Arnold Palmer Now Driving
Yesterday’s first round of the Masters was, as usual, fantastic. As I’ve said a million times, the Masters Tournament never disappoints. Thursday’s round had so many great stories to it. There was the return of Tiger Woods, the resurgence of Ernie Els, and amazing play of Jordan Spieth and a few surprises like the super round of 67 by Charlie Hoffman.
Spiethgasm
Jordan Spieth was -8 going into the easiest hole on the course yesterday, the par-5 15th. That hole is practically a guaranteed birdie and he could easily reach it in two. He was between clubs though, and knocked his approach over the green and nearly in the water on 16. He failed to get the chip on the green and ended up making a bogey. He got that stroke back on the 18th with a birdie.
The low round of 63 in a major championship was in jeopardy for a while there and the golf media and social networks were blowing up into a “Spiethgasm.”
It will be interesting to see if he can keep it together for four days.
Woods
My prediction for Tiger Woods’s first two rounds has been 74-70. Yesterday he shot a 73. Not bad. Not good. Nine shots off the lead. It’s not close to over for Tiger and I expect him to make the cut. The problem I see is massive dipping in his head during his downswing. If that gets bad, his shot dispersion goes to hell. You can’t spray it around August and get away with it.
What the weekend holds for Tiger should be interesting.
McIlory
Rory McIlory finished Thursday at -1. That’s an okay start and he’s not out of it by any means. I theorize that Rory wants to win this one so bad, it may cause him some mental issues.
Others
Others on my radar include my pick to win it all, Jason Day. Jason’s first round was super solid, including five birdies in a row. He’s right in the mix at -5 after day one.
So many other great stories which could be entire topics of discussion. Ernie Els, at 45, is right up there. And speaking of older players, how about Tom Watson shooting 71? He’s the oldest player to break par at the Masters after yesterday.
Cant’ wait for the rest of the weekend.
Rivalry is defined as “competition for the same objective or for superiority in the same field.” It would seem Golf Channel (and other media) are guilty of trying to manufacture a rivalry which does not exist.
Slow news day I guess… Still this beats hot tour wives and girlfriends. At least it is about golf.
Let’s look at the wins for McIlory vs Fowler and see how much of a rivalry there really is at this point.
Rory McIlory has nine PGA Tour victories and seven international victories. Included in those are four major championships (one U.S. Open, two PGA Championships, one Open Championship). Current world raking: 1st.
Rickie Fowler has one PGA Tour win (2012 Wells Fargo) and one international win. No majors. Current world ranking: 11th.
The numbers speak for themselves. There is no rivalry. Not even a “budding” one. Until Fowler actually wins, this discussion is wasted brain cells.
Rory McIlory has a few options at this point, following throwing his club into the lake as per Rules of Golf 32.0A-3-A-Niner-6969, subsection B-989-E-Bravo-Niner.
- He can play a new club from the same position he threw the last one under penalty of one throw.
- He could drop a club within two club lengths of where the club entered the water hazard and throw a new club under penalty of one throw.
- Finally, he could take the point in which the club entered the hazard and drop a new club as far back as he wants, in line with the pin, under penalty of one throw.
I don’t have a TV right now (surely there’s rant/blog coming about that soon). Therefore I missed the chance to watch Tiger Woods and Rory McIlory on Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show last night. In case you missed it like me, here’s a video clip below.
DVR Alert!
Below is the PGA Championship TV schedule, along with information about bonus coverage and channels for DirecTV subscribers. For 24/7 coverage of Tiger Woods’s parking spot tune into Golf Channel.
2014 PGA Championship at Valhalla Television Schedule
| Thu,Aug 07 |
TNT |
1:00 PM – 7:00 PM ET |
| Fri,Aug 08 |
TNT |
1:00 PM – 7:00 PM ET |
| Sat,Aug 09 |
TNT |
11:00 AM – 2:00 PM ET |
| Sat,Aug 09 |
CBS |
2:00 PM – 7:00 PM ET |
| Sun,Aug 10 |
TNT |
11:00 AM – 2:00 PM ET |
| Sun,Aug 10 |
CBS |
2:00 PM – 7:00 PM ET |
Press Release From DirecTV
DIRECTV’s bonus coverage of major golf events concludes this year with the PGA Championship Experience, featuring professional golf’s last major, unfolding at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky. Aug. 7-10.
Teaming up with TNT and CBS, DIRECTV will offer golf action on its exclusive four-screen Mix Channel, and alongside, access to an interactive menu of apps for an instant view of player stats, bios, scorecards and tee times.
The PGA Championship Experience Mix Channel (701) includes: the main TNT/CBS broadcast (702); Featured Group One (703); Featured Group Two (704) and Featured Hole(705). Any four channels on the Mix can be tuned to full-screen. The live coverage schedule is: 1 p.m. to 7p.m. EDT Thursday and Friday on TNT; On Saturday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. EDT on TNT and 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. on CBS; and on Sunday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. EDT on TNT, and 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. EDT on CBS.
Viewers who want more in-depth information on players and pairings can select the red button on their remote to bring up the following list of interactive features alongside the broadcast video: Player Scorecard offers key bioinfo, player headshots, scores and stats; Player Bio provides player biographies and their scorecards, and fans can add a player to their favorites list; Pairings and Tee Times displays all groups and tee times for the current round.
DIRECTV’s Mix Channel, interactive coverage includes all four of professional golf’s major tournaments along with select PGA tournaments this year. For more information visit: http://www.directv.com/sports/golf
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