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Wow, is that a fast green- right off and into the hazard! The ball picked up so much steam as it approached the hole it left a burn mark on the green.

Rough start for some:

T73 Jesper Parnevik 2 +3
T79 Ted Purdy 10 +4
T79 Ian Woosnam 10 +4
T79 Paul Casey 9 +4
T79 Steve Flesch 8 +4
T79 Nick Faldo 7 +4
T79 Tommy Aaron* 11 +4
T79 Bo Van Pelt* 10 +4
T86 Fuzzy Zoeller 8 +5
T86 Stuart Wilson* 10 +5
T88 Tom Watson* 10 +6
T88 Ben Curtis* 10 +6
90 Rory Sabbatini 8 +7
91 Charles Coody* 11 +10
92 Gary Player 9 +12
93 Billy Casper* 11 +23

* Started on back nine.

I hate to say it but I agree with Hootie removing some from the competition. There is no reason for Coody and Casper to continue to play in the Master's. The add nothing to the Tournament Proper and no one can concentrate when paired with players shooting that kind of score. If more players would recognize when their competitive days are over, Hootie wouldn't have to send out letters like he did...just plain selfish on the part of the players. They could still participate in the pagentry they so look forward to by playing in the Par 3 and hanging out for the week but their playing days are over.

Amen, Brother

I've always thought that a "Champion's Round" played on Wednesday would be the answer to this problem. The past their prime players still get to play in front of fans without affecting the tournament and Hootie wouldn't have to send any letters.
I see it as a Win-Win situation.

I thought that was what the Par 3 contest actually was...lol.

That is a good idea. Maybe put it on Tuesday because the Par 3 is a very popular event and the non-competing players could play from the member tees in their own "tournament."

I think that's a fantastic idea! I've never thought about that, but it sounds awesome!

I thought that this needed it's own thread:

Interesting that Tiger putted into Rae's Creek from the 13th green, but, more interesting was the rules-option choice that he made to play stroke-and-distance (replace and re-putt, one stroke penalty) from the same spot. I've only seen one other player use a stroke-and-distance penalty after putting from the green. It looked to me that he had a better chance at par trying to play the ball out of Rae's Creek (with no stroke penalty) because it sat in firm sand with more of the ball above water.

Not sure what this says about his game... any comments?

(Also, Tiger once putted into the water at the 17th at Valderrama in the Ryder Cup; described on the BBC by an obviously partisan British commentator as "one of the happiest moments of my life.")

Too bad Fuzzy would only be +1 if he counted the clubs in his bag before the third hole

Just heard on TGC that they are reviewing that putt to see if Tiger will be DQ'd for placing the ball instead of dropping it. He's still playing, so if he signs his card without taking a 2 stroke penalty he's disqualified.

The golf channel is, as usual, trying to make a little suspense out of it. A 2 second lookup on the Rules of Golf would have answered that question...

20-5. Making Next Stroke from Where Previous Stroke Made
When a player elects or is required to make his next stroke from where a previous stroke was made, he must proceed as follows:
(a) On the Teeing Ground: The ball to be played must be played from within the teeing ground. It may be played from anywhere within the teeing ground and it may be teed.
(b) Through the Green and in a Hazard: The ball to be played must be dropped.
(c) On the Putting Green: The ball to be played must be placed

So there is no 2 stroke penalty since he didn't play from the wrong place.

I merged these two threads, given that they're on the same topic.

I've only gotten to see about 30 minutes of the rebroadcast and I think it's time to turn it off. How about we get some clown heads or windmills and put them on those greens? First Tiger putts into the creek on 13 and then I see Toms' ball just roll off the front of the green on 14 when it was sitting there. This is not golf, it's a complete and utter joke. This tournament may turn out to be exciting and great golf, but it will certainly not be due to the joke of a course they're playing. What's next, replacing the putting surfaces with astroturf so they can get them rolling faster? Who ever said Augusta didn't resort to tricking the course up?

The rain should help; why they deliberately withheld watering the greens earlier in the week. Frankly, I remember the greens being similarly treated throughout the 60s and 70s. According to Mickelson (commenting in an interview), the Masters wants birdies on Sundays and will make sure that the greens accommodate.

Part of The Masters charm and lore is having past champions participate in the events leading up to the tournament, as well as, the tournament itself. Now that some of these guys are abusing the honor something should be done. I go back to the Wednesday Champions Round as a crowd pleasing option. Champions Round in the morning....Par 3 contest in the afternoon. The former champions have earned the right to play in a Masters event and this fits the bill without detracting from the big show.

As for the greens today.....I say cool! This ain't a run of the mill tour stop and these ain't run of the mill greens. Any 10 year old who watches golf knows that Augusta's greens are going to be the toughest, if not the fastest, greens the players will see all year. Couple that with the fact these pros have been playing slow, rainsoaked, greens the last few weeks and you're going to see some train wrecks like we saw today. These guys are pros and they'll have the greens dialed in by the weekend. Those that don't won't be around to worry about it anyway.