Golf World Executive Editor Ron Sirak was in Augusta, Georgia this week for the 76th Masters Tournament. Bubba Watson certainly does not overly complicate the game as he just goes out and plays. If Tiger Woods had pulled off the shots that Bubba pulled off on Sunday, people would be raving about those moments and would do so for weeks.
He was at the 1998 Masters where Matt Kuchar was a very popular Low Amateur (he was also low amateur in the 1998 U.S. Open at Olympic Club). A lot of people were rooting for him and Kuchar said that he had a lot of fun being in a position to win on the second nine on Sunday.
You can define success by one’s abilty to stay calm and perform under pressure and Peter Hanson did a wonderful job of both. He was the 54-hole leader and although he did not win, he shot a respectable 73 to finish in a tie for 3rd.
The 16th green is another example of the evolution of Augusta National and how the club gets its right when they make those decisions. After the 2011 Masters, the decision was made to revamp the green by making the slopes less severe and this year was the test to see if the green still presented a challenge yet also be able to provide exciting roars and the green did both. The 16th was once again and still is a must-see hole during The Masters.