Masters can’t get here soon enough
It will be quite the weekend to see which player emerges on top
Consider this another tradition unlike any other.
Two or three or more of the best players win tournaments in the months leading to April, golf fans hear the familiar, soothing notes of “Augusta” in TV spots and declare that this is shaping up to be the best Masters of them all.
No doubt, there has been enough happen in 12 weeks to start counting the days.
Dustin Johnson started the year with an eight-shot victory that featured a 432 1/2-yard drive on a 433-yard hole. He remains at No. 1 in the world. Two players have had a mathematical chance to replace him, most recently Justin Thomas, who was one match away.
Phil Mickelson, a three-time Masters champion, won a World Golf Championship for his first victory in nearly five years. Bubba Watson, a two-time Masters champion, had not won in two years and now has won twice in his last four starts.
The career Grand Slam became a popular topic again when Rory McIlroy won the Arnold Palmer Invitational, his first victory in 18 months. This will be his fourth attempt to become the sixth player to capture all four majors. The other three were not particularly close.
One other element to this Masters: Tiger Woods. He is generating the bulk of the buzz, and Woods hasn’t even won yet.
So yes, the Masters can’t get here soon enough.
Excitement over the Masters typically gives the spring air a sweeter aroma. Part of that is having to wait so long since the
last majors. Part of that — a big part — is that the Masters rarely disappoints.
But is that much different from a year ago?
Look at the landscape in 2017. Jordan Spieth won big at Pebble Beach and had never finished worse than runner-up in three
Masters. Thomas shot 59, set a PGA Tour scoring record for 72 holes and swept Hawaii to begin his emergence as the next young star. Hideki Matsuyama was on a roll. Jon Rahm was just getting started. Rickie Fowler won again. And then Johnson found another gear and won three straight tournaments.
And then Sergio Garcia won his first major in his 20th year as a pro.
If it seems crowded at the top, consider what brought us to this point.
• Johnson wins Kapalua by eight shots for his eighth victory in his last 34 events, all against some of the strong fields.
• Rahm ended 2017 by winning the European finale in Dubai, was runner-up at Kapalua and won the CareerBuilder Challenge.
• Johnson finished second at Pebble Beach to Ted Potter Jr., who has missed every cut since then.
• Watson won at Riviera for the third time, his first PGA Tour victory in two years.
• Thomas doesn’t have his best stuff and still wins the Honda Classic with a clutch wedge and a 5-wood. Woods, seven shots behind going into the final round, finishes 12th at Honda Classic.