The Masters

[Giggles]

Is this shit always like this? It's like the fucking Ally Pally.

1817485489328525743

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Can't be stunned when you join a Mickey Mouse tour.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Having watched Rahm up close last week I've decided he's a fucking prick who can't control his temper.

[niko_cee]

Who actually goes to LIV events? If Senor Rahm and the like aren't fans of the fans there is, or perhaps was, a very obvious answer.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Hecklers it seems.

[niko_cee]

Just watched the video.

All the tutting and hand wringing on comms is hilarious, seeing as they have presumably just made a 'venue' for moneyed twats and called it The Gallery Club to get pissed up whilst not being at all interested in the travelling circus going by.

[Dquincy]

Well played Rory for the Players win after today's playoff. Felt bad for the other fella hitting it into the water though.

Hopefully Mcllroy will kick on this year with the majors.

[Jimmy Floyd]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cm2n7d03x8xo

I can't even.

[phonics]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cm2n7d03x8xo

I can't even.

She's on a generational run of interesting lovers.

During her teenage years, Vanessa dated local street gangster Valentín Rivera, member of the violent gang Latin Kings (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_Kings).[16] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanessa_Trump#cite_note-17)[17] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanessa_Trump#cite_note-18)

In 1998, Vanessa was linked with American actor Leonardo DiCaprio (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonardo_DiCaprio).[18] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanessa_Trump#cite_note-DiCaprio-19)[19] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanessa_Trump#cite_note-20)

From 1998 to 2001, Vanessa dated Saudi prince Khalid bin Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khalid_bin_Bandar_bin_Sultan_Al_Saud).[20] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanessa_Trump#cite_note-21) The relationship ended in 2001, when Khalid bin Bandar left the U.S. after his Saudi ambassador father, Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandar_bin_Sultan_Al_Saud), was suspected of having indirect ties to individuals linked with the Al Qaeda (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Qaeda) hijackers (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hijackers_in_the_September_11_attacks).[21] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanessa_Trump#cite_note-22)

On November 12, 2005, Vanessa married Donald Trump Jr.

[Manc]

Hole in one.

[Ben]

This thread needs bumping for the weekend.

It's shaping up nicely.

[Giggles]

The coverage is atrocious. Is nobody playing golf out there for the past half hour?

[Waffdon]

Looking forward to McIlroy’s capitulation

[Waffdon]

The coverage is atrocious. Is nobody playing golf out there for the past half hour?

They only show Amen corner until 7pm, no?

[Ben]

The coverage is atrocious. Is nobody playing golf out there for the past half hour?

Stupid American network rules banning live coverage until a certain time.

[niko_cee]

Gotta protect the patrons experience.

Augusta has to be simultaneously the best and worst place on the planet.

[niko_cee]

Why was McIlroy chipping that from a quarter inch off the green? Bottlejob a day early at the moment.

[niko_cee]

And on the subject of chipping, watching Jason Day there, are you allowed to chip on the green? I always thought that was not allowed, or is that just not allowed unless you're a professional like tapping down pitch marks or whatever it is?

[Jimmy Floyd]

You are allowed to hit whatever you want on the green, you just risk being chased by angry greenkeepers.

McIlroy and Dechambeau in the last group is full theatre if it happens. MAGA lot will be so, so up for it.

[niko_cee]

Think the only time I've seen it before is when a wood / driver is needed, usually having dispatched the putter into the pond.

Massive mentality test for McIlroy to be out last with last year's nemesis.

[Giggles]

Would be good to see McIlroy finally do it, unless there's a slim chance Lowry gets into contention of course. The pressure the former is under must be unreal.

[niko_cee]

Just seen the prices for food and such at Augusta on some BBC short video thing. Not changed since the 80s apparently. That is very cool in the modern world.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Augusta is just fascinating, a real microcosm of America or perhaps the post-civil war American South. Clifford Roberts blowing his brains out on the par 3 course, certain people always being 'Mister' and others not, the total and complete lack of a sense of humour.

[igor_balis]

Not paid attention to this at all this weekend, just seen McIlroy goes into final round two shots clear, I wonder how he bottles it this time. Maybe a van der velde style water and triple bogey at the 18th.

[Jimmy Floyd]

They'll have to dig the lake pretty quick.

[Ben]

:D

[igor_balis]

:D oops, okay, shanked out of bounds off the tee and 5 putt. I hope not though, he seems like a really decent bloke as far as sports stars go.

Actually, technical question, I feel like I never see stuff go "out of bounds" - is it cus they're really good, or are they a bit more loose about enforcing it?

[niko_cee]

It is possible, but there always seems to be a lot of physical obstructions - tv towers, 'the patrons' etc - there to stop many errant shots. Only ever seems to be an issue in links golf where the holes run up against hard real world barriers like beaches.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Out of bounds in US courses is almost always just the edge of the property. Over here you get a lot of 'in course OB' which is where the course designers have told you you can't hit over there.

[Ben]

McIlroy :facepalm:

[igor_balis]

Double bogey the first and immediately lose your lead, never change Rory.

[niko_cee]

Only consolation is that it has come at a point where he can still recover.

[Ben]

Aberg having a seriously impressive weekend.

[igor_balis]

Rory is finishing at least 5 shots off the lead come the end of this round, and may even fall outside the top 5, calling it now.

[Gray Fox]

He seems to have got off the struggle bus. It might yet be his day.

EDIT: Never mind. Right off the tee into the trees.

[niko_cee]

There are going to be ups and downs.

[niko_cee]

I think Butch Harmon may be my favorite sports commentator or whatever he is, he's like an American Murray Walker.

[Manc]

BDC is having a meltdown.

[igor_balis]

My reverse jinx was going so well but he remembered who he was

[Jimmy Floyd]

That double on 13 was absolutely ludicrous self-immolation. He's so brilliant and so careless.

[Waffdon]

Justin Rose wins as I always back him and never bothered this year.

[Gray Fox]

Wheels are coming off a bit. Amazing how one bad shot can lead to more.

[Gray Fox]

Any of the 3 could have it from here.

[niko_cee]

What a shot that is.

[Gray Fox]

That's quite incredible.

[Manc]

Some swaz on that.

[niko_cee]

"I knew it!"

:D

[Jimmy Floyd]

Probably one of the best golf shots ever. Still a long way to go though.

[Gray Fox]

That's huge from Rose. Rory needs to hole his putt now.

[niko_cee]

Rose the stalking horse again, maybe he gets a better outcome than against Sergio.

[Gray Fox]

Big mental hurdle now for Rory. I think Rose has it with that putt.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Some finish, this. 7 for immortality. 8 for another shot. 9 and he fucks it.

[niko_cee]

Immortality beckons.

[Gray Fox]

He needs to hit every shot with that 7 iron.

[Waffdon]

Or an 8

[niko_cee]

Bryson shitting his way round can't be helping with all the tension.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Now make the putt you Irish wanker.

[Gray Fox]

Now how's your bottle Rory? Come on lad.

[niko_cee]

The fuck is Aberg doing?

[Waffdon]

Got money on rose, evidently

[Gray Fox]

Can't just be easy can it.

[Jimmy Floyd]

He cannot help himself. Excruciating.

[niko_cee]

The Langer putt.

[igor_balis]

I nearly posted about twenty minutes ago "this is totally going to a playoff isn't it " but obviously didn't bother cus it actually ended up being right

[Gray Fox]

He's got to feel sick.

[Jimmy Floyd]

He genuinely should have won this by 10. The best player out there by a mile. Just cannot stop falling over himself.

[Waffdon]

The putt wasn’t even close. Embarrassing

[Gray Fox]

It's any time he tries to play safe he fucks it up. Whenever he goes for it aggressively, he hits things like the irons earlier on.

[igor_balis]

Was he always this prone to self destruction? Is he like this in non-majors? I've not willingly watched more than about half an hour of anything but the big four and the Ryder cup in my life.

[Manc]

That'll do it.

[Gray Fox]

Rory :cool:

[igor_balis]

Thank god, delighted for him.

[Gray Fox]

Deserved it for this shot alone.

1911543030135275945

Ludicrous.

[AJ23]

Fucking hell. That was torture, like watching Man United trying to win a game. Makes sense Rory is a fan of that team. At least he got over the line. Fair play.

[niko_cee]

Had to go to bed so couldn't watch the play off.

Thank god.

Poor old 'Rosie' always the defeated villain in the wider narrative. He deserves a green jacket at some point.

I look forward to the extrapolators working out exactly when McIlroy will break Nicklaus' majors record.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Rose did great on Sunday but McIlroy was so by far and away the best player in that tournament. Four spaz double bogeys across the week and still won it.

[Ben]

I wonder how he'll go now the monkey is off his back.

PGA Championship - at Quail Hollow where he has the course record and has won four times.
US Open - top 10 last six years, including 2nd in the last two.
Open - at his home course.

Big opportunity for him to kick on.

[Gray Fox]

You've got to feel a bit for Rose. 3rd time as a runner up there now and the entire course willing your opponent to win. Still the only reason he was into the play off was McIlroy self destructing.

You could see the outpouring of relief on Rory though. He always seems to be there or there abouts with Majors. I believe he has 14, top 5 finishes along with his 5 wins. Maybe now he has the freedom to kick on.

[Manc]

I think he could kick on from here.

[Jimmy Floyd]

I'd be surprised if he doesn't at least contend for the next two. Portrush might be harder work, pressure and expectation back on him there.

The difference yesterday was that he can hit ludicrous iron shots high over/around obstacles. He made a lot of mental errors under pressure which for many (see Norman 1996) would have led to a round in the high 70s, but he has access to these ludicrous shots like those on 7, 15 and 17 which nobody else has, and they just about made up for the complete crock of shit that he served up with the wedge.

He's still not the greatest wind player and he isn't unflappable like Scheffler, but as a fan that only adds to the appeal really.

[Manc]

I wouldn't call Scheffler unflappable.

[Jimmy Floyd]

In a golfing sense he is. Never makes mental errors.

[Pepe]

Who is the golf GOAT? Tiger Woods? Nicklaus? Or is there some sort of modern Ronaldo/Messi figure?

[Jimmy Floyd]

It's either Woods or Nicklaus. Nicklaus has a better record on paper, but Woods did his against better opposition, and also had a far greater cultural/commercial impact, so it's debatable. I'd probably marginally side with Nicklaus but many wouldn't.

The reason they earn such inflated money is that Tiger Woods caused every corporate in America to rush to pump money into the sport in a Jordan-esque way (but with less shame as golf is a far more shareholder-friendly sport than basketball) and it's never gone away, now only exacerbated further by the Saudi effect. It's also a sport whose internal culture is dominated by remarkably entitled rich brats from the southern states who genuinely think they deserve a six figure prize for finishing 8th at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. It will crash at some point.

[Pepe]

I thought that Tiger had smashed all records. He definitely came into the scene at the perfect time to get that Jordan style explosion.

I've never played golf but maybe I should watch sometime to see what all the fuss is about.

[Jimmy Floyd]

At its best (like Sunday), it's one of the most dramatic spectacles of sporting theatre that you can get.

A lot of the time it's extremely pedestrian, and is also run in an incredibly arcane way aimed at maximising the earnings of players 50-300 in the world at the expense of making the sport compelling outside the majors and Ryder Cup.

[-james-]

Does many people actually watch days one, two or three?

[Jimmy Floyd]

At majors, absolutely. At run of the mill tournaments, less so unless you're a die hard or want some nice moving wallpaper.

[Ben]

I watched most of Day 3.

Day 1 and 2 was more in and out as I was at work and/or did other things.

[niko_cee]

Golf is a bit like cricket in that it can generally be in the background punctuated by moments of great excitement / tension.

I'm not really sure how accessible it is or how you go about 'getting into it' though [applies to both golf and cricket] if you are an outsider. You almost need to be brought up in it for it not to be bafflingly boring.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Both of them (and baseball) are long build up to short climax type sports. These are basically made for me. The opposite would be something like tennis or American football or basketball, where the action happens repeatedly and predictably across the course of the game, I can't be doing with that at all.

Football can be either, I guess.

[Giggles]

I get too fucked off with the amount of ads and waffle to ever stay with it, even on day 4.

[Pepe]

I like cycling so I figure golf might have a similar pace.

[Dquincy]

I like cycling so I figure golf might have a similar pace.

Tried watching tour fe france a few years ago. Apart from the French scenery, that is a difficult one to watch live.

[niko_cee]

Much like golf and cricket, and possibly moreso, cycling needs a lot of effort or actual interest to understand or get into. Even understanding the vagueries of a breakaway or how day races are entirely different from stages in stage races is confusing - ie people often look at the Olympic road race and try to understand it in terms of stage race stages, but sometimes a bunch of strong riders who would never normally get away end up in a break and they can't be caught.

[Pepe]

The Grand Tours have a lot of filler days. On the important days it is a great watch, but on a random sprinter day in week one, it is rarely worth bothering with.

[Jimmy Floyd]

The one that always sticks in my mind with cycling is the women's road race in Tokyo (I think), in which an unknown Austrian decided to just have a crack early on and was never caught. I'm surprised they haven't sports-scienced the peloton so that breakaways are impossible.