It all started so well for Bryson. A huge three wood down the 10th hole and a short iron set up a short birdie putt. However, the slippery five footer failed to find the cup and suddenly it was all change. DeChambeau would only hit half of the remaining fairways but somehow he would find a way to shoot a two-under round of 70.
An 80-year-old Jack Nicklaus and the ever-youthful looking Gary Player, 85 hit the ceremonial opening tee shots to open the Masters Tournament at a dank and gloomy early morning at Augusta. “I believe they probably would have brought it back this year if it wasn’t for Covid, or at least they would have thought about it or got serious about bringing it back,” Nicklaus said
As those of us in England are climbing the walls in lockdown number two it must be time for a wee quiz. Nothing too spectacular just ten questions about the last men's major of this crazy year! Test your knowledge and see if you can beat your mates and that bloke down the pub - oh yes the pub is closed, ahhhh! (Answers at the bottom - no peeking!) 1. In what year was the first Masters held?
It’s finally here! The final men's Major of the season. The Masters in Augusta is taking place in the Autumn for the first time ever and let’s face it, we are all excited. The betting market will be excited too. Skybet is so excited that they are offering eleven places on all Each Way bets. Dustin Johnson 17/2 (PaddyPower) Brooks Koepka 16/1 (Bet365) Tyrrell Hatton 28/1 (William Hill)
In unprecedented times, we have one more men’s golf major to look forward to this year. The Masters at Augusta is scheduled in November for the first time, after the cancellation earlier in the year. It has thrown the plans of golfers into the air, but we have seen events running every week for some time now, so there can be no claims of rustiness or a lack of practice.
Originally booked to take place back in April – but postponed, due to the worldwide Coronavirus pandemic – the rescheduled 2020 Masters is fast approaching. Rory McIlroy and this year’s US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau are battling it out for favouritism in the recent US Masters odds, whilst last year’s Green Jacket winner, Tiger Woods, is as far out as 20/1.
Every year on the Tuesday of the Masters week the top golfers gather for the traditional Champions Dinner. Yesterday it would have been Tiger Woods as defending champion selecting the menu but 2020 is sadly no ordinary year. Woods instead spent the evening tweeting a message that he was sharing dinner with his family.
Following the understandable cancellation of the Open, the proposed new dates for the remaining three majors are known. The PGA Championship will take place between the 6th and 9th of August at TPC Harding Park, the U.S. Open remains at Winged Foot and has been moved back to the 18th to 21st September and the Masters, usually the first major of the year will now come last between 12th and 15th of November.
Italy has just gone into lockdown and around the world sports events are starting to be impacted by the Coronavirus crisis. All golf events cancelled to date have been mainly in Asia but now Europe and the USA are beginning to take action to stem the spread of the virus. The Masters is only a month away, and the signs are not promising.
For the first time since 1955 there will be no live coverage of any golf on the BBC in 2020. The BBC has lost their rights to show any live coverage of the Augusta event which means that the UK pay TV Channel Sky is now the only place to watch live coverage of the majors. This is the end game for millions of golf fans who have seen the free to air coverage of their favourite sport fade and die in the hands of the BBC over the past decade.
You have to go back a long time to remember a Masters when so many players, at some point, were arguably in contention to grab that fabled Green Jacket. We know who ultimately prevailed but what happened to other runners who came up short when the chips were down? Here is GP's rundown of the how the main contenders finished.
As Tiger Woods holed the winning putt some time around 7.35pm on Sunday I was asked an awkward question: "Are you crying??", "Seriously, mate, are you crying?" "I've just something... sniff... in my eye, that's ... sniff... all..."
