Congratulations, Adam Scott!

Source (Scott K.Brown & Augusta National) / Via

(More photos at the source link.)

Happy Birthday Dad!

Mine

We all miss you! I have no doubt you're at Augusta this weekend!

Augusta National - Then & Now

What a cool little interactive graphic to view all of the changes made to Augusta National Golf Club over the years! Here's historyshots dot com's introduction:

Augusta National Golf Club has undergone continuous modification since hosting its first Masters Tournament in 1934. This graphic depicts the more than 100 major changes made to the course over the past 79 years. At the top is a visual side-by-side comparison of each hole for 1934 and 2012. Below the hole comparisons is a timeline that maps tee, fairway and green area changes year-by-year. The combination of visual comparison and detailed timeline provides a sweeping overview of all the major changes made since 1934. (Source)

Click the banner image above to go check it out! Ordering information is also provided for the 40" x 24" poster.

Via / Source

A Bubba Watson Fan Having a Difficult time being Subtle

Image screen-capped from official Masters video (masters.com)                     Click to enlarge!!

I saw this immediately after it happened, when they replayed the shot in very slow motion. I laughed instantly, and HAD to go back and find it for you guys. It's a ton better in the video, which you can see by going to Masters.com, and clicking on "leaderboard", then clicking on Ooosthuizen's "4" on hole #18 (the first playoff hole) inside the sudden-death playoff mini-scorecard. A 2½ minute video will play, showing Oosthuizen's 4 shots for that hole.

The 2012 Masters Leaderboard

(Through Friday completion)


Source

Click the image above to go see the complete leaderboard!   Or, here is the Masters homepage.

Go Freddie!!!

Here's Your 2012 Masters Preview

Image Source

This is one of my favorite weeks of the year. Someone said "if there's a golf course in Heaven, it would look just like Augusta National", and I believe it.

Here are a few good articles to get you pumped up for the 2012 Masters, which begins today, Thursday, April 5:

• Hype vs. Reality -- By Mike McAllister, PGATOUR.COM Managing Editor

• Tiger Woods Focused on Five -- By Gene Wojciechowski | ESPN.com

• Solving the Mystery of Augusta's Greens -- By Thomas Bonk

• The Field - Pairings

• PGA Tour's Expert Picks

• Masters Dot Com for all your online coverage..

My two foursomes for ESPN's Best Ball Majors Challenge are: (1) Mickelson, Couples, Stricker, and Wagner --and-- (2) Woods, McIlroy, Clarke, and Yang.

Tiger Finally Wins!

Image Source (Photo by Phelan M. Ebenhack, AP)

Just in time for Augusta in a few weeks, Tiger finally manufactured 4 rounds good enough to grab a win - his first in 2½ years - at Bay Hill Club & Lodge in Orlando. He's won Arnold Palmer's Bay Hill event 7 times now, and appears to be back in the fold.

Click here for PGATour.com's complete leaderboard..

And here's the complete story, again courtesy of PGATour.com (with video)..

Note: I'm really not a Tiger Woods fan. For most of his career I've usually cheered for someone to beat him, simply because I was so against all the media attention he always drew. - (25% of the coverage was Tiger Woods, whether he was in the hunt or not, pulling much-needed publicity from weekly winners while he struggled from time-to-time.) - Not to mention his arrogance during every interview he ever gave.

No, no one in a long, long time has done what he has for the game of golf, I surely get that. But while he was dominating for so-o-o long, my "thing" was rooting for someone to step-up and challenge him. Phil, Freddie, Ernie, Vijay, you name him.

This win is huge for the golf world. It shows he's got his mind where it needs to be, and that he's brought his game back from the depths of no man's land. He also appears to have matured in the sense that he acknowledges the fact that he isn't God's gift to the game of golf (nor women), and he seems to have come a long way as a person the last few years.

Now once again I challenge the field: Are you paying attention?

Can He Do It?

Breaking News: 2012 Masters Tickets Available To Public

Click to enlarge!!                                                                                                             Image Source

Augusta, Ga. -- For the first time in decades, Augusta National will make a limited number of Masters Tournament badges available to the public via its website, beginning with the 2012 event.

The Masters has traditionally been one of the toughest tickets in sports, with a waiting list for patron badges dating back to 1971. Only spectators on the club's list are allowed to buy tournament-round badges each year.

Golf fans will be allowed to submit their applications to both the tournament and for practice rounds via Masters.com. The club is moving all of its ticketing online, including ticket services for annual patrons.

"Moving the entire application process to our official tournament website is a safe and convenient way for those wishing to apply for daily practice round tickets," said Masters chairman Billy Payne. "We are also pleased to provide a limited number of tickets for the individual tournament round days, which, up until now, have only been allocated to our series badge holders."

Daily tournament ticket applications must be submitted by June 30, with practice round applications allowed until July 30. Each allocation will have its own random selection process, with applicants notified by email within several weeks of the application deadline.

Until now, practice round tickets have only been available via lottery.

Next year's tournament runs the week of April 2.

Source

Augusta National To Be Featured on Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2012

Image Source

OK I'm not really promoting this news, nor this new game - although I'm sure it will be great for a lot of people to play Augusta National.

The reason I'm posting this is that I've played Augusta National hundreds of times on Jack Nicklaus 6 - Golden Bear Challenge. Many designers featured very, very nice versions of Augusta way back when, and all were super! And it hasn't been that long ago. The game came out in 1999, and at the time was the best golf sim around. I would even go out on a very short, sturdy limb and say it probably still is!

We'll see.