The greatest golf show on earth gets underway

This year is special. It’s the 75th year of the tournament, the 50th year since the first non-US player (Gary Player) won the tournament, the 25th year since Jack Nicklaus, at 46 years, won his sixth Green Jacket, 11 years since a European won the event, and it has our own Arjun Atwal playing for the first time. The Europeans fancy themselves as they are one (Kaymer) and two (Westwood) in world rankings. However, there are a dozen first-time winners on the US PGA Tour all of whom fancy themselves, and Phil Mickelson (who shot a 16 under on the last weekend to win) has peaked at just the right time.

Nicklaus thinks, and he should know, that the Masters favours long drivers but those who can hit their irons high so as to land softly on the greens. Therefore, he fancies players like Tiger Woods, Phil, Dustin Johnson and others over super golfers but shorter hitters such as Donald. He figures that the course will play long and skill around and on the greens will be critical.

Out of 99 players this year, 20 are first-timers including five amateurs, which indicates that the club is embracing amateurs in the spirit of Bobby Jones who remained one throughout his scintillating career.

On April 6, the ever popular par three family entertainment contest was played on the exquisite emerald like course laid out among low hills and valleys and around a meandering water body.

The spectators in their multi hues stroll around and recline on the banks of this nine hole par three course, cheering every shot by great present champions, their young children who caddy for them and today, mainly Jack Fleck (1955 US Open winner) who at 89 years of age shot a par round. It seems that the myth of “he who wins the par three contest will not win that year’s Masters tournament” appears to be debunked.

The storm of Monday night drenched the course, tore up several trees, including a magnificent 150-year-old Magnolia tree, and damaged a part of the eighth green; by Thursday no damage was visible to the spectator or the player. Hotter weather and strong breezes are drying out the course and its character will change from day to day, causing the players to use extreme judgement on determining the swirls on critical shots such as on the par three twelfth hole at the turn of Amen Corner, the par three sixteenth and a number of other crucial shots to tight pin positions.

The course preparation is fantastic as hundreds of grounds men with their equipment are attending to the tiniest details to make the tournament perfect in its delivery of even conditions for all players. Thus, phalanxes of huge Toro machines, resembling some kind of a military attack, mow the fairways to three-eighths of an inch, the smaller Jacobsen machines take care of the second cut at one and three-eighths of an inch, while the Honda-powered lawn mowers mow the greens down to a precise one-eighth of an inch.

The players are practising on the course alone or in company, often hitting more than one shot to different positions on the green; after all it is practice and the pin positions are going to be different on all the four days. Atwal, the lone Indian challenger, practised with Tiger Woods and Mark O’Meara on Wednesday morning. All the first-timers are practising with experienced players as they generously receive tips as to where to miss and where to risk. Nobody could be a better guide than Tiger and this will boost Atwal’s confidence.

Everyone wishes to win but the story this year appears to be Phil-Tiger (not Tiger-Phil, as heretofore!). Fate can be fickle and grace may well descend on any one of 40 players who putts everything in sight on those lightening fast greens.

There is great pathos at the Japanese representation at this year’s Masters Tournament following the tragedy of the earthquake and tsunami. The entire golfing community gathered here are in sympathy with Ishikawa, Fujita, Ikeda and Matsuyama who will obviously have much on their minds aside from the stress and heat of competition. They are conducting themselves in an exemplary fashion and winning the hearts and minds of golf spectators and players alike.

The public appears to have forgiven Tiger (at least the men have) and my favourite, although I’m not putting any money on it, is Tiger.

But we will see .........