All kudos to Phil Mickelson, but holy cow! The field of the top 47 players in the world showed some Masters Disasters on the greens.
Phil Mickleson: Putting just okay (116 putts) Win.
"All the talk about the longer, tougher Augusta National and what does it come down to?
Putting, of course. When doesn't it?
Phil Mickelson hit the ball very well, managed his game extraordinarily well Ñ which is how you know he's a new man since his Bad Old Days when he was 0for42 in majors Ñ and putted better than anybody down the stretch. Nobody could make a thing.
Phil didn't even make a lot of putts. But he made what he had to and didn't three-putt and everybody else did. Toronto Star.
Fred Couples: Gagging on the back nine (124 putts, pretty bad) T3.
"If Couples didn't get a case of the putting yips, he would be celebrating his win at Augusta National rather than Phil Mickelson.
Couples would have become the Masters' oldest winner. Like Jack Nicklaus in 1986, Couples is 46, but he's more than three months older now than Nicklaus was then.
"I don't really feel 46," Couples said. "I didn't hit the ball like I was 46. I putted like I was 66."
Couples had a beautiful ball-striking round. Better than Mickelson. Better than Tiger Woods. Better than anyone. With his silky swing and unruffled demeanor -- as long as he wasn't standing over a 5-footer -- Couples gave himself one chance after another.
One by one, he blew them. Mickelson, on the other hand, wasn't incredible around the greens, but was solid everywhere.
"I think if Phil was putting for me, he'd have won at 9- or 10-under," Couples said.
Instead, Mickelson won with a score of 281, 7 under par. Couples, playing alongside his close friend Mickelson in the final twosome, was at 4-under 284 and finished in a tie for third.
Couples' final round unhinged on No. 14, after he hit a gorgeous 150-yard iron shot within 4 feet of the pin.
If he made that birdie putt -- the sort Mickelson or Tiger makes about 90 percent of the time -- he would trail Mickelson by only one.
"I was nervous," Couples admitted. "I was jumpy."
To compensate, he rammed it.
Because the putt was struck too hard, the break he envisioned never occurred. The ball barely touched the cup's rim, then ran 5 feet past.
Then Couples missed that one, too.
It was a three-putt from 4 feet. "That was pretty much ball game for me," Couples said.Charlotte Observer.
Tiger Woods: Not good at all (117 putts, 33 on Sunday) T3.
""I putted like a spaz," Woods said by way of excuse and it was an understatement, whether politically incorrect or not." Toronto Star.
"Tiger Woods' body language and facial expressions told the story of his Sunday stroll around Augusta National. Woods historically thrives on the wickedly slick greens, coaxing home putt after putt when it matters most, especially in the final round of the Masters.
Not this time. Not at all.
He missed a short birdie putt on No. 12 and wore a look of utter disgust as he tapped in, one-handed, for par. On No. 18, with no chance of winning, Woods rolled in a delicate downhill birdie attempt from 18 feet -- and shook his head in a you've-got-to-be-kidding, where-the-hell-was-that-earlier kind of way.
"I feel like breaking the putter in eight pieces," he said later. "I hit the ball great today, felt so much control on my ball, tee to green. But I absolutely putted so bad, and I couldn't fix it. I didn't know what was going on. It was so frustrating." San Francisco Chronicle.
""I putted atrociously,'' Woods said after shooting a final-round 70. "That's the best I've hit it in years. In the final round of a major, that's the way you want to hit it. As good as I hit it, that's how bad I putted. It was frustrating.
"I'm probably going to go break this putter in eight pieces. Pulling. Pushing. Short. Long. I had it all today.'' Chicago Sun Times.
Jose Maria Olazabal: Two 3-putts end his run (112 putts) T3:
"I thought I needed to go to 6 [under] to put the pressure on those guys, but I couldn't do it," he said. "It was a special moment after hitting that wonderful shot on 15, but I knew I needed one more birdie and those three putts at 16 killed me. I three-putted 6 and three-putted 16, and the rest I played really solid." Washington Post.
Sergio Garcia: Not a Contender (125 putts) 46th:
"While the five players ranked ahead of him - Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh, Retief Goosen, Mickelson and Ernie Els - began the fourth round in the lead (Mickelson) or within four shots of it, Garcia started the final round in last place among those who had made the cut. ... Although he tied for fourth here two years ago, most observers believe that Garcia will not challenge for a green jacket until he solves his shaky putting stroke. He entered the tournament ranked 149th out of 191 ranked players on the PGA Tour in putting." San Jose Mercury news.
Vijay Singh: Spotty short putting (118 putts, the field average) T8:
"Not only has the normally well-grooved Singh swing - no one hits more practice shots - been causing him problems, his putting has been another pain in the you-know-where. During his second round here he missed, by his own calculation, five putts from inside six feet.
"I was surprised when Vijay stayed with the short putter," adds Townsend. "He had some nice success with the long one, but switched back and hasn't really been the same since. He certainly hasn't been making the putts you need to make if you are going to win." Scotsman.com.
Singh's thrid round:
"Singh missed putts within eight feet on Nos. 1 and 2 that could have improved his standing going into a marathon day of golf.
"There was a lot of putts out there that I wish I had back," Singh said. "I've got a long day tomorrow. I just have to dig deep down and just play hard. That's my thoughts for tomorrow." Augusta Chronicle.
Ernie Els: Fading fast (122 putts) T27:
"Ernie faded away over the weekend, a 74-76 finish not the ideal conclusion to a tournament Els arrives at each year with unbridled enthusiasm." Sports iAfrica.com.
Tim Clark: Bad finish (114 putts) 2nd:
"Tim Clark roared into the lead in the delayed third round, before dropping four agonising shots over the final six holes to fall back to a position from which he simply couldn't haul in Mickelson, despite holing a perfect bunker shot on 18 for birdie and a 69." Sports iAfrica.com.
Chad Campbell: Cracks in the Armor (117 putts, pretty good for him) T3:
"Ernie Els calls Campbell, "almost a golfing machine, so to speak". The worst part of Chad's game, unfortunately, is the most important part of anyone's game - putting. When he's dropping the six-footers, as this week at the Masters, then Campbell contends." Telegraph.
Padraig Harrington: Despite working with Bob Rotella, he fell from contention and ended 4 over (120 putts):
ÒA couple of shots here and there and I could have been pretty close,Ó he reasoned. ÒThose two par fives on the back cost me six shots, play them in four and youÕre not too far away. I became very frustrated this afternoon when I missed eight foot putts for par and birdie. That was okay in the morning because I had time to make it up but I badly needed a fast start if I was to make up the ground. I knew it could be done, look at the way Olazabal has climbed his way through the field. I needed to hole my putts and achieve my aim of a 64. ItÕs something I need to address and because IÕm not holing the putts, IÕm not chipping close enough either.Ó Irish Examiner.
Rettief Goosen: Good enough for T3 (111 putts).
GOOD PUTTING:
David Howell (106 putts) T19
Shingo Katayama (109 putts) T27
Scott Verplank (111 putts) T16
Ben Crenshaw (112 putts) 47th -- great first two rounds!
Carl Petterson (112 putts) T27
BAD PUTTING
Rich Beem (131 putts) T42
Sergio Garcia (125 putts) 46th
Robert Allenby (125 putts) T22
Fred Couples (124 putts) T3
Olin Browne (124 putts) 45th
Stewart Cink (123 PUTTS) 10th
Arron Oberholser (123 putts) T14
Zach Johnson (123 putts) T32
Cheers!
Geoff Mangum
Putting Coach and Theorist
PuttingZone
http://puttingzone.com
Golf's most advanced putting instruction -- you're either in the PuttingZone, or not.
|