Masters 2018 Day 1

A few bits and pieces from the opening days of the Masters.

Par three tournament

Tom Watson is the oldest winner by seven years (over Sam Snead, 1974), at 68. He birdied the first four holes and doesn’t have to worry about the curse that befalls the winner of the
competition… with no one ever going on to win the Masters itself. Watson stopped competing in 2016.

Tony Finau dislocated his ankle in Wednesday’s par three contest following a hole-in-one celebration. The crowd groaned as Finau stumbled and dropped to one knee to pop it back into place. Everybody assumed this would put him out of the Masters but after doctors, hospitals and MRIs confirmed the injury, Finau still made it to the tee on Thursday… and he went on to shot a 68 for a share of 2nd place despite having to alter his swing to avoid putting too much pressure on the ankle. Please don’t try this at home, folks.

Day 1 

Honorary Starters

The early morning video showed how cold it was as Jack Nicklaus’s frosty breath spilled through the air. Gary Player (82) almost shed a tear as he and Jack (78) were introduced, despite being an old hand at Augusta: he has appeared here 52 times. Gary teed off with a Callaway ball; Jack used a Taylormade.

Spieth

Spieth has now held the lead after 9 rounds… from 17 attempts at Augusta. 

Sergio

I’m not even going to mention Sergio’s 15th hole disaster, except to say that Twitter was on fire with Kevin Costner gifs. If this had happened in reverse order those closing scenes in Tin Cup would be considered a documentary. Sergio’s 81 (+9) is the worst ever score by a defending champion.

It was the worst score on the 15th by two shots and it equalled the scores of Tommy Nakajima in 1978 (13 on the par five 13th), and Tom Weiskopf in 1980 (13 on the par three 12th).

Stenson

Henrik Stenson celebrated his 42^ndbirthday on Thursday… and celebrate he did with a –3 round (69) that included 5 birdies.

Eagle-Eagle

Amateur Ghim made eagle on the 18th, it was his second of the day after making eagle on the par five 13th. His dad is his caddie. 

General Notes

23 countries are being represented in 2018.

And finally, the first Kerry GAA jersey was spotted on TV approximately three hours after coverage started. Well it would, wouldn’t it.