Nearly two decades later, the most famous image of Sergio Garcia in a major remains his running, leaping scissor kick after hitting a recovery shot during the final round of the 1999 US PGA Championship.
Some of the names on the first page of the Masters leaderboard are veteran ones – Sergio Garcia, Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler. But some other guys are getting their first taste of Sunday pressure at Augusta National.
Not even quadruple-bogeys in back-to-back Masters rounds or being 10 shots behind after Thursday could keep Jordan Spieth from getting back to a familiar position by Saturday night: in the mix to win another green jacket.
Instead of competing in the Masters this weekend, Dustin Johnson is at home in Florida, and doing “a little better every day”, according to his trainer Joey Diovisalvi.
Charley Hoffman prevailed spectacularly over the strong winds that stymied much of the field on Thursday, shooting a seven-under par 65 to take a four-stroke lead in the first round of the Masters.
The first words William McGirt uses to describe his style of play is, “I’m sneaky short.” In golf’s expansive arena of long hitters, this would augur a lifetime of struggle in the game. And mostly, that is what McGirt, a longtime mini-tour grinder, has known.
For the first round of the 2017 Masters the winds are expected to continue to blow north of 30 kilometres per hour for most of the day, leading to the possibility of some high scores. History tells us that likely will end any hopes for a green jacket come Sunday.
On an otherwise dark, damp Wednesday at Augusta National Golf Club, there was a bright side for Masters officials: the forecast offers wind on Thursday and Friday, but little in the way of wet weather for the remainder of the week.
Australian Golf Digest
