Turn Back the Clock

So it is Sunday morning. I am on the couch recovering from a night of adult beverages realizing that I am not so young anymore and the sluggishness will last longer than the walk to the bathroom.

The only orginal programming on is the final round of the British Open from Turnberry. It has been full of stories all week long. Tiger Woods missing the cut for only the second time in a major tournament, the weather and Ross Fisher potentially leaving the course at any time to be with his wife as she gives birth to their child. But, the biggest story line is 59 year old Tom Watson leading the Open after the first and third round. It is a huge story because someone of his age isn't supposed to be able to compete with the "young guns" of golf, who have dominated the game for the past decade.

It got me thinking - is golf pretty much the only professional league/sport that could have someone at age 59 play and succeed.

In basketball, few players make it past 40 years of age. The best player in the world took a three seasons off, tried to make a comeback and disappointed his fans. In football they say a running back is done at 30 years old. Tom Watson would have had two careers! In hockey, you have the wonder known as Chris Chelios who is playing at age 46, but there aren't any other players close to him. Baseball has had a few players in their golden age play, but it is normally for a minor league promotion so they can say they played in five decades or something similar.

Other individual sports like Nascar have had older winners, Mark Martin at age 55 is still succeeding. I am sure their is a pro bowler or dart player that are in their fifties, but it isn't happening every weekend.

Golf is an individual sport - you battle the elements, the course and yourself to make it around in as few shots as possible. It is a physically demanding sport, especially at a course like Turnberry. The walking up and down the hills, swinging through the rough and the weather all take a toll on the players. Speaking as someone who has walked around Augusta National, I could have used a massage after that weekend. So for someone who almost qualifies for social security to be winning the tournament is something amazing, but is it good for golf?

The nostalgia and drama are great, but for golf to succeed on TV, with young fans and with corporate partners they need the Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson or Sergio Garcia's of the world to be involved on Sunday's.

Live From Augusta National

Well, not really live because that would get my badge revoked, it is a day later and I have had time to reflect on my experience at Augusta National...

In previous year's, patrons could enter the grounds from a main gate (gate 3) on Washington Rd., this year, that gate has been closed to assist with traffic flow, now you must enter off to the side. Eventually you end up in the same area, near the first tee, eighteenth green and the LARGE souvenir shop.

I arrived in the middle of the afternoon and patrons were already scattered all over the grounds. To embrace my Canadian roots, I decided to find Mike Weir. He was at the 4th, but I wasn't able to catch him until the 7th. I planted myself behind the 7th green and waited for him to arrive. It was a great view as players hit their second shot at the green. The 7th is protected by bunkers in front and behind and to see players hit shots short, long or within feet of the pin was outstanding.

After Weir arrived at the 7th green and I saw him two putt, I walked over to 8 to see him tee off. A perfect shot right down the middle of the fairway. As I walked down the fairway in stride with Weir, I passed numerous other Canucks who were doing the same excursion. Whether it was a Winnipeg Blue Bombers hat, a Team Canada baseball jersey from the recent World Baseball Classic or eight fans all wearing Canada hats and bright red t-shirts, you knew who was from North of the border. As Weir approached the 8th green his shot went to the left, and I was able to watch him chip on perfectly. Instead of watching him putt out, I got in position to see him tee off on the 9th hole.

Since Weir didn't have as big of a gallery as Mickelson or Woods, I was able to get in position right on the rope, directly behind the tee box. It was pretty cool to watch as these professionals went through their routine, set up and then let it rip down the middle of the fairway.

First to tee up in this group was Imaya, he hit his to the right, probably about 260 yards. Then Weir teed it up and hit a low line drive down the middle of the fairway. Following him was Padraig Harrington. The big Irishman hit a towering drive down the middle which looked to out hit both Imaya and Weir by about 30 yards. As we walked down the fairway with Weir, he munched on a sandwich and we realized he was only about 5 yards behind Harrington. Very different shots, almost exactly the same result. Before the second shot from the fairway, Imaya was taking his sweet time lining up his shot, after they had all hit, Harrington took his divot and threw it at Imaya in jest, but letting him know that he needs to pick up the pace.

After seeing all three golfers hit on to the green, I moved to the concession stands to get some liquid refreshment. Seeing everyone walk around with the souvenir cups, I decided to get one for myself. $1.50 later I had my cup full of lemonade. With beverage in hand, I went to 18th green to watch the players finish their round. Saw the finishing shots of Ian Woosnam, Paul Casey and Ross Fisher among others. A nice tradition among the players as they were finishing was they would give their ball to the kids along the ropes, and Woosnam's caddie even gave out several golf gloves, towels - I think he was just tired of carrying around the 40lbs bag.

Augusta National is a beautiful course. The colours are vibrant, the grass is lush and the grounds are immaculate. Once you step foot in the gates you can understand why it is so revered.

Tee it Up!

Always a sure sign of spring is the opening round of the Masters in Augusta, Georgia. If you are from a northern province, it is more like summer instead of spring, 23 and sunny was the weather today.

The day started with the opening of the ropes at about 7:30am and all the patrons rushed to their favourite spots. Then at approx. 7:54am Arnold Palmer teed it off for the appreciative crowds. Of the early groupings there were some low scores, that were due to favourable pin placements and no wind on the course. As the afternoon progressed the winds picked up, and affected scores a little, but some golfers managed to tame Augusta National all the same.

The clubhouse leader after day 1 is Chad Campbell. Campbell carded a seven under 65. He started his round with 5 straight birdies, then had another 4 straight on the back nine before bogeying 17 and 18. Former Canadian Open champion Jim Furyk is tied for second with Hunter Mahan at -6. Furyk finished strong birding 4 of the last 5 holes.

The other notables including Canadian Mike Weir, Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh and defending champion Trevor Immelman are all still in the hunt anywhere from 5 to 6 shots back.

Other story lines of the day included the incredibly slow play and the large crowds. Instead of the normal 4 hour rounds, players were going from first tee to the clubhouse in just over 5 hours. This led to some fears that play might be called for darkness, which would have been the first time ever, not due to other weather (rain, lighting) related problems. Hopefully speed increases for the remaining rounds, otherwise patrons will need a third application of sunscreen. The fans roaming the course today were shoulder to shoulder which is a good sign since there had been a lot of talk in the media about a, down year on the secondary market for ticket sales due to the slumping US economy. It did not seem to be the case on Thursday. The real test will be Friday (Good Friday) and Sunday (Easter Sunday) to see if the crowd is still 10 deep around the 18th green.

Although the prediction did not make it to paper before Round 1 commenced, my pick to wear the green jacket on Sunday is Tim Clark. He is going to break the curse of the Par 3 Tournament (no one to win the par 3 tourney has ever won the Masters), and that will be the first curse breaking of many this year - think Billy Goat.