Category Archives: The Masters

The 2024 Masters – My Picks for the Winner, Sleepers, and Sentimental Dark Horse

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year for all golf fans – Masters week!

I hope I get a few comments from folks because I really am curious what other’s have for their picks to win and who are sleepers and/or dark horse predictions. Now, I don’t gamble so I’m not big on doing research on odds so my picks are just based on my gut.

Winner – I think the #1 player in the world Scottie Scheffler is a safe bet and he has been one of my favorite players since he won in 2022. He has played in four Masters starting in 2020 and has always finished in the top 20; last year he finished T10. Of course, he has won twice already this season so he is in great form coming into the championship.

Sleepers – There are a few but if I have to pick one as the winner, I am going with Brooks Koepka. I think he will play with a chip on his shoulder given his T2 finish last year and loss to Jon Rahm. It’s also interesting to see all the articles online that predict a LIV golfer will win this year; and Koepka fits the bill.

Other sleeper picks include:

Wyndam Clark: This is his first time at The Masters so I’m not sure how his game fits the course but I’m picking him because his form has been so good coming into The Masters .

Jordan Speith: He had been my favorite player since he turned pro and it’s a roller coaster ride being his fan. He is really not playing well but you can never count Jordan out at The Masters; and he did finish T4 last year.

Nick Dunlap: The young man turned pro this year after winning a PGA tournament as an amateur (the first to do it since Phil Mickelson 33 years ago). He was the #1 Amateur in the world before turning pro and it would be fun to see him win.

Brian Harman: The reason I pick him as a sleeper is because he is a lefty and there is a fascinating theory that The Masters favors lefties which is explained in a Golf Digest Video on YouTube and this video that explains hole #12

Sentimental Dark Horse Pick – I would love to see Keegan Bradley win The Masters. I have followed his career since he turned pro for two reasons (1) He’s a New Englander and Boston sports fan and (2) As a fan of the LPGA, I was familiar with his aunt, Pat Bradley. Over the years, I have come to like his personality too. I also felt sorry for him when he did not get picked for The Ryder Cup. He has played in The Masters eight times and his best finish is T22 (last year, he finished T23) so he really is a long shot but it would be so cool if he won.

Results for LIV players at The Masters

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First, congratulations to the 2023 Masters winner, John Rahm with a 12 under, final score of 276! First place prize money is $3.24 million but the green jacket is priceless.

I have not watched any LIV golf but like any golf junkie, I have seen all the social media chatter and I was curious if the assumptions about LIV golfers “letting their games go” by playing the limited 54-hole event tour might be true. So let’s look at the results.

I mentioned in my previous post, 18 LIV golfers qualified for The Masters. After two rounds. 12 made the cut, 4 missed the cut, and two withdrew from the championship. Or to put it another way – 67% of the LIV players in the championship made it to the weekend. I think anything over 50% should be viewed as a respectable outcome and probably much higher than many “golf analysts” would have predicted.

The four LIV players that missed the cut were: Sergio Garcia, Bubba Watson, Bryson DeChambeau, and Jason Kokrak. To be honest this does not surprise me. The only one that surprised me was Bryson. I thought his game was in better shape. The two LIV players that withdrew were Kevin Na and Louis Oosthuizen.

Brooks Koepka was leading after the cut and the third round. The final pairing was Brooks Koepka and John Rahm. Master’s history reveals in the last 25 years, 21 winners have come from the last group. Another golf statistic, prior to this Masters, Koepka had won every major championship in which he lead going into the final round. However, Koepka lost his 2 shot lead quickly and John Rahm never looked back while Koepka lost all momentum.

Biggest surprise of the Masters was Phi Mickelson shoots 65 in the final round and is the club house leader (as Rahm and Koepka start the back nine) with a final total score of 280. Phil’s round is the lowest round for a player over the age of 50 at the Masters.

Phil Mickelson and Brooks Koepka tied for 2nd place with each earning $1.594 million.

Here is the final scores and finishes for the 12 LIV players that made the cut:

LIV Golfers Playing in the 2023 Masters

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It’s Masters week and always an exciting week for all golf fans! The media will focus on the usual topics; what is being served at the Champions dinner, changes to the course, who will win. This year, I am positive another focus will be on the LIV players; how are they treated (by other players, in the media room, and by fans), and what are the odds a LIV player could win the championship.

So it made me wonder which LIV players were invited. Looking at the official list of invitees on the Masters website it turns out 18 LIV players were sent invitations. The players qualified to play because of various reasons. Below are the players grouped by how they qualified for the 2023 Masters. Note: Some of the players fit more than one qualifying category so I list them under the more impressive category to me (e.g., Past Winners vs Top 50 player in the Official World Golf Ranking).

Past Masters Winners

  1. Sergio Garcia (won 2017)
  2. Dustin Johnson (won 2020)
  3. Patrick Reed (won 2018)
  4. Charles Schwartzel (won 2011)
  5. Phil Mickelson (Won 2004, 2006, 2010)
  6. Bubba Watson (Won 2012, 2014)

2022 Winner of The Open and Players Championship

  1. Cameron Smith

Won The U.S. Open or PGA Championship within the last 5 years

  1. Bryson DeChambeau
  2. Brooks Koepka

Qualified for 2022 Season Ending Tour Championship & in top 50 OWGR

  1. Joaquin Niemann
  2. Taylor Gooch

2022 PGA Championship – Top 4

  1. Mito Pereira

Ranked in the top 50 of OWGR for previous calendar year

  1. Abraham Ancer
  2. Jason Kokrak
  3. Kevin Na
  4. Louis Oosthuizen
  5. Thomas Pieters
  6. Harold Varner III

I believe once the championship begins play on Thursday that the chatter about LIV will fade away unless a LIV player is actually in contention.

AIG Women’s British Open Purse Increase

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AIG and The R&A “put their money where they mouth is” with a new record overall purse for a women’s golf major. The purse total is $5.8 million with $870,000 for the winner. And they announced they are committed to raising the 2022 purse by a million to $6.8 million. The purse increase announced by AIG and The R&A is great news for women’s professional golf.

At least for the majors, I’m happy to see in 2021 things are moving in the right direction. For example, back in 2012 the USGA’s purse for the U.S. Women’s Open was $3.25 million with $585K going to the winner and in 2021, the U.S. Women’s Open purse total was $5.5 million with $1 million to the winner.

I do find it interesting that sponsors for the women’s majors get to associate their name with the major. For example the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship versus the men’s PGA Championship. But if that is the price to pay for higher pay for the women the so be it.

The USGA has a history of having the highest purses for the majors and with Mike Whan, former commissioner of the LPGA as the new CEO of the USGA, I’m hoping that he makes a big statement for women’s golf in 2022. I would love to see the governing body be the first golf organization to have the men’s and women’s purses be the same amount — a girl can dream!

The chart below lists the purses for both the women’s and men’s majors for 2021. I do care about pay equity and wrote about it in my 2012 blog “The Gender Gap in Golf Prize Money”. I’m not going to go in to deep comparison because that would require looking at regular season tour events (as I did in 2012). My hope would be that perhaps one day sponsors will see the value of women’s golf equal to men’s golf and the money will follow.

I am providing a chart because I know readers (as I did) will wonder what the payouts were in 2021 so I did the research for anyone taking the time to read my blog.

Women’s MajorsTotal PurseWinner’s ShareMen’s MajorsTotal PurseWinner’s Share
U.S. Women’s Open$5.5 Million$1 MillionU.S. Open$12.5 Million$2.25 Million
AIG Women’s British Open$5,8 Million$870KBritish Open$11.5 Million$2.07 Million
KPMG PGA Championship$4,5 Million$675KPGA Championship$12 Million$2.16 Million
ANA Inspiration$3.1 Million$465KThe Masters$11.5 Million$2.07 Million
Evian Championship$4.5 Million$675K   

Major Losses Overshadowing Victories

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As I watched the television coverage from the Masters I noticed that when analysts recalled the 2016 Masters, they did not speak of Danny Willett’s win, they focused on Jordan Spieth’s meltdown. Spieth had a five shot lead when he came to the back nine then disaster — bogeys on 10 and 11 followed by a quadruple-bogey (seven) on hole 12. Willett shot a bogey free 67 but that doesn’t matter because most golfers remember Spieth losing the Masters. Plus, it doesn’t help that Willett has played horribly since winning.

The ANA Inspiration is another example. Can you name the winner of the 2017 ANA? I bet if you are a golf fan you vividly remember that Lexi Thompson was assessed a four-stroke penalty due to a Rules infraction that occurred during Saturday’s third round which was “phoned-in” by a fan watching the broadcast. Thompson played through tear-filled eyes to give herself a chance in a playoff against So Yeon Ryu and Ryu won.

As with the Masters, much of the golf coverage leading up to the 2018 ANA championship focused on what happened to Lexi Thompson in 2017 thus taking away from the normal focus on the previous winner.

I cannot remember who won the  2012 Kraft Nabisco (now called the ANA Inspiration) but I remember the image of I.K. Kim missing a one-foot putt for the win. I had to look up the winner – I.K. Kim lost to Sun Young Yoo. Or should I say Sun Young Yoo won the 2012 Kraft Nabisco in a playoff.

I would guess most golf fans cannot tell you who won the 2017 U.S. Women’s Open but they will remember Anna Nordqvist was assessed a two-stroke penalty because a television viewer “phoned-in” that her club had grazed the sand in the bunker. This did impact the championship outcome with Brittany Lang coming out on top.

A true golf fan will know the name Jean Van de Velde. Van de Velde is famous for his meltdown at the 1999 British Open. Every year the video of Van de Velde’s meltdown is shown sometime during the week of the British Open. I had to look up the winner, it was Paul Laurie.

Even Jordan Spieth’s 2015 U.S. Open win at Chambers Bay will always have an asterisk noting Dustin Johnson’s 3-putt on the 18th hole causing him to lose the championship. Most golf fans were not shocked that Spieth won but how he won was shocking. Of course, redemption came when DJ won the 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont.

The bottom line is “a win is a win” (as the saying goes) but it must be frustrating for a winner who’s victory will always be overshadowed by the story of the person that lost.

Great Day for Women’s Golf: Augusta National Announces a Women’s Amateur Championship

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For years I have been wishing Augusta National would take “meaningful action” to support women’s golf. Yes, Augusta welcomed female members in 2012 when Condoleezza Rice and Darla Moore were extended invitations to join the club. However like most women who love golf, and as a fan of women’s golf, I wanted to see women play Augusta National.

Today the announcement came! Perhaps this announcement was not the one that women professional golfers hoped for but the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship is monumental for women’s golf. Here is the post from Twitter:

Masters Announcement on Twitter

Augusta National Tweet – Women’s Amateur Championship

The event being conducted within the same time frame as Drive, Chip and Putt and The Masters is excellent! The event will be held right before DCP (the wonderful golf championship for young golfers). Just imagine a young girl participating in DCP, watching the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship and knowing that one day (if she works hard) she may be playing the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship!

Of course, the big question for the LPGA is what does this mean for the ANA Inspiration? Will the top female amateurs, who normally play the ANA Inspiration, now have to choose between the two events? My guess is the LPGA will move the ANA (perhaps the week before the new amateur event). After all, it would be a communications manager’s dream story line – promoting the opportunity to watch the top amateur female golfers playing in the ANA Inspiration who will be then playing in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship the following week.  And if the ANA is after the event, the LPGA promotes the winner of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur playing in the LPGA’s first major of the year. I say it’s a win/win for the LPGA (unless they do not move the date of the ANA)

I can’t wait until 2019 when I can watch the inaugural Augusta National Amateur Women’s Championship.

It’s a good day for women’s golf!

Book Review: “The Making of the Masters” by David Owen

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If you are looking for a book that is specifically about the course architecture of Augusta National, this book is probably not the one to read. However, chapter five does provide hole-by-hole descriptions and contains great photos. All photos are pre-1999 when the book was published. So for example, there is a photo of the Eisenhower tree in the book which was removed from the 17th hole in 2014.

The book is a biography. The history of Augusta National and The Masters are revealed by examining the life of Clifford Roberts, Chairman of Augusta National from 1931 to 1977.  I love biographies and found the life of Clifford Roberts to be very interesting. For example, Robert’s early life was depicted as happy but also shaped by his mother’s depression (and her suicide when he was 16). He struggled early his professional life which is not surprising given he started an investment firm in the 1920s (and faced financial ruin during the crash).

Roberts achieved great success as the chairman of Augusta National. He certainly had fascinating aspects of his life including his friendship with Dwight D. Eisenhower. Surprisingly Roberts had his “own room” at the white house while Eisenhower was president. Roberts is also portrayed as a very difficult man (labels such as “tyrant” and “dictator” were used in the press). As with all human beings, he was complicated and the book states that his friends and people that he helped experienced another side of Roberts. I found the end of his life rather sad, but I won’t spoil the book by revealing how his life ends.

The book details the impact Roberts had on what The Masters is today. And, many of his decisions also had an impact on how golf championships are run (e.g., tournaments equaling four rounds of golf, the way golf is televised, the importance of creating good “stadium” views for spectators, etc.). The limited commercial breaks during The Masters was a requirement placed on CBS (by Roberts) in the very early years of the tournament. Roberts also insisted that the television cables be buried on the course.

Roberts also had to manage the ups and downs of the founding of Augusta National golf club. It will shock most people to know that they had trouble getting members! It’s a great example of perseverance and a reminder of how things that are famous today could just have easily had a very different outcome if not for someone like Roberts at the helm.

If you like biographies and golf then definitely get a copy of this book at your local library (or by it on Amazon) and read it!

The Author: David Owen

If the name David Owen sounds familiar it may be that you read the New Yorker or Golf Digest. Mr. Owen also has a blog, “My Usual Game: Adventures in Golf.” His most recent non-golf book is “Where the Water Goes: Life and Death Along the Colorado River.”