Tiger Woods not among some Masters golf picks

I entered into a Masters Pool in which I had to assemble a "dream team" of eight golfers: if my "team of eight" racks up the most prize money, I win the golf pool. Although I cannot say who started the pool, I can show you who I chose as my top finishers (not in any particular order). As an interesting note, twenty entries out of fifty-four did not include Tiger Woods which is this particular golf pool's record.

Here is my dream team of top money winners with quotes relating to how they feel going into The Masters.

 

 

1. *Phil Mickelson:  After shooting weekend 63-65 win the Shell Open.
 “It was a big confidence-booster,” Mickelson said. “To have that performance heading in here feels really good. It reminds me of 2006.”

*My pick to win the Masters

2. Tiger Woods: "Been using my new app to prepare. I’m loving it – what do you guys think?" http://t.co/Qw8VEEe (Another sales pitch...ahem)

"Logging so many hours heading into Augusta this week. Nervous, excited, hoping the hard work pays off."  5 days ago, Tiger Woods on Twitter

3. Martin Laird 

4. Hunter Mahan during par-3 contest, talking about Palmer, Nicklaus and Player, It doesn't get better than these legends!!

5. Dustin Johnson: "I've had a few opportunities to go play (Augusta), just a casual round. I didn't really want to because I wanted to earn my way into it."

6. Bubba Watson "A little rusty on the golf course today. Need to hurry up & get good before next Thursday!!"  Twitter, 1 Apr

 

7. Ryo Ishikawa:  "My goal is to be in contention here at Augusta National," Ishikawa said Tuesday, after being grouped with three-time major winner Padraig Harrington and Bill Haas for the first two rounds.

‘‘But I don’t want to just contend. I want to fight it out with Woods for the title some day."

8. K.J. Choi:  "I just need to be 100 percent focused to the very last shot and the last hole on Sunday and stay patient," said Choi.

"There's no room for small mistakes and I'm not just referring to the shots you hit on the golf course. The Masters is more than that. I failed to do that last year during the final round." Choi finished in 4th place at the 2010 Masters.

 

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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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