A Preview of the Masters Tournament
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A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that I would preview the Masters Tournament in 2020. Last week we talked about post season play for the High School Ladies, so this week we’re going to talk about the Masters Tournament, whch is coming up in November for the first time in Masters history.
So what does that mean? A November Masters at Augusta, Georgia. Well first of all to give you a little history on the tournament and the course, the last time the Masters was not played was 1945. Between 1943 and 1945 it was not played because of WWII, as a matter of fact they raised cattle and turkey on the grounds for the war effort. The first Masters was competed in 1934, Horton Smith was the winner, and in 1935 Gene Sarazen hit the shot heard round the world when he made a double eagle, he made a 2 on a par 5, the fifteenth hole, and then won a playoff by five shots the next day.
So playing the Masters in November means that it’s going to be cooler of course, but Augusta, Georgia is pretty nice in November generally, temperatures for a high of around 65 degrees, and temperatures do dip into the upper 30’s for a low at times. There isn’t going to be any patrons this year because of the COVID-19. It’s going to be a longer and softer course, so the longer hitters will have an advantage, and I expect scores to be a little bit higher than usual. The favorites this year are Roy McIlroy, who is the #1 player in the world, and Jon Rahm, also Brooks Koepka, who has a habit of doing really well in the major tournaments, and Tiger Woods has to be considered, he is the defending champion. Tiger Woods by the way is not the golfer that broke the color barrier, way back in 1975 Lee Elder competed in the first Masters Tournament, making him the first African American to compete.
So what about Tigers chances this year? As I mentioned he is the defending champion, but, in my opinion, Tiger Woods will never win another major championship again. He’s approaching 45 years of age, Jack Nicklaus, who he can be compared to, won his last major tournament in 1986 at the age of 46, and captured his sixth green jacket. So Tiger does have a lot to play for this year, not only is he defending champion, he also has five green jackets, so one more would tie Jack Nicklaus and also one more tournament win would make him the all time tournament win champion over Sam Snead. Tiger Woods was the youngest golfer ever to win the Masters Tournament back in 1997 when he burst on the scene with a 12 shot victory at Augusta National.
So who is my pick this year to win the Masters? I mentioned that distance is going to be a factor, so when you talk distance you’ve got to talk the Payne Stewart doppelganger Bryson DeChambeau. But, he is going to have trouble with the greens. And Roy Mcllroy has been there a lot more so I’m going to choose Roy Mcllroy to win his first green jacket and complete the grand slam for a career.
That’s my take on the Masters for 2020!