It's absolutely appropriate we talk about The Masters today. I guess we need to talk about the number one hot topic this year, what's Tiger going to do.
Since he announced playing in The Masters this year, just about any time I've spoken to anybody that's a golfer, it seems like they're always asking me what Tiger's going to do. All the times I've been asked and given my thoughts after hearing theirs, I think the general consensus is that not one person expects Tiger to win. How rare is that? We know he's been through quite a lot and he's been a long time without practicing and playing. I'd say it's 50-50 betting on him making the cut.
There are no great expectations about Tiger getting his fifth jacket this year. I think Tiger Woods will play well enough to make the cut. I think that with his fortitude, his mental attitude, I think I heard someone say he's getting back into meditating again that he hadn't done for a while, and I'm sure he's working hard on his putting and short game will help him come through. As you know, you can drive it a little bit wilder at Augusta, but the big issue is always how you play around and on the greens. The greens are extremely severe. I'll talk about that in a moment.
I was very impressed with The Golf Chanel last night when they did an interview with Matt Kuchar because he was being paired with Tiger. The big key for Matt, everybody was saying, was that it was going to be a circus out there and he was going to be right in the middle of it. I really thought he handled it well. The third person in that group is K.J. Choi, I think he's a pretty cool customer too. But Matt Kuchar said, “It's the biggest thing going on here and I'm going to right inside the ropes, right in the middle of it, seeing it right up front. It's going to be really awesome.”
So I think he found the right attitude to approach that much activity and, realistically, the pressure on him, to play this right. I think with that attitude, it's going to keep pressure down for him. We might see Matt play a really good round of golf, which would be great, especially under those conditions and pressures.
Getting back to the chipping, pitching and putting on the greens, I'll do it through an experience I had with DJ. He won the 2000 Amateur Links which qualified him for the next year's Masters. The week between Christmas and New Years his invitation to the Masters came in. A beautiful invitation, we still have that. What happens when you quality for the Masters and you get your invitation, you are basically a member from the time you get the invitation until the tournament. Which means you can go there and play every day.
From Clemson to Augusta was about an hour and 15 minute ride. So he availed himself to going there quite often when he didn't have to be at practices and matches. The other good thing, when you get that membership, you're allowed one guest to come with you every time you play. The guest can't play but he can come and go everywhere.
One of the other cool this about it is that you can't pay cash over there, so they give you as member charge number. So when you go there, everything you buy and use, especially lunches, you'll be charged. So for from January, February March and through the tournament, I was getting a bill from Augusta National. I've got all those too as a nice keepsake.
So every time he took somebody to Augusta, naturally I was lucky enough to be his first guest, he brought his uncle, my brother Kenny. Then he brought his high school coach, his college coach, and a number of his college teammates every time he went.
The first time we went, around the first week of January, the golf course was playing slow because it's winter and they're leaving the grass stay longer. We had one of their top caddies go around with us. On the second hole, the pin was in the front left. After we putted out, the caddie went over and dropped the ball near the front right center of the green and went about forty feet back and dropped a simulated tip cup, a coaster-like thing on the green to show where the hole was. He said to DJ, “How much break does this putt have?” DJ read it about 2 to 2 1/2 feet.
DJ played that break and he hit a pretty good putt, right up near the hole. The caddie said, “That putt is two and a half feet right now, the way the greens are. Come first round of the tournament, this putt will be 8 to 10 feet in break because of the speed. They will get them so fast, you have to sling them way out there so you can get them to fall to the hole.”
So that putt is going to be five times the break on tournament week. That's why, when you see it on TV, you really can't believe the slopes and breaks on some of those holes. One of the most important things about August National is hitting to the green is not enough. You've got to know that where certain pins are, you have to be in certain places. As an example on 14, with a very left pin, you have to hit the ball, they say, 30 or 40 feet to the right of that hole. If you hit the green it's going to run to the left. If you hit it at the flag you're very likely off the green.
So the first time anyone goes to Augusta national, it's best to play a round a couple of times with a local caddy. They'll give all these nuances and tell you if the pin's over here, you've got to land your ball over there.
It certainly was an awesome time, especially for a first time player, especially an amateur. Possibly I'll talk about the experiences he had on Wednesday afternoon when he had to play in the par 3 and who his playing partner was and what happened that day.
The Surge!