Written by Golf World staff on Saturday 11 April 2009
The second round of the 73rd Masters is now in the books. Who flourished? Who faltered? Let’s take a closer look with our rundown of birdies and bogeys. BIRDIE: Co-leader Kenny Perry said he was pushed hard by his father growing up and is grateful for it. “I’m burning inside, wanting to kick everybody’s butt,” said the 48-year-old Perry, after...
Written by TG Editor on Saturday 11 April 2009
It was late into the night before the tee times for Saturday’s round at The 2009 Masters was announced. The delay was thought to have been caused by deliberations over Rory McIlory’s actions in the bunker on the 18th hole at the end of his second round on Friday. After failing to get out of the sand he seemed to kick the...
Written by Golf World Editor on Friday 10 April 2009
A dramatic day at Augusta National saw Rory McIlroy facing disqualification, Anthony Kim set a new Masters birdie record and two American Ryder Cuppers sit on top of the leaderboard going into the weekend. McIlroy was the subject of a ruling investigation following his second round. After finishing with a triple-bogey seven on the 18th and signing for a one-over total...
Friday 10 April 2009
In a week when many of the 23 Europeans in the field have struggled, Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell has put himself in position to attack over the weekend. He added a 1-over-par 73 on Friday to his first round 69, to be 2-under-par for the Tournament. “It was very difficult out there,” he said, “and I was on the wrong end...
Written by Golf World Editor on Friday 10 April 2009
England’s Ian Poulter scrambled his way to a 1-over-par 73 in the second round, which leaves him at level par for the tournament. While he drove the ball fairly solidly, his approach shots were not so good, and only a razor sharp short game allowed him to be level par for the tournament at the half-way stage and still in...
Written by Golf World staff on Friday 10 April 2009
The first round of the 73rd Masters is now in the books. Who flourished? Who faltered? Let’s take a closer look with our rundown of birdies and bogeys. Birdies The Green Jackets: Say what you want about the club’s, ahem, inflexibility, but chairman Billy Payne and Co. still took recent criticism of the Masters to heart. If the low scores Thursday were...
Written by TG Editor on Friday 10 April 2009
The second round of The Masters is about to start. Friday is a compelling day – one where players are desperately tring to make the cut or make a move up the leaderboard. The tee times are below – in local time. So just add five hours for UK time. Notice Ian Poulter is out early and Westwood and Norman are out...
Written by Golf World Editor on Friday 10 April 2009
The 1st round of the 2009 Masters went a long way towards justifying the recent changes made to the course. For most of the past decade the Green Jackets have come under increasingly heavy fire, accused of making the course too hard, the Tournament boring. In reply, Chairman Billy Payne has repeatedly said the weather is to blame; and that...
Written by TG Editor on Thursday 9 April 2009
They say you can’t win the Masters until you’ve played in the Tournament several times, but England’s Ross Fisher wasn’t listening. In the first round, he played like a veteran, shooting a 3-under-par 69, which could have been even better. He led the Tournament when he was 4-under after 8 holes, and was 5-under after a birdie at the 16th, but...
Written by TG Editor on Wednesday 8 April 2009
Greg Norman is already making headlines at The Masters – and the tournament hasn’t even started yet! The Great White Shark had his glamourous wife Chris Evert on his bag and he even earned himself a kiss with an astounding hole-in-one on the sixth hole of the par 3 contest. There has never been an ace on this hole but Norman knocked...
Written by Golf World Editor on Wednesday 8 April 2009
This may be Gary Player’s 52nd and final Masters tournament, but The Chairman of Augusta National, Billy Payne, very much hopes he can persuade the South African some time over the summer to hit the first tee shot next year with Arnold Palmer. “I only found out a couple of days ago that this was going to be Gary’s last Masters,” he...
Written by Jock Howard, Golf World on Wednesday 8 April 2009
It is tough to think of a more moving story this week at Augusta than Greg Norman finally winning the Masters at the age of 53. Maybe Fred Couples winning runs it close (Both Fred’s wives have died, his second only a couple of months ago) but a Norman victory would certainly go into Masters folklore. It’s his 23rd appearance here,...
Written by TG Stafff Writer on Wednesday 8 April 2009
One by one, his golfing dreams have so far turned into glorious reality. And although his next target – capturing the US Masters before he’s 21 – might seem of Mount Fuji-esque proportions, Ryo Ishikawa is undeterred. Ishikawa will be 17 years, 6 months and 23 days when he drives down Magnolia Lane for the first time – only amateur Tommy...
Written by Golf World Editor on Wednesday 8 April 2009
Vijay Singh achieved something even rarer than a hole-in-one at Augusta’s par-3 16th yesterday. He holed his shot after skipping the ball across the water! It’s a practice round tradition that players try to reach the green by hopping it across the pond, and usually they’re just happy to reach the green. But after three bounces, Vijay’s ball rolled across the putting...
Written by Golf World Editor on Tuesday 7 April 2009
People have thought for some years that Tiger might not be human. He has seemed for some years now to be able to ‘will’ the ball into the hole, when and where he wants. If this is true, he was certainly not admitting as much. “I don’t have telekinesis,” (the direct influence of the mind on a physical system) he said,...
Written by Golf World Editor on Tuesday 7 April 2009
Several times during his pre-tournament press conference, Phil Mickelson was asked about his rivalry with Tiger Woods, but on each occasion he side-stepped the issue with all the dexterity of a wing three-quarter. The world yearns a Tiger/Phil showdown on Sunday. Finally, a question came which opened him up. “Of your two Masters victories, which did you enjoy more; Mike Weir...
Tuesday 7 April 2009
The pairings for the first two rounds of the 2009 Masters have just been released… and there are some real mouth-watering match-ups. Lee Westwood will tee it up with Bernhard Langer and Greg Norman at 2.50pm UK time. Other groups to look out for are: 2.28pm: Gary Player, Luke Donald, Stephen Ames 3.12pm: Justin Rose, Henrik Stenson, Angel Cabrera 3.23pm: Vijay Singh, Geoff Ogilvy, Ernie...
Written by Golf World Editor on Tuesday 7 April 2009
Trevor Immelman said that even if he wins this week tonight’s Champions dinner is going to be the highlight of the week for him. “Just seeing all those legends tonight is going to be awesome,” he said. “I came down here a month ago to play a couple of rounds, and the thrill of walking into the Champions Locker Room...
Written by Golf World Editor on Tuesday 7 April 2009
Padraig Harrington denied he is under more pressure because he is trying to win his third major championship in a row. “This is a major championship,” he said in his pre-tournament press conference, “and there is always pressure in majors. Any extra pressure is not significant. I’m always going to be under pressure in majors for the next few years,...
Written by TG Editor on Tuesday 7 April 2009
Trevor Immelman won the 2008 Masters – but only after a last-minute tip from his brother Mark. Trevor had been having a torrid time on the greens and had slumped to 202nd on the Tour stats. His brother – a top teaching pro turned up at Augusta just before the tournament started and asked for half-an-hour on the putting green. He asked...