Turnovers … Alan B. Gibson

Posted April 13, 2016 at 1:39 pm

A train wreck in Augusta

Every sport has that one event (besides its championship event if there is one), that if fans are going to watch a single event in the given sport – that’s the one it is.

Last week, for fans of professional golf, that event came and went with the 80th Masters Tournament at Augusta National.

Although I don’t sit glued to the television set for five days with curtains drawn and fast foods lined up on the counter, I do take in considerably more television hours during the Masters than any other PGA event during the entire season.

Of course, so does every other true PGA fan. It’s the Masters.

I was with a group of friends this past weekend on Dale Hollow Lake when it began getting time to find a television to at last take in the final nine holes of the final groups when one wife simply suggested to Johnny he could just watch the next tournament.

“It’s the Masters” he replied with the surprised look on his face.

And a good Masters it was – filled with excitement, unbelievable shots, a look at some newcomers making noise on the tour and even a goodbye to a familiar face or two.

Of course there were look backs at other phenomenal shots and rounds from years past, including the hour-long documentary about the 1986 Masters when Jack Nicklaus won his sixth green jacket (which was one of the best produced short documentaries I’ve ever seen-if they replay it, watch it).

The course was – as it always is – breathtaking and is one of the more stated reasons so many fans tune in year after year to watch the tournament, just to take in the beauty of Augusta National.

The tournament seemed to have everything, including a wire to wire finish by last year’s young champion, Jordan Spieth.

Then you add in the one factor that no one expected to be the main subject when this year’s Masters is discussed.

The train wreck. Not quite a complete derailment, but a serious wreck, nonetheless.

Spieth, with a five shot lead and looking as if he would simply run away with the right to take the coveted green jacket off of the grounds for another 12 months, slowly went into a tailspin beginning with a bogey on the 10th and following with another bogey on the 11th.

One bad decision at the last second from the tee on the 12th (to hit a fade instead of a draw), set up a total collapse that saw the 22 year-old defending champion go straight into a tailspin that resulted in a quadruple bogey 7 on the par 3 hole, and putting him so far behind that even the admirable comeback down the stretch wouldn’t be enough to stop Danny Willett from earning his first green jacket.

But to Spieth’s credit – he did it all with grace, especially carding that quadruple bogey.

I’ve chuncked my share of shots (my group prefers the term “chili-dip”), and I’m sure I’ve carded some quad bogeys, although in these later years that’s even a stroke past our “max” rule.

But I’m certain without a doubt that I have never put two in the water, torn up such a large piece of turf as Spieth did, and then find a sand trap without there being at least one and likely two thrown clubs – the second which would have been much more than just a gentle toss ahead.

It most always helps get over a really bad shot to give the club a good toss. The next shot is usually always better. I’ve lost a few clubs when they went too far and into a pond, and I’ve had to re-shaft even more when the landing was other than flat.

But likely if this year’s Masters had have had just one more surprise – that being Spieth launching that club down the fairway from the 12th tee, we would have been watching another scenario from Butler cabin later that afternoon – a defending champion getting to keep the green jacket for another 12 months – sans a hefty fine, I’m sure.