What are the odds that Mickelson or Laird will don the Masters Jacket?

Two weeks ago I wrote an article about how the next Masters champion may come from a win at either Bay Hill or Redstone based upon what I believed to be circumstances of "fate". With Mickelson coming from behind to win at the SHO this week, a green jacket reality moment at Augusta National is settling in with oddsmakers as well.

To recap the ESPN.com analysis:

There have only been six instances since 1960 when a player won an event either one or two weeks prior to winning the Masters. It's happened just twice since 1990 and in five year increments: Tiger Woods in 2001 (The Players Championship) and Phil Mickelson in 2006 (won the BellSouth the prior week).

This next five-year increment is at hand and so it stands to reason that either Mickelson or Martin Laird could become the 75th Masters Champion.

Humble Phil feels confident after a SHO-ing this week that he can win the first major of 2011. "It feels really good for me to have played well and gained some momentum heading into next week," Mickelson said. "I needed to have a week where I kind of put it together."

But even Mickelson mentioned after his round that there were a few holes in which he lost "focus". Focus and rolling in the putts are the keys (in my opinion)  to winning any golf tournament.

If in fact rolling in the putts is any indication of a win, then according to Colin Montgomerie, Laird has the potential to be a "world star."

 

Martin Laird with Arnold Palmer at Bay Hill

 

Monty said, "He (Laird) had a putting lesson from Dave Stockton and it's clearly worked because if you saw those last four putts he holed at Bay Hill, every one was dead centre. If he can putt half as well as that at Augusta he has a chance."

In spite of Montgomerie's "cooing" over Laird's ability on the golf course, Mickelson's odds currently stand at 5-1; Laird's odds are at 66-1.

Traditionally, the winner of the Masters had assistance with putting on his green jacket. Phil won last year so if he wins again the question is, "Will Mickelson don his own Masters jacket?"  It certainly would be memorable but, in the old-world tradition of the event, other likely candidates to give Phil a hand would be:

 

Angel Cabrera (2009), Trevor Immelman (2008), Zach Johnson (2007) or Tiger Woods (2005).

Photo credits: ESPN.com, GulfDailyNews.com

 

As in past years, live coverage of the Masters Tournament, April 4-10th, will be available from Amen Corner holes No 15 & 16, the Practice Range and the par 3 contest on Masters.org.

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Autism Speaks in Sports and Colors

"Autism is a developmental disorder that appears in the first three years of life and affects the brain's normal development of social and communication skills"

 

Although Ernie Els speaks out for Autism in the golf community, the world of sports will be joining forces to officially kick-off Autism Awareness Month. To shed light on the fight against autism, sports landmarks across the country will illuminate in blue April 1st and 2nd as part of Autism Speaks’ Light It Up Blue campaign (LIUB).

 

Light It Up Blue, now in its second year, has garnered the support of over three-hundred iconic buildings and landmarks across the globe.  These structures will illuminate in bright blue to shine a spotlight on the growing autism health crisis, which now affects one in one-hundred and ten children, and one in seventy boys.

 

A few of this year’s confirmed LIUB participants include:

Mercedes-Benz Arena - Shanghai, China

Amway Center (Orlando Magic) – Orlando, FL

Meadowlands/Giant Stadium – East Rutherford, NJ

Mets Citi Field – Flushing Meadows, NY

Madison Square Garden – New York, NY

PNC Ball Park – Pittsburgh, PA

Pittsburgh Penguins and CONSOL Energy Center – Pittsburgh, PA

Bradley Center (Milwaukee Bucks) – Milwaukee, WI

Qwest Field (Seattle Seahawks) – Seattle, WA

 

Additionally, the NBA will show its support of the Light It Up Blue campaign, as broadcast teams will sport Autism Speaks pins at all nineteen nationally and locally televised games on April 1st and 2nd.  The NBA has created PSAs with NBA superstars like Dwight Howard, Chauncey Billups and Deron Williams to be broadcast during those three games as well.

 

Other celebrity events raising money to find causes and a cure for Autism include an auction that last year secured almost $10,000 to fight the neural disorder. This year, Yoko Ono's signed Lindt gold bunny seems to be all the rage.

 

The Els for Autism Golf Challenge takes over right after Autism Awareness Month officially concludes with a national amateur golf competition that combines challenges on well-known courses like Doral with its fundraising efforts. The first event in the Challenge begins on May 1st in Florida and concludes in October in Las Vegas.

 

 

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Does Dinah Shore week help keep LPGA Kraft Nabisco alive?

Two of the largest party-driven events are converging in Palm Springs this week, the Kraft Nabisco Championship and The Dinah Shore Week, bringing women together for golf and a frolicking good time! Both are successful events but is it the legacy of golf or poolside hijinks which creates the hullabaloo?

It is unclear which will be the bigger event and which will fuel the other. Celebrities like Johnny Bench, John O'Hurley, William Devane and Alice Cooper bring crowds and glamour to the Kraft Nabisco, an event formerly promoted by Dinah Shore, a tireless supporter and honorary member of the LPGA Hall of Fame.

On the flip side, this first LPGA major of the year gains another distinction which probably helps it stay in the public eye, which is a good thing. Each year, right down the road in Palm Springs, the most popular lesbian party of the year takes place: Palm Springs Women's Weekend a.k.a. "Dinah Shore Weekend", which brings in a host of celebrities of its own.

The weather will be hot and sunny which means wet and wild pool/cocktail parties and hot entertainment including Natasha Beddingfield, Paula Poundstone, Estelle and Jessie and Wynter Gordon.

Certainly, the legendary LPGA Kraft Nabisco could easily survive on its own, without any help from the ladies party down the road couldn't it?

In its 40th year at Mission Hills, this has never been a "stodgy" event and is often compared to the Bob Hope Classic: celebs and pro golfers mingle with the crowds creating a carnival-like atmosphere right down to the traditional jump in the lake at the 18th hole, first begun by Amy Alcott. But, where are the crowds coming from?

Although I mentioned that this major could "easily" survive, Kraft Nabisco has implemented changes to its event from Legends Club access to more easily accessible merchandise tents. Larry Bohannan stated, "With Kraft not spending as much money on the corporate hospitality end of the tournament, local tournament officials have shifted the event to a community-based charity tournament. Those changes have required the event to modify even the way the event presents itself to the public.

Cause for concern? A loss of sponsors has downsized the LPGA Tour event schedule by twelve events (to 23 non-majors) since 2007. Ginn Resorts, Anheuser Busch, State Farm and Corning are just a few companies that have stepped away from sponsoring events.

Golf Digest states that, "Beginning with the LPGA Championship in late June, three of the next four tournaments are majors. From when the U.S. Women's Open ends July 10th to when the Safeway Classic begins August 18th, there are no events in the United States."

Does the lack of U.S. events mean that the LPGA should go global? The LPGA becoming a global Tour certainly has it's benefits especially with the onslaught of Korean and Japanese golfers within its ranks but then what becomes of the KLPGA for example? Does it become a "Futures Tour" for younger, more inexperienced golfers to hone their skills?

Perhaps merging a few of these Tours might make the ladies stronger. Instead of competing for dollars, join forces, make the purses bigger and cross-promote the tournaments to coincide with other festivities to bring more people to the gate who may not have even thought of watching a golf event.


Dyanne Ferk, Dean of the Business College at the University of Illinois Springfield said, "Businesses look at every penny going out and want to know the ROI." She continued, "there's more competition for a limited pot of money for advertising, philanthropy and nonprofit things."
Bringing together the Kraft Nabisco and the Dinah Shore women's party weekend as 'comrades in arms', going beyond the scope of golf, is a method that other LPGA events should adopt if the Organization is to survive and thrive.

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