Team adidas, or is this the Carlsbad high school golf team? The adidas three amigos? I could go on for days describing the perfectly-uniformed adidas team.
Lots of fresh stuff, and bad news for the ladies as Gayle confronts him about his looks and he finds it all "embarrassing" before saying he's "not single at all." Women, her name is Marie. Hate away!
We've soaked up the good vibes of Adam Scott's win and will continue to enjoy the dramatics that closed out the 2013 Masters.
However...
Scott's win means all four majors have now been won by an anchorer and four of the last six majors have been won by anchorers. Hank Gola made the point that this was "pure coincidence," no different than a string of lefthanders winning. I'm not sure I buy that one.
The raw numbers say his long putter didn’t matter. Scott was 39th in putting among the field, averaging 1.67 putts per green in regulation, the major putting stat used at Augusta National. That put him in the bottom half of the players who made the cut.
So I know this isn't the cleanest question or tightest answer option, but here goes:
I understand the confusion over Tiger's penalty and non-WD. I misunderstood it initially because the first reports, by Tom Rinaldi (ESPN) and Steve Sands (Golf Channel) mentioned 33-7 and the recent rule change involving HD video, which was the 33-7/4.5 Decision not invoked in this case.
While this seems like a complicated set of facts, the ruling becomes straightforward when it is boiled down to its basic elements: On Friday the Committee made an incorrect ruling (of no penalty), and on Saturday the Committee corrected that incorrect ruling. The key is that, before Tiger returned his score card on Friday, the Committee had reviewed the incident on 15 and made the ruling of no breach. (Even though the Committee did not tell Tiger of this ruling, it was still a ruling.) On reflection, the Committee realized it made an incorrect ruling and corrected that ruling on Saturday (with ample authority and precedent to do so).
If the Committee had not become aware of the incident and had not made a ruling before Tiger returned his score card on Friday, then it would have been a straightforward disqualification. It is interesting to note, therefore, that the timely telephone call actually prevented Tiger from being disqualified.
THE MASTERS® ON CBS SPORTS IS SECOND-MOST WATCHED IN 12 YEARS AS ESTIMATED 44.3 MILLION VIEW ALL-OR-PART OF WEEKEND COVERAGE
An estimated 44.3 million viewers (Persons 2+) watched CBS Sports’ third- and final-round coverage of the 2013 Masters on Saturday, April 13 and Sunday, April 14, making it the second largest number of viewers to watch all-or-part* of the Network’s weekend coverage of the Masters in 12 years.
Sunday’s final round, which saw Australia’s Adam Scott win the coveted Green Jacket in an extra-holes playoff over Argentina’s Angel Cabrera for his first career major, was watched in all-or-part by 37.4 million viewers (Persons 2+), up 13% from last year’s 33.1 million viewers.
Saturday and Sunday’s 44.3 million viewers was up 13% from 39.3 viewers in 2012. Saturday’s third round was watched in all-or-part by 20.9 million viewers, up 19% from last year’s 17.5 million viewers.
Sunday’s final round coverage earned an average preliminary national household rating/share of 9.4/19, up 18% from last year’s 8.0/19.
Saturday’s third-round coverage earned an average preliminary national household rating/share of 5.8/13, up 16% from last year’s 5.0/12.
The light and lens experts weren't given the best conditions Sunday on top of their already limited access yet they still came up with some amazing shots from the 2013 Masters.
Sam Weinman and Alex Myerspick the photos that defined the Masters, including Jewel Samadi's Getty shot of Scott's 18th hole putt.
Masters.co features an assortment of beautiful shots, including Scott Brown's amazing shot of Scott's outdoor green jacket ceremony that was also posted on Digg.
A fantastic Masters, great day for Australia and a few other issues that arose last week are discussed by Rod Morri, Mike Clayton and yours truly fresh out of bed after a busy week in Augusta!
We've had our fun with Stevie Williams over the years, but guiding to Adam Scott to victory and doing it with an epic read on the 10th green solidified his place as a sidekick for the ages.
Many were wondering what Adam Scott screamed in his moment of triumph after sinking the birdie putt on the 18th hole to win the Masters. Just as CBS's Ian Baker-Finch nailed the interpretation--and great call by CBS to keep the Australian golfing great involved in the final moments of the telecast to lend perspective and emotion--it was "Come On Aussie."
So, to be absolutely clear, the Committee waived the penalty of disqualification, because they considered that this was an exceptional individual case where such a penalty would have been too harsh. I am not aware of any other situation where a player who did not know a Rule of Golf (or if they did, they forgot about it) has been favourably treated in this way. I am therefore surprised at the ruling and believe that it may have adverse consequences in the future in similar situations.
In the conspiracy theory with just enough validity department, Augusta Chronicle photographer Michael Holahan's images today were analyzed in this unbylined wire story which suggests that Woods was
While the photos may not be conclusive evidence and they will no doubt be picked apart, Tiger does appear to be standing within inches of where he took his first shot, not the two yards that he himself thought he had moved.
Holahan maintained his location for both shots, offering a clear comparison. Television replays, on the other hand, came from different locations as an ESPN cameraman on the course set up in slightly different locations.
The photo comparison prompted more questions of Woods about the drop after his final round 70 left him four shots out of the playoff.
Q. Is there any chance that you were mistaken when you said you were two yards back, because there were photos that looked like you were in the exact same spot? TIGER WOODS: No, I saw the photos.
Q. What do you think? TIGER WOODS: I was behind it.
Q. You do? TIGER WOODS: Yeah.
Q. So you're pretty sure that the two yards is actually ‑‑ TIGER WOODS: One, two yards. But it certainly was not as close as the rule says.
Geoff Shackelford
Geoff Shackelford is a Senior Writer for Golfweek magazine, a weekly contributor to Golf Channel's Morning Drive, is co-host of The Ringer's ShackHouse is the author of eleven books.