Brilliant !!

Now that I have nearly recovered from my Masters hangover, I would like to take a minute to reflect on one more thing. Remember all of the talk about the changes made to the course? How it was going to ruin the tournament. How it would turn the Masters into an early spring flowered version of the US Open. How there would be no excitement and the tournament would be a dud. Hmm, let me think. What did we get?

All we got was an incredible tournament with the five best players in the world in position going into the final day. Turns out those ol' boys down in Georgia were smarter than we gave them credit for. THEY GOT EXACTLY WHAT THEY WANTED!

Thinks about it for a minute - what if the event was like any other Sunday on Tour? Let's say for example we ended up with Scott Verplank vs. Zach Johnson. Both are GREAT PLAYERS. One a Ryder Cup vet and the other in position to play in the next one. It would have probably been neat to watch, but let's face it. In NO WAY would it compare to Tiger and Phil and Vijay battling down the stretch. Let's be honest here - these are the guys we want to see do battle.

And not only did we get the "Big Five" in the mix, we got Freddie thrown in free of charge. How much better can it get? So whether or not we think they did the right thing, they sure got the right results. The best players in the world should be able to hit it a long way, and by lengthening the course they filled the leaderboard with the best in the world!

And one more thing - if I were to ask any of us what three things we would like in your game, most of us would say more distance, more accuracy, and better putting. Phil Mickelson drove the ball long, hit a lot of fairways, and made every putt he needed to make. Phil was the best player last week, and he won the event. He's one of the best players in the world because of these abilities, and it sure showed at Augusta.

Yup, it looks like Hootie and the boys really knew what they were doing in spite of everything that was being said. Once again they have turned their lemons into lemonade, just like it seems they have done from the beginning. If they keep making changes and we keep getting great tournaments, then I am all for it. The tradition of the Masters lies in its great champions and memorable finishes, and once again proved that it all comes down to the back-nine on Sunday. Just think, only 51 more weeks until the best week of the year. I can hardly wait!