The Masters That Got In The Way

Too bad the 2009 Masters got in the way of The Phil and Tiger show. It would have been fun to have forgotten all about Kenny Perry and send those two back on the course for Sudden Death. Talk about what the fans really want to see.

It was heartening to see Angel Cabrera pull it off, a little sad to watch Chad Campbell bow out of the playoff by missing a relatively easy par putt and more than a little gratifying to know that Kenny Perry is still without a major. Anyone who passes on playing in majors (the 2007 British Open), or even worse who won't even attempt to qualify for the US Open, really doesn't deserve the kind of career capper that a win at Augusta would create. Since we're both the same age, Perry will get no sympathy from me when he says that this was likely his last chance to win a major. There's just a bit too much quit in that sentiment...

Angel Cabrera is much easier to like. He has that kind of old fashioned, home made looking but monstrously powerful swing that almost makes you feel sorry for the ball. His game is delightfully loose, but not as prone to outright disaster as Mickelson's. He now seems to have the majors figured out and it would not surprise me at all to see him win more of them, maybe even this year. Best of all, his win must have been an especially soothing one for his countryman, Roberto De Vincenzo.

I am convinced that the Phil Mickelson we saw on the front nine Sunday was the very best of him that we'll see for quite some time. I am equally convinced that the weaknesses that created his tee shot on 12, and those short missed putts, will remain all too common. Phil, it seems, will always be Phil.

Tiger Woods was obviously fighting his swing and his amazing capacity to adjust on the fly and play with what he called his band-aid swing is an ability known only to him. His failings flow only from a lack of competitive play and I am sure that by the time the US Open rolls around he'll be very different player.

The kinder gentler Augusta National didn't quite do its job this year. There were more roars but fewer of the groans caused by tragic and watery misses at 13, 15 and 16. The roars only mean something if there is just as much ignominy as glory. Still, 12 under seems like a reasonable winning score though all those red numbers just have me looking forward to the blood-letting that will be the US Open.

Now that's a major championship.

It's Time

It's time to wake up, time to really start the golf season. Oh sure, there have been a few tournaments and Tiger Woods has even done one of his now long patented make a birdie on 18 to win Arnie's tournament at Bay Hill. The LPGA even has their first major under the belt, you know, the one that so and so just won.

So and so? Of course I know that the Dinah (sorry, The Kraft Nabisco) was won by Brittany Lincicome. She's one of my favorite players on the LPGA Tour. Lincicome's major win is just the latest example to the oh so well funded Camp Wie of just how far she has been left behind. Still, as important as the win is for Lincicome it didn't quite kick-start the season for me, but this weekend will.

For my money, the only real majors are the US and British Opens. The PGA, with its warm and fuzzy inclusion of the club pros and the sometimes comedic choice of venue (can you say, Valhalla?), isn't even on par with a WGC event. The Masters lives on the laurels of Spring, marvelous TV coverage and legend. Still, I find the Masters to be at something of a crossroads.

Why? Simply put, the 2009 Masters will be the place where Tiger Woods either plants his flag of dominance yet again, crushing the hopes and dreams of the rank and file tour players (defending champion Trevor Immelman, included), or he swings open the door to those very same players.

That open door would well suit this economic era. Your 401K is probably worth about 30% of what it used to be worth and your interest in professional golf will be missing about 70% of its vigor, too. Tiger has insulated us and the tour from reality for so long, but I'm just not sure that even he can keep it up. Time may have finally caught up with him in the very same way that it caught up with the economy.

Is this a stretch? Maybe. But, consider how a non-Tiger dominated season would affect the interest of tour sponsors, especially during this economy. The term is malaise, and golf is slow enough as it is. This Masters season reminds me of just how much we have come to rely on Tiger Woods to keep the men's game vital. As I have said again and again, in his 12 years on tour there's been no other player to arrive on tour to generate the kind of appeal that he does. There is no Tom Watson to this Jack Nicklaus, not even a Johnny Miller.

Me? I'm looking for Tiger to replant his flag, but am afraid that he may just leave the door open just wide enough that an interloper may start the season off with a yawn.