My Fingers Are Crossed

Two days are in the books at the WGC Match Play. While things are still very much up for grabs, as far as who will collect the big cheque on Sunday, Messrs. Spieth and McIlroy are on song and looking very good.

This kid Spieth continues to ride a putter that is doing a great deal to thoroughly demoralize his opponents and make him appear almost invincible. He one-putted his last ten holes today and has made fourteen birdies and only one bogey in two days. He faces Lee Westwood tomorrow. Westwood, coming off a win last week, is in top form but will likely find it a daunting task to try to hang with Spieth.

Rory, unlike Spieth, is hitting it great but not making birdies in bunches because his putter is not red hot. That will be the concern for him tomorrow as he faces Billy Horschel who will be fired up and may just force Rory to start making birdie putts or go home. Rory has shown his toughness when it comes to match play, having soundly defeated Keegan Bradley and Rickie Fowler in singles matches at the last two Ryder Cups. Rory also has that look in his eye this week, and I suspect he feels he has something to prove after witnessing the Jordan Spieth show at the Masters.

I hope the stars align this week, and we are treated to a final match that includes McIlroy and Spieth. However, given the vagaries of match play, this may be just wishful thinking. In eighteen holes of match play anything can happen, and often does. As for me, my fingers are crossed because these two guys are the best of the bunch right now and it would be one heckuva show should they get to face each other on Sunday.

If You Can Be Good At Only One Thing, What Should It Be?

The long ball is sexy. Everybody wants to hit it long, or at least longer. Equipment manufacturers have made a fortune out of this desire. But, if you could choose to be good at one part of the game, what should it be?

The guys who make the most money on the tour, week in and week out, are not the bombers. Take a look at the consistent money makers, like last week's champion, Jim Furyk, Zach Johnson, Matt Kuchar, and especially the new sensation, Jordan Spieth. They are definitely not short knockers, but they are definitely not power players. Yet, somehow they are constantly in the money and showing no sign of being over-run by the bombers. Other than Kuchar, they all have majors, and they have some of the healthiest bank accounts, all playing a game that has supposedly become all about power.

What is it they have? What is their secret? They know how to score. They play their own game, They have great short games, deadly from a hundred yards and in, and they can putt. The short game is not glamorous to those who don't really understand the game, but the short game is where the money is. If you can chip and putt, and otherwise manage to keep the ball in play, you are going to be a match for pretty much anyone. It may not be as exciting as hitting three hundred and thirty yard drives, but surely the sound of the ball rattling around in the cup is about as good as it gets. In fact, I have thought about recording that sound and playing it over and over to myself as I sleep.

If you can be good at one thing, make it putting. To those who don't understand the game, putting may not be as cool, or as glamorous, as belting long drives into the wild blue yonder. But making a key putt is really about as exciting as it gets. It's what really separates the men from the boys. In fact, the only way to succeed is to make the putt. It always comes down to the putt. So, if you want to be a better player, spend your time on and around the putting surface. 

Raymond Floyd said the most important shot in golf is the six foot putt. He is absolutely right. Remember when Tiger virtually never missed a six footer? I spent many years bemoaning the fact that I so often missed the five or six footers that might have made my average round a good one, or my good round a great one. But, all that time, I spent little or no time practising those short putts. This year, I intend to make a change. I'm not going to worry so much about having the perfect golf swing. I'm going to become the best damned putter I can be. 

I'm not going to resent the fact that putting is so important. I'm going to embrace it. I'm going to try to change my attitude and learn to love putting. Maybe then, it might just love me back.

Pinehurst Number One

I had the chance to play Pinehurst Number 1 the other day. This Donald Ross gem, designed in 1901, measures 6089 yards and plays to a par of 70. The Pinehurst guide points out that the yardage can be misleading, as Ross used mules to create this course, incorporating the "raw contours and undulations of the natural terrain, creating a very playable course and a favourite for a great starting round." Harry Vardon is quoted as having said, "It is very sporty, no two holes alike. You have 18 holes which it will be a great pleasure to any golfer to play over."

It was definitely a joy to play, despite being caught in a torrential downpour, which providentially led to me being joined by three caddies who were having a skins game but were willing to let me tag along. I struggled mightily on the greens, and, after a double-crossed fairway bunker shot ricocheted off a pine and ended up out of bounds, was happy to forget the scorecard and started smelling the azaleas and appreciating the master's work in designing such a beautiful and challenging golf course.

I was rewarded with a par on the 222 yard par 3 twelfth hole, despite my Sunday-best three wood off the tee ending up short of the putting surface, and happily ended the day with a birdie out of the bunker on the closing par 5. I was left feeling there might just be hope for this old, half-crippled warrior if I don't lose my sense of humour and Can learn to putt! Sometimes, it's best to just lose your pencil and enjoy the walk. 

I feel so fortunate to have visited this golfing Mecca and to have played a couple of courses designed by a master architect and played by some of the game's great players. Tomorrow, I have one more crack at Number 1 before packing the van and heading back to Canada where the snow has finally melted.

The Woods Are Full of Long Drivers

I listened with utter amazement to Aron Oberholser on the Golfchannel claiming that Jordan Spieth would not dominate golf because he wasn't long enough. Length, in golf, is very seductive. It seems to be so important. But does length really matter? Unfortunately, most men certainly seem to believe it does!

Jordan Spieth is a breath of fresh air. He isn't the longest player. He isn't the best ball striker. But, since last December, he's been the best player in the game. He plays the game better than anyone. We can all learn a great lesson from him. Golf is not about adding twenty yards to your drives, or hitting a pitching wedge a hundred and eighty yards. Golf is about getting the ball in the hole in as few strokes as possible.

Harvey Penick said, "The woods are full of long drivers." He also said that a good putter is a match for anyone. This young Texan has obviously learned that lesson. He has become a dominant player despite the fact that he isn't a bomber. His win in Australia, at the Hero World Challenge, and now at Augusta, prove that managing your emotions, playing your own game, and being a fearless and imaginative putter trumps the power game.

Jordan also indicated that he prefers playing golf to hitting balls on the range. Bobby Jones, who said that you learn the game by playing, would be applauding. While Tiger continues to talk about release patterns, and once again retreats to the range to try to find his game, and Rory spends hours in the gym, Jordan Spieth just keeps playing golf and seems to contend every week.

This should be good news to all of us. We can improve by learning how to manage our game, and by playing golf. We don't have to beat balls, or bench press Volkswagons, in order to get better. There is hope for all of us; not to win the Masters; but to improve and play our best. We don't need to hit the ball three hundred yards. The woods are full of long drivers. I'm talking to you, Oberholser.

Can We Now Just Get On With It

Watching the Golfchannel, after Jordan Spieth's phenomenal performance, I once again find myself having to listen to the talking heads spending time analyzing and speculating about Tiger and his game. Am I missing something? Granted, Tiger played comparatively better this week, but only comparatively better. He was never really in the tournament. So why is he still garnering so much attention? Why can we not seem to move on?

For weeks before Augusta, we had to endure all the endless speculation about Tiger. Would he play? If he played, would he crash and burn, or could he win? This was despite the fact that Jordan Spieth was playing great golf and Rory had the opportunity to get the career slam. Seemingly, all we could think about was Tiger. Can we not get over Tiger Woods?

Tiger has not been a factor in the Majors for ages. Why is he still the main story every time a Major comes around? Tiger played better this week. But he was never a factor. He never deserved all the attention and hype. Tiger had a chance to make a run today, but he would have had to shoot something in the neighbourhood of sixty one or two. He didn't even break par. Rory played alongside him and beat him by seven shots. Jordan Spieth, with all the pressure he had to face, beat him by three shots. Is it not finally time to accept the fact that there are new kids in town and they are now better than Tiger Woods?

Tiger has been a phenomenal player, possibly the best ever to play the game. In his prime he was undoubtedly a match for anyone. However, he is no longer the best player in the game. He is an old thirty nine, having battled personal problems, injury, and a definite loss of confidence. He has nothing left to prove. His record speaks for itself. It is only natural that the next generation eventually takes over and the torch gets passed. It has been something all the greats have had to face. It is also something fans and golf announcers have to face. 

Jack Nicklaus said it best today when he said, and I am paraphrasing, that it is perhaps now time to let the young players take over. Let's do that. Let's give these kids their due. Tiger may have another run, like Jack did in eighty six. If and when he does, we can all get excited, like we did with Jack. But it's time to finally admit that Tiger is not the best player in the game anymore. It's okay. Golf is bigger than Tiger, and it is in good hands with the likes of Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy. Let's move on.

A Historic Masters

We are watching history being made at Augusta. Young Jordan Spieth has gone where no man has gone before in this tournament, and, given the sort of history we have witnessed at the Masters, that is really saying something.

Spieth faces a big gut check tomorrow. He has been playing better than anyone all year. This week, he has played better for three rounds than anyone ever has at Augusta. He should win, but what should happen, and what will happen, is to some degree in the lap of the gods. Anything can happen in this game. We know it and Jordan knows it.

A couple of times, Spieth looked a little shaky today. He admitted that he was nervous, and, if he wasn't we'd have to do a drug test on him. Imagine the pressure of carrying the lead at the Masters for three days. I was gagging for him, and I didn't have to hit a shot. But, as shaky as he might have been today, Spieth still managed to shoot 70. That's the strength of this kid's game. He somehow knows how to make a score, even when he's not firing on all cylinders.

That par save on eighteen today may be the hole we will remember if and when Jordan slips into his first green jacket. Had he not saved par, the entire complexion of tomorrow's round would have changed. Had he finished double bogey , bogey, he would have given Messrs. Mickelson and Rose reason to believe. Instead, they probably now only hope they can catch this kid.

Whether he wins tomorrow or not, Spieth has put on a heckuva show and, win or lose, he is definitely here to stay. He lost the lead at Augusta last year. He has failed to win with the lead going into the final round on four occasions, including last week. It didn't kill him, it just made him stronger. That's the mark of a champion. Not only is he not afraid to win, he isn't afraid to lose. Go get 'em, kid.

How Good Was That?

Well, Thursday at the 2015 Masters surely didn't disappoint. Jordan Spieth, who I picked to win a few weeks ago, continued to shine with an opening round 64. It was the round of the day, if you are able to overlook the seventy one posted by sixty five year old Tom Watson. Who breaks par at Augusta at sixty five years of age? It just isn't done.

Tiger showed himself fully recovered from his short game woes. If he had the chipping yips, he has managed to conquer them in record time. Nevertheless, his one over finish amounted to more of the same since Tiger last won a major, with some wild tee shots and some very unTigerlike misses. He is most likely too far out of contention to believe that he can rally and win another green jacket this year.

Rory managed to finish under par, and therefore still in the game if he can go low tomorrow. However, compared to young Mr Spieth and several others, he was decidedly average, and definitely not looking like the number one player in the game.

Big Ernie looks to be a factor again, proving that forty five is not too old if the putter cooperates. At five under, along with Hoffman, Justin Rose, and Jason Day, he finds himself tied for second place, a position he has finished in twice at Augusta. How great would it be to see the Big Easy finally get a green jacket? He could definitely pull it off if the putter stays hot and Jordan's putter cools off.

Phil is looking good at two under, as is Patrick Reed and Dustin Johnson. And the Indian from Bangalore, Mr Lahiri performed admirably in his first competitive round at Augusta, finishing at one under. 

Sergio looked great finishing at four under the card and would make a lot of people happy, particularly himself, if he could finally get it done in a major. Jason Day looks determined and ready to claim a first major, in a career that will surely include one or more major championships before it's over.

Eighteen holes does not a championship make, and there will inevitably be those who will fade and those who will come on strong before things really get interesting on the back nine on Sunday. However, Jordan Spieth looks awfully strong and, with another low round tomorrow, could run away and hide. He will definitely take some beating. Rarely, does the first round leader manage to get the job done, but this kid is fast becoming the best player in the game. I definitely wouldn't bet against him.