New Masters Gathering Spot: "Bubba Land"
/David Westin correctly predicts that the 10th hole would be a popular gathering spot for Masters patrons this week, even dubbing it "Bubba Land."
Patrons gather at Bubba Land (click image to enlarge)I visited early Monday and folks were trying to pinpoint the exact location, posing for photos and in general, marveling at the shot. Which they should. It's still hard to fathom how anyone could hook a wedge that much.
Three-time Masters champion Nick Faldo, who no longer competes in the tournament, played a practice round Sunday with his son Matthew, and checked out the area.
“Yeah, we went down there,” said Faldo, who is the lead analyst on CBS’s golf coverage. “Matthew was down there live last year. He took me down there to the spot to see it. I didn’t realize it was that far down. On television, I thought he was coming out from 180 yards; we didn’t have a yardage.”
The video from YouTube, shot off of a television set:
**Rex Hoggard has done a super job breaking down, analyzing and recounting the shot in a new piece posted at GolfChannel.com.
**Alan Shipnuck goes the oral history route and ends with this:
Oosthuizen: It's horrible, losing at Augusta like that. I felt sick for a few days. My caddie and I couldn't speak to each other; we felt we could burst out in tears at any moment. There's no comfort in losing to a shot like that. The hurt is the same. It's just the way it goes -- if I won it, I'd probably have the best shot in Masters history, with my four-iron on 2. But he won it, so now he has the best shot in Masters history.
Watson: So many things had to happen exactly right for me to be able to play that shot. What if my ball rolls another five feet down the hill? What if there was a big ol' branch hanging down in front of me? You could say it was luck, you could say it was fate, call it whatever you want. But that's the mystique of the Masters.
