Will England's Matt Wallace break 'the spell’?

Today’s the day that golfers, great and humble, from around the world will drive down Magnolia Lane at Augusta National Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia, USA with butterflies in the stomach on their way to teeing-off in the 83rd edition of the Masters (11-14 April). Englishman Matt Wallace will have an extra spring in his step as he heads for the practice ground.  And he’ll probably be smiling from ear to ear too.  The 28-year old Masters rookie made the 100th hole-in-one at the Par-3 Contest on his way to winning the traditional fun event on the eve of the Masters. Winner of three European Tour titles in 2018, Wallace beat fellow Brit and 1988 Masters Champion Sandy Lyle in a sudden-death play-off in the Par-3 Contest.  The player from Hillingdon now hopes to break the ‘Augusta spell’ and become the first par-3 champion to win the main event four days later.

 

Augusta – a course of mind-blowing perfection

 

Traditionally the first Major of the year, the Masters is the only one to be held at the same venue each year since it began in 1934.  The stage is set for another scintillating tournament with the beautiful, undulating course at Augusta manicured to its usual mind-blowing state of perfection.  Even before the first players strike a ball, I can hear the bees buzzing amid the colourful azaleas; the rapturous applause from the patrons rippling around the course and the bird song echoing through the trees.  For me, the golf season really begins this week.  Augusta National is such an inspiring place and is set to ignite the game of players whether it be the likes of Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson, Jason Day, Justin Rose or one of the many older past Masters Champions competing by invitation.  Who knows maybe a 2019 rookie will step into the history books?

 

 

The opening day on Thursday is due to be sunny and warm, maybe even reaching 29 degrees centigrade, with a light breeze giving the players chance to post a good score before the showers and thunderstorms that are forecast for the rest of the week get a grip.  I guess a Major wouldn’t be a Major without a few gales to contend with.  Severe weather conditions have a tendency to sort out the men from the boys.

 

On that subject, who is the youngest ever Masters Champion?  Well, that honour still belongs to Tiger Woods.  The American living-legend-of-a-golfer was just 21 years, 3 months and 14 days old when he won his first Green Jacket in 1997.  And that was just the beginning.  He won again at Augusta in 2001, 2002 and 2005.  Only two other players have had such a brilliant record in the Masters.  They are fellow Americans, Arnold Palmer (4 Jackets) and the ‘Golden Bear’ Jack Nicklaus who has a collection of six in his wardrobe.

 

 

Defending Champion American Patrick Reed (above) is looking to become only the third player to win back-to-back at Augusta.  The last player to achieve that was Tiger Woods (2001 and 2002).  Jack Nicklaus was the first in 1965 and 1966 followed by England’s Nick Faldo in 1989 and 1990.  Indeed, Tiger is on the prowl again this week too.  The 43-year old is looking to be in great shape, both physically and mentally, after major back surgery and incident upon incident in his private life.  His fans will be cheering loudly around Augusta.

 

 

Most eyes appear to be on Rory McIlroy (above) at the moment, however.  Although his last Major victory was back in 2014 when he won the PGA Championship, the Northern Irishman is showing a great vein of form this season and is tipped as a hot contender.  After seven top-10 finishes in eight tournaments so far, which includes victory in the Players Championship, he is currently ranked number three in the world.

 

Mindful of his game

 

“I am happy with where everything is – body, mind and game”, Rory told reporters during a press conference at Augusta National GC this week.  The former World Number One has been doing ‘Mindfulness’ training with long-term PGA Tour Pro Brad Faxon.  And it’s already reaping benefits.

 

 

“It’s just focussing on the small things and not living and dying by results and getting caught up in trying to play perfect golf.”

– Rory McIlroy

 

 

This year will be McIlroy’s 11th appearance in the Masters.  The 29-year old from Holywood in Northern Ireland has recorded top-10 finishes in the last five Masters which is a remarkable achievement after his collapse in 2011.  He had looked on course for his first Green Jacket but let his final round lead and victory slip through his fingers after closing with a disastrous round of 80.  He ended in a tie for 15th place.  Yet Rory bounced back by winning the next Major on the calendar – the US Open, which he won by 8 strokes.  A year later he won the PGA Championship and in 2014 he won both the Open Championship and the PGA Championship.  Perhaps the time is now ripe for Rory’s next Major victory – his first Green Jacket.  But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.  Let’s stay in the moment and focus on one shot at a time … Yes, mindfulness, please!

 

It’s highly likely that it’ll be a close call again.  With a bit of luck you’ll be sitting on the edge of your seat for the next four days – enthralled by it all.

 

Enjoy the Masters!

 

Wendy Hoad

 

 

CHECK OUT the latest news and scores on the Masters Official Site HERE.

 

 

Nice to know …

 

Eye-catchers:  What’s in a name?  American rookie Devon Bling is a 19-year old amateur from California who is playing in the Masters for the first time this week thanks to a spirited performance in the US Amateur Championship where he finished runner-up in 2018.

 

Aces amid the azaleas:  Devon Bling got off to a blistering start at Augusta this week.  He was one of four players to hole-in-one during the Par-3 Contest the day before the Masters began.  The other ace golfers were Shane Lowry (Ireland), Mark O’Meara (USA) and the Par-3 Contest Champion Matt Wallace from England.

 

Time difference:  Augusta National GC in Georgia, US is 6 hours behind Amsterdam/European Time and 5 hours behind GMT (Great Britain). For example, the dream group of Jordan Spieth, Paul Casey and Brooks Koepka tee-off today at 2.00pm EDT local time (Eastern Daylight Time in Northern America) which is 8.00pm CEST (Central European Summer Time).