Masters Monday Morning Quarterbacking thread

[Templet0n]

I have been thinking about that masters and wondering what the take away is. Because that is what we do as fans (short for fanatic). We take a small sample size and try and apply it to the biggest picture lol..

Anyway my questions and take aways are these.

1. Bryson needs to change his approach for Augusta. It has become obvious after 2 masters in a very short time span that he will not be able to overpower this course. Augusta is a second shot course that requires hitting into the right spot on the greens. His bomb and gouge here does not seem to work. He hit a lot of flyers from that medium to light rough that put him in bad spots around the greens. Saying he will never win there is silly but I think he needs a different approach. All those saying he cant win because of green books are crazy..

2. Rory may be mentally broken at the moment and needs some serious sports Therapy. He seemed totally out of it this week. It has been building all year but man was it tough to watch this week. He seriously needs to find a happy place mentally and learn how to putt.. I think he needs some time away.

3. I love love love the my group feature. I watched the whole week and never once heard any commentary..

4. Zalatoris is going to be a tour stud at some point very soon. Hopefully his putter does not let him down. Like so many amazing ball strikers, it seems that putting is the biggest hole in all their games.

5. Brooks is in a rough spot physically.. I don't think he is letting on just how bad.

6. I wonder if Hideki's win catapults him to bigger things? Again, streaky bad putter that wrecks a lot of his rounds. Maybe he gains some confidence here to overcome..

7. The Masters set up is how every event should be played. Firm, Fast, and fair. You do not need knee high rough, and tight fairways. You can challenge these guys in other ways.

 

[Canadan]

Felt like Brooks came back too early.

I don't think Bryson needs to change much because of Augusta, I just don't think he had his 'stuff' for eight total rounds there. As much as I love his approach, if he's wayward (which he was both trips) it's going to hurt him - and I think as long as he's chasing speed he's going to be that hot/cold guy.

 

[jvbart]

I have been thinking about that masters and wondering what the take away is. Because that is what we do as fans (short for fanatic). We take a small sample size and try and apply it to the biggest picture lol..

Anyway my questions and take aways are these.

1. Bryson needs to change his approach for Augusta. It has become obvious after 2 masters in a very short time span that he will not be able to overpower this course. Augusta is a second shot course that requires hitting into the right spot on the greens. His bomb and gouge here does not seem to work. He hit a lot of flyers from that medium to light rough that put him in bad spots around the greens. Saying he will never win there is silly but I think he needs a different approach. All those saying he cant win because of green books are crazy..

2. Rory may be mentally broken at the moment and needs some serious sports Therapy. He seemed totally out of it this week. It has been building all year but man was it tough to watch this week. He seriously needs to find a happy place mentally and learn how to putt.. I think he needs some time away.

3. I love love love the my group feature. I watched the whole week and never once heard any commentary..

4. Zalatoris is going to be a tour stud at some point very soon. Hopefully his putter does not let him down. Like so many amazing ball strikers, it seems that putting is the biggest hole in all their games.

5. Brooks is in a rough spot physically.. I don't think he is letting on just how bad.

6. I wonder if Hideki's win catapults him to bigger things? Again, streaky bad putter that wrecks a lot of his rounds. Maybe he gains some confidence here to overcome..

7. The Masters set up is how every event should be played. Firm, Fast, and fair. You do not need knee high rough, and tight fairways. You can challenge these guys in other ways.

I wonder if Rory sees a sports psychologist. It does seem mental with him right now and sports psychologists have been pivotal helping some of the best athletes and teams in the world find success. I’m curious if many golfers work with one as it’s such a mental sport.

 

[Templet0n]

I will add to this. Rahm will win a masters soon. He has played really well their every year and had the best round of the day Sunday.

 

[jvbart]

The thing that hit me right before falling asleep last night was Xander’s 2nd tee shot on 16. The first one hurt but you would think after seeing the wind once and being that much closer he would have been able to make a great approach and set himself up for a 4 and stay in the tournament. Going over the green on that second one was probably worse than the first one in the water.

That got me thinking about how well Hideki did to make a smart shot and minimize the damage after his water ball. That pressure must have been insane and getting aggressive could have put him right back in the water.

 

[JB]

1. Bryson needs to change his approach for Augusta. It has become obvious after 2 masters in a very short time span that he will not be able to overpower this course. Augusta is a second shot course that requires hitting into the right spot on the greens. His bomb and gouge here does not seem to work. He hit a lot of flyers from that medium to light rough that put him in bad spots around the greens. Saying he will never win there is silly but I think he needs a different approach. All those saying he cant win because of green books are crazy..

This is what they used to say about Phil. Then he won quite a few of them.

 

[MWard]

Bryson needs to maybe look at the people who are doing better than him. It's about where you hit it, not how far you hit it. Langer is total proof of that. Know where to miss it, and know where to hit it. Acknowledge the putter is going to bail you out way more than it will any other week.

Rory just looks so lost. He's absolutely trying way too hard out there because he knows this is the one that's gonna be the hardest for him to win.

It's amazing that for 6 days a year, it's complete awe over this place and the coverage we get. I'm not watching driving range segments during the US Open. I don't remember completely unnecessary statistics for the PGA or Open Championship. It's only this course and this event. Even the Players Championship, on the same course ever year etc.. I don't care anywhere near this level. Great event, but it's still

 

[Canadan]

The thing that hit me right before falling asleep last night was Xander’s 2nd tee shot on 16. The first one hurt but you would think after seeing the wind once and being that much closer he would have been able to make a great approach and set himself up for a 4 and stay in the tournament. Going over the green on that second one was probably worse than the first one in the water.

That got me thinking about how well Hideki did to make a smart shot and minimize the damage after his water ball. That pressure must have been insane and getting aggressive could have put him right back in the water.

I gave him some grief in the moment but was impressed that he owned it by saying it was the shot he wanted to hit off the tee.. Bad judgement on distance, and he wasn't going short on the drop (which I agree was a terrible choice).

All that said, I think the 16th is a TOUGH hole to get greedy on at Augusta on Sunday. With the 17th and 18th both perfectly viable for a birdie, accepting middle of the green with a whoopsy left being an option seems like a healthy move against a guy who just gave up shots on his lead - but I say all that comfortably at home in the armchair haha

 

[Templet0n]

This is what they used to say about Phil. Then he won quite a few of them.

There are other aspects to Phils game that I think Bryson is lacking at the moment. Phil has/had a marvelous wedge game. I am not blaming equipment but to date. Bryson does not have anything remotely close to Phil in that area.

 

[JB]

There are other aspects to Phils game that I think Bryson is lacking at the moment. Phil has/had a marvelous wedge game. I am not blaming equipment but to date. Bryson does not have anything remotely close to Phil in that area.

Correct. What I was referring to was that when Phil was the best to never win a major for years, they said he couldn't win at Augusta National with the distance mentality and then scrambling. Now every guy on tour is doing it. Just as with Bryson, they said it was a mistake, now every guy on tour is doing it haha. The data suggests at the highest level, bomb and gouge makes sense.

 

[Templet0n]

Correct. What I was referring to was that when Phil was the best to never win a major for years, they said he couldn't win at Augusta National with the distance mentality and then scrambling. Now every guy on tour is doing it. Just as with Bryson, they said it was a mistake, now every guy on tour is doing it haha. The data suggests at the highest level, bomb and gouge makes sense.

agreed.

 

[JDax]

I just hope gagging away chances in ‘19 & now ‘21 doesn’t permanently scar Xander Schauffele forever there...

 

[chefkritter]

I have a Monday morning Masters hangover..............everything about that tournamentis fantastic from the golf, how to watch, the excitement, always delivers and always want more.

 

[Templet0n]

I just hope gagging away chances in ‘19 & now ‘21 doesn’t permanently scar Xander Schauffele forever there...

Yeah, I think he will get it.

 

[USAF Retired]

I feel the Masters is the best app I've ever used!

 

[Canadan]

Here's my Monday takeaway...

"Tell my Dad about the app/website access on Wednesday of next year instead of Friday afternoon."

Was unimpressed at 'how there wasn't much coverage' - told him about the app, by Sunday morning he still hadn't used it hahaha - poor guy.

 

[JDax]

On Bryson, you can bomb and gouge your way around Augusta and win...
But if you miss in certain spots you just have to take your medicine and take double out of play. Bryson has a hard time doing that, and he never seemed like he had his distance control dialed in, which is a recipe for disaster there.

 

[Nate]

I thought the Sunday back 9 of the Masters was incredibly boring. I've already been flamed out by @MWard about that stance but I never got the feeling the HM was going to lose this tournament, ever. He made some mistakes and recovered nicely from them. Now, If X had hit the 16th green and had a legit birdie attempt that might have changed. But he didn't and I'm still at where I'm at. I was bored watching the last 2 hours.

I'm a fan of HM, always have been always will be. Selfishly, I wish he spoke more English. Would love to get to know the person better but with the language barrier, I don't know if that will ever be possible. He won this tournament Saturday afternoon after the rain delay. It was over after he punished the course and those soft greens.

Jordan has to be kicking himself once again looking back. A triple. A double. Silly bogey on the 72nd hole. Putter let him down and I didn't think I would be saying that come Sunday. I though all and all he drove it pretty well, or it seemed like he did. 4 birdies on the 10th hole was pretty

It's awesome watching this course slap top professionals around - JT, Bryson, Rory, etc. In the end, the course always wins here.

I expected more of a push from Leishman honestly. Will he always be remembered as "Oh, yea, I forgot he was in the hunt" guy on down the road?

I miss the Masters already. I missed having ALL the patrons out there. No roars. No moans. Looking forward to having them all back in 2022.

 

[Chef23]

I have been thinking about that masters and wondering what the take away is. Because that is what we do as fans (short for fanatic). We take a small sample size and try and apply it to the biggest picture lol..

Anyway my questions and take aways are these.

1. Bryson needs to change his approach for Augusta. It has become obvious after 2 masters in a very short time span that he will not be able to overpower this course. Augusta is a second shot course that requires hitting into the right spot on the greens. His bomb and gouge here does not seem to work. He hit a lot of flyers from that medium to light rough that put him in bad spots around the greens. Saying he will never win there is silly but I think he needs a different approach. All those saying he cant win because of green books are crazy..

I think Bryson just needs to throttle it back the week and maybe the week before a major. I think focusing on increasing speed the week of a major runs the risk of him being out of control when the tournament starts. Bryson seemed to get better as the week went on and the big misses particularly with the irons lessened. If you add 5 mph to your swing speed on Monday and Tuesday do you have less control on Thursday I would argue maybe.

I still think he is going to win majors including potentially Augusta. His short game and putting are overlooked because of his length.

 

[DataDude]

7. The Masters set up is how every event should be played. Firm, Fast, and fair. You do not need knee high rough, and tight fairways. You can challenge these guys in other ways.

Yes, yes, and yes. Firm and fast is the way to make a tournament fair and fun to watch.

Felt like Brooks came back too early.

I watched him go down to hit a ball out of Rae's Creek on Friday and his Caddie had to hold his shoulder while he went down. He crawled up the hill on the way out. He limped the rest of the way that I saw. Stupid to play in that condition IMO. Brooks is not a great long term thinker.

I wonder if Rory sees a sports psychologist. It does seem mental with him right now and sports psychologists have been pivotal helping some of the best athletes and teams in the world find success. I’m curious if many golfers work with one as it’s such a mental sport.

Rory just got married and had a baby. I think he is just adjusting priorities. He'll be back.

 

[Canadan]

I watched him go down to hit a ball out of Rae's Creek on Friday and his Caddie had to hold his shoulder while he went down. He crawled up the hill on the way out. He limped the rest of the way that I saw. Stupid to play in that condition IMO. Brooks is not a great long term thinker.

In his defense.... how broken would you willing to be to play at Augusta let alone the Masters?

 

[JB]

Rory just got married and had a baby. I think he is just adjusting priorities. He'll be back.

Didn't Rory have the baby in August of last year? Or is that what you mean? I know Jon Rahm had one like a week ago.

 

[DataDude]

Xander looked a lot like Rickie Fowler out there.

DJ got a gift in a November Masters. The slow course allowed that high fade to hunt out on a course that so heavily favors a right to left ball flight.

Rahm is still the dude that looks like the next great Masters champ to me.

 

[DataDude]

Didn't Rory have the baby in August of last year? Or is that what you mean? I know Jon Rahm had one like a week ago.

Yes, that's what I mean. Babies are hard on a guy, especially if it has colic or something. That's nerveracking and makes it extremely difficult to focus and sleep.

 

[DataDude]

In his defense.... how broken would you willing to be to play at Augusta let alone the Masters?

Yeah, but he's going to Johnny Miller his career if he's not careful.