Absolute heartbreak city right here. Like most people that walk this fine Earth, I have never hit a hole-in-one. I did nearly sink one playing at Royal and Ancient Chappaquiddick Links on Martha’s Vineyard though. It was a Par 3 so it was feasible for an average golfer. Hit one of those shots where everything just feels perfect, one of those you get maybe once a round that keeps you coming back for more.
As I walked down the fairway I realized I couldn’t see my ball even as I neared the green, so I allowed the excitement to creep in. Did I just bury an Ace, on Amity Island in July no less?
I walked up and took a peak in the cup anddd it was not there.
It had actually bounced off the back of the green into some bushes and my wife made sure to chirp me for the misplaced confidence there. They say hitting a home run is the hardest thing to do in sports, but getting an Ace really should be at the top of that list. It can’t all be luck, right?
If the current 40 degree temperatures in Boston have you doubting it, hearing those two words and seeing the Azaleas in full bloom are here to let you know that spring has arrived and with it comes The Masters. If that wasn’t enough to get you ready to call out of work on Thursday, may I remind you that sports gambling is now officially legal in Massachusetts making this truly the single greatest four day span on the sports television calendar.
So who’s going to take home the Green Jacket this year? Let’s dig in.
All odds shown below are courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook as of April 5th.
Favorites to Win The Masters:
Scottie Scheffler +650
Rory McIlroy +750
Jon Rahm +850
Tony Finau: +1800
Jordan Spieth +1800
Patrick Cantlay +2000
Justin Thomas +2200
Jason Day: +2200
Dustin Johnson +2200
Xander Schauffele +2500
Longshots to Win The Masters:
Tiger Woods +9000
Sahith Theegala +12000
Phil Mickelson +35000
Dark Horse Bets to Win the Masters:
Collin Morikawa +2800
Brooks Koepka +4000
Matthew Fitzpatrick +5000
Scottie Scheffler
Simply put, Scheffler went off last year with four wins, including The Masters, four runner up finishes, 11 Top 10 finishes, $14M in earnings, plus two more wins already this season. However, nobody has won back to back Masters since Tiger Woods did it back in 2002. In fact, over the last 16 years no defending champion has finished better than 12th at The Masters. So despite his blistering run last season, history is not on Scottie’s side here. With all that being said, Scheffler is the No. 1 golfer in the world for a reason and is still the favorite to don the Green Jacket yet again on Sunday. If you think the pressure is going to get to the resident Zen Master on tour, think again.
If you're overly stressed about work, life, or the future just remember this Zen Master quote from Scottie Scheffler. Phil Jackson would be proud.
Rory finished second to Scheffler at The Masters last year as the Green Jacket is the final major accolade that continues to elude him as he seeks to complete the career Grand Slam. I laughed out loud during an episode of the Netflix series Full Swing when after one of his kids points out a photo of Rory, he self depricatingly jokes “that’s back when Daddy used to be good.” So while he seemingly takes it in stride, make no mistake Rory is not taking it easy in Augusta this week.
Rory McIlroy says he's played 81 holes in the last 2 1/2 weeks at Augusta National.
Rahmbo is a threat to win any time he laces em up. Despite an uncharacteristic tank job last year when he finished tied for 27th, Rahm had finished in the Top 10 at Augusta four years in a row, with his best effort coming in 2018 when he finished fourth. With three wins already in the books for Rham this season, there are worse guys to put your money on.
Tiger Woods
Tiger may be going into Augusta at 90/1 odds, but don’t tell the patrons that because the five time Augusta champ is still THE fan favorite.
Couldn't believe the amount of people by 18 yesterday for Tiger. Picture's even wilder. This is a MONDAY. pic.twitter.com/1lbjfZaG9s
I’ll be honest, I always have a separate screen setup strictly dedicated to Tiger Watch even if he’s struggling and out of it on Day 1. Tiger himself even suggested he’s on borrowed time as he said in his Augusta presser, “I don’t know how many more I have in me.” Don’t ever rule out Sunday Red doing the unthinkable and taking over if Tiger is in contention come the weekend, but if nothing else make sure you truly enjoy watching Tiger Woods at Augusta while you still can.
Koepka seems to be rounding into form with two recent wins on the LIV tour, which has my gambling spidey senses tingling. Before a rash of injuries and an unceremonious jump to the LIV tour, Koepka was like a majors whisperer. The guy was absolutely money in major tournaments, even if he seemed to lack that same focus in regular tournaments throughout the season. I guess it makes sense you’re more focused and geared up for The Masters than say the Honda Classic, but it’s wild when you look at Koepka’s career stats. Of his eight career victories, half of those are majors. While Full Swing showed a Koepka at his lowest and seriously lacking in confidence, maybe the recent run of success on the Saudi tour has given BK the juice he needs to finally slip on a green jacket this weekend.
LIV Golf at The Masters
What comes as a surprise to absolutely no one is things have been a little awkward in Augusta between the LIV rebels and the PGA Tour rank and file. You’ve got stories of a famously gregarious Phil Mickelson not saying a word at the Champions Dinner and mainly keeping to himself, which if we’re being honest bums me out.
Of course there was more venom being spit back and forth between Greg Norman and Fred Ridley after Norman publicly complained about not being invited to Augusta this year despite having spent the last 12 months trashing the PGA.
Masters chairman Fred Ridley confirms that Greg Norman wasn't invited to Augusta National, unlike other commissioners of major tours. "I want the focus to be on the competition. I would also add that in the last 10 years, Greg Norman has only been here twice."
Now if you are the type of sports fan who doesn’t have a horse in the race and is just rooting for chaos, then you’ll want to keep a close eye on the 18 LIV golfers this weekend. Norman has already gone on record to say the LIV golfers will storm the 18th green in celebration if one of their guys wins. What are the chances of that chaos coming to fruition this weekend? Not super likely, but there are obviously some big names who have had success here with six former Masters champions on the LIV roster including Dustin Johnson (+2200), Phil Mickelson (+35000), Patrick Reed (+8000), Sergio Garcia (+15000), Charl Schwartzel (+35000), and Bubba Watson (+25000).
Of course Cameron Smith is a solid bet at (+3500) and we already talked about Koepka. Maybe Joaquin Niemann (+5500), Mito Peirera (+8000) or even Bryson DeChambeau (+11000) breaks through, but I’m not putting my money on it. Hell even Phil might be worth throwing $5 on at 350/1 odds! The biggest roadblock to any of the LIV players though is going to be the relative lack of competition they’ve been playing against since defecting.
Whoever you do decide to place your wagers on, do yourself a favor and spread it around on a few different golfers and maybe some Top finish bets because if you haven’t realized yet the final round falls on Easter Sunday this year. Just make sure you give yourself something to hang onto so you’re not shouting at the TV in front of grandma when your only guy is shooting over par before brunch is even finished.
CBS Sports – Tiger Woods is planning to make his triumphant return to golf as part of the 2022 Masters field. Woods said as much Tuesday during his official press conference at Augusta National with just two days to go until the first round begins — this after several days of practice at Augusta, including a trip with his son, Charlie, and Justin Thomas last week.
“As of right now, I feel like I am going to play.“
This dude continues to defy logic. Just 14 months after flipping his car and nearly losing a leg, Tiger Woods says he plans to play at The Masters this weekend. I’m honestly surprised we haven’t seen legitimate steam coming out of him because this guy heals faster than a Titan. I played my first round of the season on Saturday and my abs are still sore. Tiger has had more surgeries than I can count and yet he still looks fresher than lettuce.
Tiger got the full Brett Favre treatment the last few days as we had people on Twitter tracking his private jet en route to Augusta, we had whispers about how great his warmup rounds looked walking the course, to full on ESPN coverage and PACKED galleries just to watch the man practice. The dozens of videos flying around the internet this week show a guy who doesn’t look simply capable of playing golf, no Tiger looks like he’s coming for that green jacket.
Like a lot of people, I don’t think I realized how much I missed Tiger until I found myself fully invested in watching Tiger and 13-year-old Charlie Woods gunning for the father-son PNC Championship back in December. That was less than four months ago and even then you could see Tiger grimacing and limping his way around the course, yet they nearly won the damn tourney. Now he’s managed to get his body back to a point where he’s confident in his ability to not only show up, but win The Masters.
For an athlete whose made a career out of dominating not only the competition but the headlines, this one could very well top them all.
As we all continue to age in dog years, things that were once clowned on (i.e. fannypacks) or were 90s staples have come back in full force, which is why I am psyched to pull back the curtain on The 300s Dad Hats. Buy Now
Bubba is getting his money’s worth out here today because it cannot be cheap to replace a professional golfer’s finely tuned driver, let alone a fully customized pink one.
And he STILL bombs a better drive than any of us will hit all season. The PGA Tour’s favorite dad just making it look easy out there in his J’s. Now in fairness this isn’t exactly Patrick Reed having a conniption because he couldn’t get the ball out of the rough, but it’s still funny nonetheless.
True story I once knew a guy who broke four (4!) rental drivers at the driving range because he was the size of linebacker but had never actually played golf before. Nothing like a real strong wrist snap at the bottom of your swing to destroy some perfectly usable equipment. No word if they legit just pasted his photo on the wall with a red line through it after that.
If you ever questioned just how much Tiger Woods means to his peers, yesterday effectively ended that debate as players all across the tour wore Tiger’s trademark Sunday Red to honor their injured friend. It was an awesome sight to see and I’ll be honest it got a little dusty over here.
It is hard to explain how touching today was when I turned on the tv and saw all the red shirts. To every golfer and every fan, you are truly helping me get through this tough time.
So thankfully Tiger’s car accident wasn’t as bad as it could have been. We hope to see him back out on the course one day, but more importantly it’s good to still have him with us.
Golf is the ultimate emotional rollercoaster. In no other sport can you go from wanting to throw your equipment in the lake and quit entirely followed almost immediately by pure elation after hitting a great shot. You really can run the gamut of emotions in 18 holes, which is why being even keeled is so important if you’re ever going to play well and more importantly have any fun.
Now imagine it’s your career and there’s hundreds of thousands of dollars on the line with each and every shot.
Well, that was Billy Horschel on Sunday as he was trying to chase down Collin Morikawa who had a 54 hole lead going into the day and was trying to fend off the pack. Horschel nearly pulled it off, but ultimately had two bogies on the back 9 that sunk his chances. Dropping to a tie for second cost Horschel over a million dollars so you can imagine the guy was probably more than a little upset. I wouldn’t blame someone for throwing a wedge into the lake at that point.
Instead though, the mics picked up an exchange between the pair and an absolute class move from Horschel on the 18th green.
With the final outcome all but decided, it would have been understandable for Horschel to be frustrated, let Morikawa tap his own putt in first, and then finish his own round after. But that would have led to an awkward, delayed, and anti-climactic celebration for Morikawa. So Horschel turned down Morikawa’s offer to go first so the kid could properly celebrate and enjoy his 4th career victor on the PGA Tour.
Classy stuff right there. I don’t know about you guys, but I know I’ll be rooting for Horschel to break through with his first win of the year after 3 Top 10 finishes so far this season. Whatever you do, just don’t talk any shit from the stands or you might have a Happy Gilmore situation on your hands.
The greatest golf, nay sports, movie ever made turns 25-years-old today and oh my god I am old. Celebrate a quarter century of Happy Gilmore with the Pro-Am Champions t-shirt and be the envy of your entire foursome on the course. Buy now!
“You know Nick Faldo and I won this thing last year, and I’d like to win it again this year.”
2020 was a weird year to say the least. Remember when we literally had no sports to watch except for Korean baseball at 5 AM? Thankfully the sports leagues figured it out as some simply removed fans and resumed play as normal like the PGA Tour whereas others created full on bubbles like the NBA and NHL. We also had some tasty pop culture blogs sprinkled in throughout the quarantine so buckle up you’re in for a treat. Without further ado, I present The 300s Top 10 Blogs of 2020.
So for the last two days both the best looking (me) and hardest working (Red) bloggers here at The 300s have been busting our asses getting out Masters #content. I discussed the field a little bit, Red threw down some gambling lines, and all and all there was enough written word in the metaphorical spoon for you to shoot up with and give you your golf fix until today. The Masters, as you may have (fucking) known was supposed to start today, and start it did.
The first pairings made it through a grand total of one hole. One.
And for those really not indoctrinated into professional golf, this is not your Saturday morning tee time at a local muni. The normal reasons for a stoppage or slowdown in play do not exist. There is not a foursome of pretentious walkers ambling down the first hole, taking 20 minutes to look for their lost ball in a pile of late-fall foliage. Nope, such causation does not exist on the PGA Tour.
There is a fucking hurricane hitting the southern United States right now. Thunder. Lightning. Rain. All of it. Is it an actual hurricane? I don’t fucking know. I don’t check the weather for the south. I assume it’s always “80 and sunny, chance of loose interpretation of the second amendment” down there. All I know is the brain trust that runs the tour decided to set a tournament for a weekend centered around a Friday the 13th and my superstitious, Irish ass is having NONE OF IT. The Masters, the only glimmer of hope in this wasteland of a year, is getting Perfect Stormed with Tiger and Broosky playing the parts of Clooney and Wahlberg.
::Freeman voice:: I wish I could end this blog with an optimistic request to weather to improve. I wish I could. But 2020 is no fairly tale.
The 300s 