'08 Masters Cool Stat Of The Week...

Yes, there will never be another like the '86 Masters, we know. Yes, the wind was tough on Sunday. But how can you not notice the difference between what scorign was possible during the weekend then versus now?

From Brett Avery's Golf World stat package, the "Cool Stat of the Week"...

 

Comments

[Terry]

Never let nostalgia get in the way of the facts, sir. Am I correct that Nicklaus won at 9 under par, or one shot better than Immelman?

[cmoore]

Terry: You are correct about the numbers, I think, but your comment about the overall scoring total does not address the point of the post. The salient point of the post is that it was once possible to mount a comeback on Masters weekend, as illustrated by the near-universal opinion that Nicklaus's comeback was the pinnacle of such achievements. Moreover, many players mounted a comeback in 1986. From memory only, Faldo v. Norman in 1996 is an example of a brilliant round on Sunday that won the player ; Sergio fired a 66 a few years ago that vaulted him near the top; Phil Mickleson shot 31 on the back nine a few years ago to win the jacket (his first, I think). No one has really made a charge in recent years, and it seems that the reason is that the course will no longer yield to aggressive play.

[John G]

Reference image:

<Verne L> Maybe... YES SIR!!! </Verne L>

Sorry, couldn't help myself...

[Steve Wozeniak PGA]

This is a cool stat, I would love to see lot's of players able to do this again.....

Get the place crazy with excitement....

[Traveler]

...ok, but before we go overboard, someone should collect the data for more than 2 years. Maybe the Nicklaus year was unusual, maybe it wasn't. Maybe the course was better then and you had more charges, maybe not. You can't base it on comparing 2 isolated years.

[RM]

Perhaps fixing 15 would be the best place to start. Even the idea that you could have two eagles in a three hole span was enough to excite the fans and ignite the players. I think 13 is still appropriate, but 15 has gone from an eagle opportunity to a grinding par.

[Lip Out]

Verne Lundquist ripped off the "Yes SIR!" from Ben Wright, who had uttered just 3 holes earlier. Why doesn't anybody ever mention that?

[Walker]

The Masters would have been more exciting if Tiger had not have missed makable putts on 13 and 16. Does anyone think the wind may have played a role in the scoring too?

[John Sullivan]

The absolute best stat NOT HEARD was the Fedup cup nonsense. What a relief !!

[Old Tom]

Funny, no body talks about the amount of money they are playing for and the fact that the players don't shoot for the pins because they don't want to make less money. Tell me the name of a modern player who has shown they are capable of attacking the course and going low in the clutch? (when the pressure is on)? Tiger woods is the only guy who cares more about titles than about money, and he nearly got there this year.....a few putts and he would've had it.