new Golfstats site.

I have been very privileged to have attended the last 25 Masters, it’s a tournament that I look forward too attending each year. What makes it so special is the blending of tradition, respect for the game and it’s past. It’s the one moment a year that you meet up with old friends and make new friends. For me it’s catching up on old times under the gigantic Oak Tree that was planted in the 1850s, it’s the gathering place for all of the elite of golf.

Of the four majors it’s the only one that has that personal touch that becomes a personal tradition for you. You don’t get the same feeling at the U.S. Open, British Open or the PGA Championship because each year a new course is used. The only time it comes close is when the British Open goes back to St. Andrews every five years, but that in it’s own is a different feel.

Some of the things that make the Masters so special is the Wednesday par 3 tournament. It’s more than a competitive affair, it’s all about having fun and it’s the only place that you can see some of the icons of the game. For the players it creates a lot of magical moments for family members who get involved as kids caddy for dads, but more importantly it’s a relaxing couple of hours before the grind of the Masters. What a wise decision it was for Augusta National to approve having ESPN cover the event, how special is it seeing Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player together on a golf course? It only happens once a year and is very special for ESPN to cover.

Frankly that is what the Masters is all about, something special and unique.

Talking about unique, this year could fit the bill if Tiger Woods could win. Over a billion platitudes have been written about Woods in the last few days trying to unravel the mystery of could he win another major and could this week be the week. In my humble opinion, I can see a Tiger victory just because he is as good as ever. The swing has never been better, he is making all those 10 foot and under putts, his personal life is good, his health is perfect. Tiger is back in a place that brings on wins and he is starting to go into overdrive on that. When you look at Tiger and the majors, he has won 14 of them. Of those, 13 have come in two spurts, seven in the three years between the 1999 PGA Championship and the 2002 U.S. Open. The second spurt accounted for six wins in the three years between the 2005 Masters and the 2008 U.S. Open. The point that I am making, this could be another three year spurt.

As for others, yes there are about 20 players from Rory McIlroy to Ian Poulter to Phil Mickelson that have a chance, but look for Tiger.

In the coming four days I am going to look at some of the neat things about the Masters, some of the stats that are the reason players are leading and some of the stats that look at why players will be packing there bags on Friday and leaving.

One thing that we have to look at is the weather, which could play an important role in things. When I drove over here at 8 this morning, we had a major change. Since I arrived on Sunday, it’s been picture perfect with temperatures in the high 70s and not a cloud in the sky. But as I drove over here, the skies were grey and cloudy and you had a feeling that the day could see some storms in the afternoon, especially if the temperatures heated up into the 80s.

In looking at a weather there is a big mass of stuff over Alabama and it’s slowly coming this way. So the scenario will be weird, we could see the morning wave of players having the best of the weather, then the afternoon getting the rain and bad stuff. Now since the storm backs up for hundred of miles, we could see the weather lasting through the night and lingering in the morning hours of Friday. So I could see the 36 hole leader being those that play this morning and tomorrow in the afternoon.

Still it’s always fun to watch the first round. A good round doesn’t mean your going to win the Masters. Just remember that since Ben Crenshaw won in 1984 after leading with a 67, only one 18 hole leader has won, Trevor Immelman in 2008. So don’t put much on what happens today.