Saturday Masters Clippings: Hanging Chad

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Chad Campbell may be leading, but Golf Channel's Alex Micelli appropriately likened a wait on Rory McIlroy's fate to the "hanging chad" debacle that defined the 2000 Presidential election.

It seems the Masters rules committee took a whopping four hours plus to decide whether McIlroy had violated the rules after swiping the sand on No. 18. Those of you following along on the live blog (that we'll be doing again Saturday and Sunday) know that our friends watching on BBC reported that the network was scrutinizing the incident, while we ESPN viewers taking the CBS feed got no word whatsoever of Rory's terrible finish, much less a possible rules issue. That merely culminated a day of dismal coverage exposed (ironically) by the excellent online feeds that revealed just how much golf television viewers were either missing, or seeing five minutes after happening.

First, here's the definitive story on Rory, filed by Steve Elling after most of the scribblers finally gave up around 9:30 (!).

After a laughably long delay, club employees finally distributed a pairing sheet for Saturday's third round and the 19-year-old's name was on the list. A moment later, an Augusta employee began hurriedly collecting the tee sheets from media members, claiming they were issued prematurely.

The club then announced that McIlroy was still in the field and that a statement would be forthcoming.

Amazingly, while awaiting further clarification from club officials, a tornado warning was posted at the club.

Approximately 4½ hours after he had completed his round, McIlroy returned to the club and watched a videotape of the incident. Fred Ridley, chairman of the Masters competition committee, said in a club statement that the rules allow for a player to smooth out his footprints in the bunker after making a stroke "provided that, with regard to his next stroke, nothing is done to improve the positon or lie of his ball, the area of his intended swing, his line of play or a reasonable extension of his line beyond the hole or the area in which he is to drop or place the ball."

Elling goes on to detail how the Ridley statement created more questions than answers and why it took so long to handle the situation. This surely will recall memories of Ridley's reign as USGA President. He was at the helm for the Shinnecock Hills debacle.

Meanwhile the Internet Writer Of The Year filed a late piece and concludes appropriately that Rory was a "very lucky young man" Friday. Translation as I read it: how on earth did the committee conclude there was no violation?

The Belfast Telegraph's Ed Curran looked at the 19-year-old's weird day, with a headline calling it Rory's "fit of Masters petulance."

As for television, the day was summed up by ESPN/CBS putting so little focus on Anthony Kim's epic, unbelievable, surreal, unfathomable round of 11 birdies. They barely covered his birdie putt on 18, and while Jim Nantz and Nick Faldo praised the accomplishment, it should have been treated with much more coverage. We don't need another Par-3 contest clip package or a Harry Connick Jr. voice over when history is happening before our very eyes!

Bill Griffith looks at the oddity of an ESPN/CBS synergy, while on a lighter note, Bob Smiley obtains a copy of Jim Nantz's preparatory notes for this year's telecast.

 

Lede Watch

Doug Ferguson for the AP:

Kenny Perry thought he had a storybook ending to his career when he helped the Americans to a Ryder Cup victory on his native Kentucky soil and shared an emotional embrace with his father.

But that triumphant ride toward retirement is taking a stunning detour down Magnolia Lane.

Bill Elliott in the Guardian:

On the day Gary Player missed his final Masters cut and said goodbye to Augusta from the bottom of the board and 11-birdie Anthony Kim and his young friends frolicked round Augusta National like spring lambs, Tiger Woods suffered a rare bout of mid-career blues.

Larry Dorman, filing for the New York Times:

The wind came up at Augusta National Golf Club on Friday and the second-round scores went up with it. But this was no struggle against the elements. The fortunes of some golfers were blown off course, but for many others the prospects seemed to steady, bringing an elite order to the field at the halfway mark.

All of the above said, I agree with Ron Green Jr. who reviews the storylines and concludes that this Masters is just getting started. Think about that!

Golf.com has the leaderboard and Saturday tee times.

John Boyette reported late Friday that rain and hail hit Augusta National, but that plans were for gates to open on time at 8 a.m.


Chad

Thomas Bonk on "white bread, tan slacks, beige dining room wall, blend-into-the-background" Chad Campbell.


Mr. 11 Birdies In One Round At Augusta National!

I'm not sure what is more amazing, that Anthony Kim made 11 birdies at Augusta National in one round, or that he revealed after the round that he read a newspaper. He told the press that as many of us were, he was struck by the horribly tragic death of Nick Adenhart. Alan Bastable blogs about Kim's epic round and Kim's heartfelt press conference revelation.

Derek Lawrenson on the Kim-McIlroy pairing:

Anyone who was following McIlroy and Kim yesterday had an experience to treasure. Talk about a wild rollercoaster ride. There was an eagle from McIlroy at the 13th that was almost contemptuous in its brilliance. There were all those birdies from Kim, plus a double-bogey calamity of his own at the 10th. What price these two having plenty of dingdong battles in the future? For now the momentum is with Kim, who, after a slow start to the season, finds himself just five off the lead.


Old Geezers

Steve Elling on co-leader Kenny Perry who attributes his spirit to his dad, the man who used to beat the crap out of him. Don't believe me, read the story.

Jim Achenbach admits that he is rooting for Kenny, putting him in select company...among media, among media. I love Kenny!

Bill Fields files a career retrospective of Gary Player after his final Masters appearance.

Cameron Morfit says they were planning a big family outing for Player Friday night, weather permitting.

One of Gary's six children, and the chief executive of Black Knight International, Marc was planning a celebratory braii — a South African barbecue — for 200 guests at a large rental house just off the golf course Friday night.

"We have all the tables set up outside," Marc said. "Tell me it's not going to rain, even if it is. You can lie."

Gary Player, 73, indulges in "the odd scotch," Marc said, but he was unlikely to eat much bull tongue or any other animal protein. He still subsists on walnuts and almonds, fruits and vegetables.

An AP story on Fuzzy's goodbye and the 30 seconds that obscured 30 years of good will.

And Kevin Garside looks at the amazing 5 birdie run by Ryder Cup Captain former Masters Champion Sandy Lyle.


Tiger

Tim Dahlberg offers up some prime bulletin board material for Tiger:

All the while, Woods was playing as though he were in the U.S. Open.

For a second day in a row, Woods preached patience and played conservatively. For a second day in a row, he did little but watch as players passed him by.

The Tiger of 1997 would have had this guy for breakfast. If he doesn't watch it, the new Tigers of 2009 will eat his lunch.


The Amateurs

Drew Kittleson has many great memories, some new crystal gobblets on the way, and one epic eagle to remember his Masters appearance by. Oh his sense of humor:

I appreciate my teachers letting me miss so much class, especially Ms. McCrea, who was looking for a shout out from my diary and now has one.

Dave Kindred writes about Kittleson's day and his other eagle on 15.

Jack Newman recalls the highlights of his week and says he's been offered a spot into the Deere Classic.


Grades and Awards

Eric Soderstrom runs through the big names that missed the cut, including Stewart Cink who posted a humorous item on Twitter.

PGATour.com offers their grades, while GolfDigest.com serves up Birdies and Bogies.


Imagery

The SI team's images of the day.

Golfweek's slideshow with some really neat images.

The Augusta Chronicle breaks their images up into multiple galleries. Too many to link.


Flora and Fauna

Michael Bamberger runs into some troops in the Augusta airport parking lot and shares a flood of Masters memories as well as some perspective from the men headed for Iraq.

The Daily Mail's Alan Fraser visits John Daly at this merchandise table and I'm not sure what is worse, the comments or the photos of John sitting there selling his stuff.

How did Tiger finish up in the first round?' Daly asked. 'I was watching but I didn't catch the finish.'

Daly was standing in front of his bus and behind a line of Formica-topped cafeteria tables laden with assorted T-shirts, flags, hats and driver covers from his Lion merchandising range. Daly himself was manning the stall, taking the dollar bills and counting out the change Surely, this was an undignified, nay humiliating, position for an Open and US PGA Champion to find himself in. Surely, if he could not play at Augusta he should have stayed away and not further harmed his reputation.

'I don't care what people think and say,' Daly said. 'One thing for sure, the 25,000 people going through here never question my dignity. It is all about the fans.'

Anne Szeker reports that Daly performed with Hootie and the Blowfish Thursday night. Worse, there's video. And he's performing Knockin' On Heaven's Door. Wouldn't Dylan be proud?

More pleasant video is Marty Hackel's early morning piece on where the early spectators head for some good viewing.

Scott Michaux catches up with Dr. Ed Bailey, who has been to every Masters!

And finally, Alan Bastable passes along Kelly Tilghman's report (I thought she was kidding) that the PGA Tour is talking to Condoleeza Rice about a job. And David Cannon caught the moment Tim Finchem and Condy were chatting under the Big Oak.

 

How Nasty Is The Wind? No. 12 Closing In On 4.0!

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The Amen Corner Live coverage is stellar again, especially with the video working so well this year. They just reported that there have been 10 pars, 12 bogies and 7 others, for a scoring average of 3.93 so far. And half the field has not even been through yet.

Friday Masters Clippings: Was That So Awful?

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So 20 rounds were recorded in the 60s which set a first-round record and tied the most for any round. I'll be sleeping in, but could you easterners please just drop me a note and confirm a normal Eastern sunrise Friday, please?

Of course it's wonderful that the guys were allowed to play golf. The weather will be thanked to help justify the last decade of defensive golf brought on by changes small and glaringly awful, but it was pretty apparent that the speed and receptiveness of the greens made the real difference Thursday. Because on television there sure looked like there was a lot of wind, and in recent majors the slightest breeze had turned greens silly.  So even with a SubAir system that could dry them out, it sure looks to me like the committee played it safe. Good for them.

We had fun on the live blog, so come join us Friday.

Here's what the scribes said.


Lede Watch

Doug Ferguson for the AP, and therefore, the remaining newspapers in most of America:

There aren't many days like this at Augusta National: Sunny and warm, with barely a breeze. Greens nice and soft. Pins stuck in some pretty inviting spots.
A day for going low.

Rex Hoggard writing for TheGolfChannel.com:

Thursday at Augusta National, henceforth known as old-timers day, was a perfect respite for scoring, pimento cheese sandwiches on finely clipped turf and strolls down memory lane, be the memories magical or of the mental baggage variety.

Lawrence Donegan in The Guardian:

The Augusta National golf course opened its arms to the world's best yesterday – offering a bucket load of hope instead of a barrowful of pain – and Chad Campbell walked gratefully into its benign embrace, followed quickly by Padraig Harrington and Tiger Woods.

James Corrigan writing for The Independent:

On the day that Augusta at last recovered its roar, Tiger Woods just about remained King of the Jungle. As the light was eventually dying on an enthralling first round so the world No 1 was signing for a 70, which left the him five shots behind the leader, Chad Campbell. And even allowing for a final-hole bogey, it could have been an awful lot worse.

And I like Larry Dorman's NY Times lede best:

Of all the unlikely possibilities to come out of the first round of the Masters on Thursday, Chad Campbell finishing with consecutive bogeys for a 65 might have topped the list. But when a perfect day for scoring at Augusta National Golf Club coincides with a benign course setup by the competition committee, anything can happen.


The Paddy Slam Is Alive And Well

Bob Harig says Paddy was spared an off course family drama that might have derailed his round. No worries, it was just a rash.

Kevin Mitchell tells a story about Paddy's dad and wonders if son will be like dad.


The Americans Are Back! Well All But Two Of Them

For a day anyway...according to Michael Walker.

Mark Soltau on leader Chad Campbell and his five birdies out of the chute:

Here's how he started: a 7-iron to two feet on one; a two-putt birdie on two; a sand wedge to five feet on three; a 2-iron to 18 feet on four; and a 7-iron to 15 feet on five.

"It did, absolutely," Campbell said, when asked if he thought about matching the course record. "Just on the back nine. It's always in the back of your head."

James Lawton on Lefty's frustrating opening day.

And unbylined AP story shares this about John Daly, still parked outside the gates selling merchandise:

After his weight, always a struggle for the 5-foot-11 Daly, ballooned to 280 pounds, he underwent Lap-Band surgery in February. A silicone band was placed around the upper portion of his stomach, shrinking its size and limiting how much he can eat. He's lost 42 pounds so far, and has gone from wearing XXXL shirts to extra large.

He's on a high-protein diet, and what he does eat has to be chewed and chewed and chewed so it will be soft enough to swallow. Alcohol? Daly said he'll have the occasional sip of a drink or a beer, but that's it.

"It takes me about an hour to drink one beer, just sipping on it," he said. "I drink a little bit, but not much."


Larry Mize

Thomas Bonk on the miraculous 67 from the 1987 Champ:

When Mize was 10, he went to the Masters and collected tees from Jay and Lionel Hebert.

When Mize was 14, he volunteered and hung up numbers on the Masters scoreboard at the third hole.

When Mize was 28, he won the Masters, chipping in at the 11th hole to beat Greg Norman in a playoff.

When Mize was 49, he missed the cut at the Masters for the seventh time in eight years.

When Mize began his 25th Masters with a first-round 67 on Thursday, it was the most surprised he's been in his 50 years . . .

Gary Van Sickle reports:

Mize had an explanation for why he and Norman and other experienced players fared well in the opening round. “We’re still competitors, we love to compete and we love this place,” he said.

“Greg showed last year at the British Open, he can still contend. At a place like this, experience is always a good thing. It’s good anywhere but maybe even more here. We are just old guys fighting as best we can.”


Greg Norman

Tim Dahlberg on The Shark's impressive opening 70...or not so impressive to the Shark himself.

"I had a lot of opportunities, really could have shot a nice, mid 60s score today," Norman said. "I didn't."

In another time, that would have eaten him up and caused him a sleepless night. But his expectations have been tempered by age, and even a botched short birdie putt on the 18th hole didn't keep him from smiling his way through an interview in the same room where 13 years ago he had to explain a shocking collapse in the final round of a tournament he had all but won.


Seve

While we're on the 1987 Masters stars, Bob Kimball reminds us that CBS is airing Jim Nantz Remembers Augusta: Seve at the Masters, Sunday at 1 pm EST.

Geoff Ogilvy

David Dusek on Geoff Ogilvy's bogey-bogey finish that understandably left him in no mood to talk.


The Young Ones

Cameron Morfit explains how Rory, Ryo and Anthony blew their chances at better scores.


The Amateurs

Jack Newman shoots and even par 72 and writes for GolfDigest.com...

By the time I got to the course Thursday, however, I knew things were different. It started with the security guards I've been talking to all week. Instead of joking like they have every other day, they were pretty serious. "You can go sir" was all they said as I entered parking lot. You knew everyone was getting down to business.

Drew Kittleson files a diary entry for Masters.com after his 78.

Dave Kindred on Steve Wilson's day.

And with a minute before he was due on the tee, he "got caught up in something," the caddie Martin said. "Then I saw Watson looking back for us. I said, "Steve, c'mon, we better go.'"

That would be one of Wilson's playing partners, Tom Watson, the winner of eight major championships. The immortal waited on the tee for the amateur gas-station owner.

"I was running to the tee then," Wilson said.

Not a good idea to be DQ'd from your first Masters, even if running to the tee contributes to a case of trembles that never ended. "Your hands are shaking," he said, "and you don't want anybody to see them."


The Thrills, The Birdies: Praise Our Lord And Savior, Billy Payne

Steve Elling says it all started right with the first tee moving up, and reviews the numbers.

Adam Schupak notes that short hitters even got in on the action.

We wanted roars. We got them.

On a warm, sunny day with wind a non-factor, birdies returned in bunches at the Masters.

Benign conditions combined with soft, receptive greens and accessible pins made the big leaderboard at 18 turn to a sea of red in the first round. A record 38 golfers broke par at Augusta National.

Gene Wojciechowski makes no sense in this lede. He acknowledges that roars were "unlikely" and then says some of us have been wrongly whining and complaining. Isn't there a Cubs game to cover?

Hear that? It's noise -- lots of it -- and it's coming from an unlikely source: 2604 Washington Road ... otherwise known as Augusta National Golf Club.

The roars returned to the Masters on Thursday and not a nanosecond too soon. For once it was nice to listen to something other than whining and complaining from those who wrongly think this course and this tournament have been lobotomized.

Jim Achenbach filed this note about hole locations for Golfweek.com's blog (sorry, no Permalink...):

Thursday’s pin sheet revealed that 11 of 18 holes had a flagstick located five paces or less from the edge of the green. One pace is supposed to be three feet, so I decided to check them out.

The pin sheet said three paces on both No. 2 and No. 16.

Three paces? That’s nine feet. To me, the distance looked more like six or seven feet. These two hole locations were disturbingly close to hazards -- a bunker on No. 2 and a pond on No. 16.

Jim McCabe profiles the fifth hole as the last remaining spectator secret spot.

The fact that nary a soul could be heard yelping “get in the hole” made for an even more enjoyable day up there at a high point of the property.

Historically, Magnolia ranks as the fifth-hardest hole with a field average of 4.27 since 1942. With ideal scoring conditions in Round 1, the numbers were not quite that high (there were 11 birdies, just 19 bogeys, and a field average of 4.083 to rank ninth), but it’s not as if Magnolia sat there defenseless.


Notes and Awards
GolfDigest.com's Round 1 Birdies and Bogies.

Bob Carney offers a roundup of the Golf Writers awards dinner.


Imagery

The SI team's photographs are posted here.

Golfweek offers up their fast moving slide show, with a Chrissie sighting included.

Augusta.com breaks their photos up. Arnold Palmer's opening tee shot is here. The first round leaders are here. And the rest of the round 1 shots are here.

"I'm getting hosed on the coverage!"

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Stewart Cink filed this "Tweet' after round one:

Watching some of the ESPN replay. I'm getting hosed on the coverage! 

I don't have the heart to reply to his post that it might have been that orange shirt. I even tried to find a photo of it but the extensive Augusta.com photo gallery wouldn't show it.

Then again Stewart, if it's any consolation, they really didn't show that many other golfers today.

"You know what was, is now what is. And that's what everyone can relate to."

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Golf Channel has added Jim Gray to its team and if his first appearance Thursday is any indication, we're in for some really profound insights. After comparing Tiger to the many great athletes he's been around, including Mike Tyson (!), Rich Lerner then asked Gray to compare Augusta National with the other great sporting venues Gray has been to.  He was sounding nervous and rattling off clichés before unleashing this head scratcher:

It has withstood the test of time. The faces are very, very similar throughout the course of the years, but they also change, and they've changed with the game, but you know what was, is now what is. And that's what everyone can relate to.

Got that?

Gray also plugged a new Golf Channel show he's on with Lerner. His opening feature is an up close and personal with Donald Trump and his "beautiful" golf courses. Can't wait.

Golf Channel Pre-Game Takes On Course Changes...

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...wow, did anyone else catch the Brandel Chamblee, John Hawkins, Frank Nobilo discussion about the possibilities for excitement at Augusta?

Let's put it this way. They aren't buying Billy Payne's claims about the weather. Nobilo was probably the kindest, focusing on the green speeds, but Hawkins and Chamblee effectively dismantled every assertion that the course has been improved by the changes.

I point this out because, well, many of us suffered through so many years where these chats touted the changes as progress. It's just shocking to hear it going the other way in such extreme fashion. I feel like such a moderate after hearing that exchange!