GOLF ALWAYS WRITES ITS OWN STORY...

I keep going back to a famous quote by Ben Hogan when he was asked, "Mr. Hogan, who do you think is going to win today?" (a question to a retired champion on the eve of the last round of the U.S. Open). He simply answered, "I don't know, that why they are playing today, to find out who wins".

Yesterday's Masters was typical in many ways, though not as exciting as others because Bubba made it look like a walk in the park. Bubba, the experienced champion, gave a lesson of poise, patience and power to his younger playing competitor, Jordan Spieth, who was many people's favorite. That said, I do think that the media had a little too much to say before the last round that may have affected Jordan's performance in the end ("he will become the youngest Masters' champion", "he will become the first rookie winner since Fuzzy in 1979", "he is too young, can he cope with the pressure?"... then others, "he is mature beyond his age" and so forth). There is no way that he did not read all of this and then dwelt on it.... perhaps during the round.

That said, the final score is what counts. Not how you arrived to it, and the final score was 69 to 72, and 280 to 283. One won, and one came in second. Experience counts. Many of us were rooting for Jordan, after all, Bubba already has a green jacket and it would have been a heck of a story, but, aren't all of those who say, "I like Bubba, but he ONLY has one major" also wanting someone else to win when he is contention? That was the case yesterday. Some of us wanted Bubba to win a second major, while we also wanted Jordan Spieth, or Miguel Angel Jimenez or Fred Couples to win.... we can't have it both ways, so the best thing to do, is allow golf to tell it's own story.


Many wanted to make the Masters about Tiger not playing. He is still the media's favorite, sort of like Bill Clinton in politics, in fact, there are similarities there, but this tournament was about The Masters, period. There were plenty of great players there, some did not play as well as we expected, Mickelson included, but by televising the whole 18 holes, the drama started on "man's corner", holes 4-6, tougher than Amen Corner, but because it is early in the round, sometimes not as relevant as the back nine (remember Mickelson making a 6 on the par-3 #4 and losing by two when he could not recover enough on the back nine?). If anything, there was a story that was not mentioned enough: it was the first time that a father-son combination played in the same Masters, Craig and Kevin Stadler. That is an act that not even Jack Nickalus or Raymond Floyd, both with playing sons that made it to the pro circuit, could match.

Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player & Arnold Palmer,
represent the past, Bubba, Tiiger & Phil are
the present, and the future? We don't know if it
will be Bill Hass, Jordan Spieth or Ricky
Fowler, the future is still to be written....
by Golf Itself as the author.

Spieth birdied both par 3's in "man's corner" (4 & 6) and made a great birdie on the seemingly "easy" #7, but the whole momentum changed on holes 8 & 9: Spieth bogeyed both, the first with what some would call a careless three-putt, and the second one with a bad shot that came back to the fairway. Meanwhile, Bubba, swinging away, doing things that others would call "risky", birdied both holes picking up a quick 4 strokes that placed him from 2 behind to two ahead in a matter of 15 minutes. Spieth seemed too excited after 7, and if so, it may have cost him big time, for he could never recover his concentration, losing one more on #12 when he took the risky line, and ended up wet. He did not birdie #13 or #15, one time pushing his tee shot right (a natural tendency when you don't want to go way left) and one time over-cooking his draw on #15, ending up blocked by the trees left, so he did not have a clear shot to the water guarded green.

#12 (Golden Bell), in the middle of "Amen Corner", often plays a big
part in the final outcome. This time, Spieth, trailing by only one, felt that
he needed to take some risks and went for the pin, the ball hit the front of
 the green and sucked back into the pond, and fell two behind. Never got
any closer after that.

Bubba, birdied 13, and on 15, where he was also left, he took the aggressive line, fearless, and it paid off. He parred, then parred in, and kept a three shot lead.

In the end, this story was written like this: "Bubba Watson wins second Masters at age 37. He proves that he is not a "one trick pony" by hitting long and straight drives, deft approaches, taking risks, answering when he needed to (#4), playing like a fearless champion (#13 & #15), making great putts or up & downs when he needed to (#7), great recovery shots (#17) ... he was in control of his emotions all the way (in his interview, he gave his faith in God the credit for being able to do that (*)), never fearing and always knowing that the story is never written until the last putt drops". Bubba was on top after 72 holes, where it counted.

Our very gracious host: Judy

I end this post with this: Mona and I had the opportunity to go to Augusta, GA because of the timely securing of a house nearby by Ann Cowan last year. Joe & Dewana Wynn, Charlie & Gina Kauk rounded off the group that went from Elk City together (Danny DeLeon and Steve & Vicky Chambers also went, but I only had the chance to see the Chambers, who would extend their vacation trip to Myrtle Beach). Thank you Ann for all you did and thank you Kauk's and Wynn's for the fun times!

In short, it is hard not to become his fan!!

(*) In his book, "The Heart of a Champion", Bobby Richards, the great pole-vault champion of the 40's & 50's, mentions that ALL great champions have two similarities: faith in God (or at least a divine force) and the knowledge that they are prepared, always knowing that every little detail counts. In pole vaulting it is about quarters of an inch, in running it is all about hundredths of seconds, and in golf, it is all about one single stroke.