What the Shell Houston Open Taught Us, If Anything
by Ryan Ballengee on Apr 6, 2009 10:29 AM EDT
14 comments
Over the weekend, we got a little bit of Masters Lite at Redstone. The Shell Houston Open perhaps gave us a bit of a glimpse into the future ahead at Augusta National this week.
We saw some older guys - Fred Couples and Greg Norman - get into contention. Norman averaged almost 300 yards off of the tee at Redstone. He may be downplaying his chances to everyone publicly, but do you think he would play the Masters if he didn't think he could contend? I'm sure Fred Couples helped talk him into it, just as much as Couples talked him into playing this week. Neither of these guys are Charles Coody. They can win.
Some proven players turned in solid results, particularly Paul Casey's playoff win. Geoff Ogilvy finished in the top 10. Lee Westwood and Ernie Els finished in the top 15.
We also got Phil Mickelson simply blowing up over two rounds to miss the cut. Don't worry, though. As I said in our Fantasy Golf preview, the best players were not trying to win at Redstone. They were trying to get ready for Augusta. For Mickelson, every tournament this season has been a tune up for the Masters. Mickelson basically acknowledged as much with Jimmy Roberts on Saturday after soundly missing the cut.
Nearly, JB Holmes made the field with a win. But, unlike last year, we didn't get a last minute invitee to Augusta.
With the field set and some intriguing developments from Redstone, it's time to start talking about ...the Masters.
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Masters week AND Opening Day…it’s a party in my pants!
Had a misserable fantasy week with the Houston, looking for some good picks this week Ryan!
by wiggitywhales on Apr 6, 2009 10:33 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Two things...
(1) These guys are REALLY GOOD…and…
(2) Playing in a howling wind is just plain brutal.
If that weather happened in Augusta, the media would be all over Augusta National for the course layout and conditions.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
by courtgolf on Apr 6, 2009 10:34 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
That’s why I said last year was probably the best gauge we have had to date of the new Augusta (post 2002) in normal circumstances. It wasn’t that bad for the first three days.
by Ryan Ballengee on Apr 6, 2009 10:39 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
it's that "we" that bothers me...
…since when do “WE” have any say in what goes on with the tournament or the golf course ? If we were all given run of the course for 4 days to play from the back tees with the greens set up at tournament speed – how many of us would break 100 ? The idea that weather didn’t make the course more difficult before 2005 is nonsense. And it always takes a few years for players to catch up to course changes…unless they make the course easier. They had to toughen the course up to keep these guys from shooting 20 under every year.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
by courtgolf on Apr 6, 2009 10:44 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Well, they have had the bulk of the changes since 2002. In ‘02 – ’05, there was some kind of rain, but not much wind. That made the course easier than it actually was because greens would hold and putts were slower. In 2006, it wasn’t too bad. 2007 was just awful weather with that wind and cold. 2008 was good until Sunday.
by Ryan Ballengee on Apr 6, 2009 11:04 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
We haven’t had a solid week of good weather during the Masters in over a decade. Judging a golf course by the weather is just plain crazy except maybe on an island course or places like Florida where there is a generally predictable wind pattern.
This week probably won’t be any different. The weather people are predicting freezing temperatures Tuesday and Wednesday – we have a wind warning today – and it may rain on Friday.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
by courtgolf on Apr 6, 2009 11:28 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
The problem is that the weather conditions were actually favorable to ANGC in every year since the change except 2007 and last year’s final round. It made Augusta look better, not worse.
by Ryan Ballengee on Apr 6, 2009 12:03 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
better check again. The weather has been up and down every year since 2000. Freezing weather one day, wind and rain the next, if they’re lucky, a warm sunny day in there someplace. They have had torrential rains the first two days making the course muddy and sloppy on the weekend. Nobody wants to watch The Masters when Augusta National is anything but pristine – sunny – warm – magnolias and azaleas in bloom.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
by courtgolf on Apr 6, 2009 3:32 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I didn’t mean favorable as in “sunny and pretty,” but rather “it rained, so the greens were slower and pins were more accessible when you can play it.”
by Ryan Ballengee on Apr 6, 2009 3:59 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
but who wants that ? the greens have had less of that problem the last 4 or 5 years with the addition of the sub-air system they installed.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
by courtgolf on Apr 6, 2009 4:16 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Oh no, I don’t want for Augusta to be like that. I’d much prefer it to be pretty and flowers in bloom, etc. But, what I’m saying is that those crappy conditions made scoring at Augusta easier than it otherwise would be if everything was pretty.
by Ryan Ballengee on Apr 6, 2009 4:18 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I’m still not following you – how do muddy fairways, freezing temperatures, and/or high winds make playing Augusta easier ? The greens are going to be firm and fast in anything other than a monsoon.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
by courtgolf on Apr 6, 2009 5:50 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Winds and mud don’t :) Depends on your definition of freezing, but I don’t know how much of a deterrent cold is to scoring so much as the combo of cold and wind together.
by Ryan Ballengee on Apr 6, 2009 6:18 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
ah – when it’s cold – the ball doesn’t travel as far and it’s hard to feel the club in your hands. (we don’t get to hit balls in those nice heated inflatable ranges like you have up north – we have to play outside.) :-D
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
by courtgolf on Apr 6, 2009 11:40 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
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