If Watson wins, will The Masters change?

[Joel_Stewart]

Does it say something that a 59 year old with brains can still beat the young guns by playing smart.

Sure ANGC is a different tournament and has a vastly different style of play but I'm wondering if the tournament will reconsider its setup to keep players like Watson into the game.  Fuzzy announced this year he will not play at Augusta again simply because "it's no fun".  Watson himself is relegated to a ceremonial player at Augusta.  This year he shot 74-83 to miss the cut by a mile.

[Brian_Ewen]

Maybe I am missing something but Augusta is an invitational , not an Open ?

[Richard Hetzel]

Will they go from "soft" to HARD? I doubt it.

[Matt_Ward]

Joel:

I don't see the folks under the new regime making major wholesale changes back to the ole Augusta. I do see movement under the new leadership but the issue transcends the stunning Watson story unfolding across the pond.

ANGC would be better served to move away from whatever it is they seeking to create -- clearly the ole Augusta was a layout that provided mega entertainment for a much wider range of top shelf competitors -- including Watson.

[JC Jones]

What I want to know is:  if Watson wins, is he the PGA Tour Player of the Year?

I say yes.  I'd vote for him.

good thing you dont get a vote then.  What has he done more than Cabrera or Glover, other than being born earlier?

[PThomas]

here's a stat:  if he wins it will be 35 yrs  between his first and last majors!!  Jack i believe has the longest span of 25 years

[Wayne_Kozun]

here's a stat:  if he wins it will be 40 yrs   between his first and last majors!!  Jack i believe has the longest span of 25 years

Wasn't his first major the 75 Open Championship?  Isn't that 34 years?  If it were 40 years it would mean that he won his first at 19 since he is now 59.  Unless you are predicting that he will win the 2015 Open Championship at St Andrews.

[PThomas]

here's a stat:  if he wins it will be 40 yrs  between his first and last majors!!  Jack i believe has the longest span of 25 years

Wasn't his first major the 75 Open Championship?  Isn't that 34 years?  If it were 40 years it would mean that he won his first at 19 since he is now 59.  Unless you are predicting that he will win the 2015 Open Championship at St Andrews.

oops , my math error Wayne..it's actually 35 years since you count 1975 and 2009...thanks!..i'll amend my earlier post

[Wayne_Kozun]

oops , my math error Wayne..it's actually 35 years since you count 1975 and 2009...thanks!..i'll amend my earlier post

Are you sure that it is first minus last plus 1?  Then if he won his last in 1976 that would be two years between the first and last?  I still say it is 34.

[PThomas]

oops , my math error Wayne..it's actually 35 years since you count 1975 and 2009...thanks!..i'll amend my earlier post

Are you sure that it is first minus last plus 1?  Then if he won his last in 1976 that would be two years between the first and last?  I still say it is 34.

if you count both years the total is 35 Wayne, which i guess is the total span of his major wins, not the amount of time between the first and last, i think..if that makes sense

anyhow, 34 or 35 is a record, i believe!

[John_Conley]

How about the length from his last and next-to-last?  That's almost 30 as well.  25 at least.

[Randy Thompson]

Congratulations on a great topic...not sure what they will do but they will do something you can bet on it, that spot light needs to shine in Georgia and the have the money to make it shine in that direction and they will not take a second seat without going down without a fight and spending millions more! Instead of millions trying to Tiger Proff maybe they will spend millions trying to make Jack win again,, that should be fun!

[Matt_Cohn]

oops , my math error Wayne..it's actually 35 years since you count 1975 and 2009...thanks!..i'll amend my earlier post

Are you sure that it is first minus last plus 1?  Then if he won his last in 1976 that would be two years between the first and last?  I still say it is 34.

if you count both years the total is 35 Wayne, which i guess is the total span of his major wins, not the amount of time between the first and last, i think..if that makes sense

anyhow, 34 or 35 is a record, i believe!

Don't count the 1. From 1979 to 1980 is one year. You just subtract.

You count the 1 when you're figuring out how many numbers are included in a numbered group from the first to the last. In other words, the back nine starts on #10 and goes through #18; 18-10=8 but now you add one to get nine. If you sell raffle tickets #74 through #96, you've sold 22+1=23 tickets.

[Scott Henderson]

I think that the ANGC will be changed whether TW wins or not.  The result just may not be what we (or they) would like.

[Jim Nugent]

Does it say something that a 59 year old with brains can still beat the young guns by playing smart.

I haven't seen Tom play this year at all, but this question interests me.  Is he on top by playing smart?  I'm get the sense from news reports and reading posts here that he's sinking a ton of putts and playing overall fantastic.

One thing this performance says to me, again, is that golf does not require much athleticism.  Bigger/stronger/faster means little.  Once again a guy in his 50's (almost 60) is contending for one of the top events of the golfing world.  In what other sport is that true? 

Joel's main question in this thread is really really good.  Wish I had more ideas or insights to contribute to it. 

[Mike Benham]

Does it say something that a 59 year old with brains can still beat the young guns by playing smart.

Doesn't it take brains to win at Augusta? 

[Joel_Stewart]

Yes it takes brains to win at Augusta but the nature of the set up for length and strength overshadows brains.   

There are a lot of guys who could compete at Augusta if they moved the tees up.   Larry Mize almost competed this year and Nicklaus showed it at age 46.   Watson, Crenshaw, Couples and a few years ago Floyd could compete on the mental aspect but now they can't because of the set up.

[Mike Benham]

Rank the key ingredients to win at Augusta:

1. Brawn
2. Brains
3. Execution

[Garland Bayley]

Rank the key ingredients to win at Augusta:

1. Brawn
2. Brains
3. Execution

Sorry, but borrowing one from RE, it's
Execution
Execution
Execution

[Jim Nugent]

Rank the key ingredients to win at Augusta:

1. Brawn
2. Brains
3. Execution

Brawn?  Zach Johnson? 

I agree with Garland. 

[Joel_Stewart]

I posted this last year during the British Open.   

Augusta has changed but not that much.  It's only the first day but it's an amazing story.

[Jud_T]

They all seem to be going pretty low...Time to add a few hundred yards and grow more rough....

[Chuck Brown]

Tom-proofing.  They desperately need to Tom-proof the golf course.

I hope he beats Cink, in a playoff.

 

[John Moore II]

They all seem to be going pretty low...Time to add a few hundred yards and grow more rough....

Aren't they almost maxed out on space to move the tee boxes? They could grow the rough, but I am not sure they would. Its the first day and its been really calm. I mean, only like 30ish people are under par, that's not bad. I think the course is playing fine. Now, if we see 20 under come Sunday afternoon...well, that might mean something different.

[Scott Macpherson]

The guy who wins the Masters gets to choose what the menu is at the Champions Dinners  the follow year right. Wouldn't it be interesting if they got to change the design, or at least choose the set-up of the course too.....

Tom might change the course to a links. Maybe put some pot bunkers around ANGC?

scott