Everyone that watched the Masters will have an opinion on moments that were great, good, bad, and ugly. There is no shortage of examples but I’ve picked one player for each category and I also share the player I believe manages to fall into all four categories.
First, the greatest moment had to be Bubba Watson on the second hole of the sudden-death playoff. His 40-foot hook-draw shot from the trees, off the pine needles, on to the green to put himself in position to win was awesome. Of course it ended in the most touching moment when he was embraced by his mother (normally, the wife is there to share the moment; but his wife was at home with their new baby son).
My vote for the number one good moment — the run that Matt Kucher was making on Sunday to finish with a 69. When Kucher made an eagle on the 15th hole (par 5) and went to 4 under par it was just fun to see a player so happy. There was no arrogance, just joy, in his response.
Unfortunately, the bad moments in professional golf tournaments are not always bad shots but bad behavior. Tiger woods wins the bad moment award for drop-kicking his putter. Tiger later apologized but I am tired of professional athletes misbehaving and apologizing later. These are “adults” and need to stop acting like children when something goes wrong.
My favorite player, Phil Mickelson, had the ugliest moment. His effort to try to hack the ball out of the bushes at the 4th hole resulted in a triple-bogey. What was he thinking? I mean that would be the kind of stupid shot I would try (not because I could make it but because I am an amateur and don’t always make good decisions). On the other hand, I’m not totally surprised by his choice. I like Phil because he is a risk taker and is exciting to watch. Unfortunately, this time it turned out ugly.
So what could possibly be great, good, bad, and ugly? It is the final round score card of the low Amateur, Patrick Cantlay. Look at the card below — birdies, bogeys, double-bogeys, a quadruple-bogey, and eagles! Most golfers would have fallen apart after what Cantlay did on the 13th and 14th holes (quadruple-bogey and double-bogey) but he turned it around on 15 with an eagle. What a great final four holes — eagle, birdie, birdie, par!
Cantlay is viewed by many as the best amateur in the game right now and getting the “low amateur” trophy is a good indicator of his future. By the way, other past “low amateur” winners include Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.