[Bob_Huntley]

Was there anyone else viewing CBS, who did not get small amount of mischievous joy out of Tiger's misfortunes at the third?  If I had to listen to Nantz pontificate about the second coming for a further three and half hours I would have thrown up.

[Jim_Kennedy]

Bob,
I didn't, of course I didn't enjoy seeing Maggert get hit in the chest with his own ball either.

[Norbert P]

I'm one.  Ultimately, I think it made it a better Masters and a very memorable one.  Maggert was amazing for 16 holes and  Mattiace was vibin' with the cosmos but Mike Wier EARNED the championship through clutch putting and determination.  It was as if they tore the rear view mirror off the Ferrari - forget Tiger - let's race.  
  Tiger is the best, but so was Ted Williams.  Sport is full of unknown outcomes.  That's why we compete;  to prove some truth of the moments.  Saying it doesn't make it so but the announcers must feel they have to elevate the moments with hyperbole.  Like they have to involve themselves in the historic moment.    I never get tired of hearing "Cubs Win!  Cubs Win! Cubs Win!" but that doesn't make the action great.  I didn't hear the announcers say much about Wier's crumbling the day before on the back nine.  His clawing and climbing up the mountain was impressive.  He was a dogged victim but not of inexorable fate.  He made it to the peak to stand alone in the glory.  Maggert, well, he had a bad day of Chutes and Ladders.  Mattiace, although I was happy for him and eventually saddened that he couldn't win also, played his best and seemed to enjoy the magical moments.  
  On the whole, I was very pleased with the Masters this year.  I finally got to see the front nine!  I would have liked to see more variety of players - KJ Choi, Olazabel, etcetera, got minimal video time.  Did anybody like the comparison of Riviera with Augusta as a shotmakers course? It was an interesting statement.  I liked Phil Mickelson's statement afterward about success and feeling successful even though he didn't win.   I would have liked more coverage of the amateurs, for the sake of Bobby Jones' original tournament intentions.  What the heck was Feherty trying to say about the leading Am Ricky, "No hat - exposing every emotion - looks like a naughty angel" (?)

The only breaks from the action were the tasteful "First Tee" promos that I actually liked.   I think it's well considered marketing - involving adult ideals of character in golf for children in its message.  

   I got up once to make some toast with Nutella and nuke some coffee and, you guessed it, I come back and hear them saying that Maggert is putting for a 7 on 3.  What the Hell happened?  I didn't see a replay of the bunker lip/chest ricochet for about an hour.  Unfortunately, I saw the wreck at 12.  Rub o' the green.  

  So, yes, I was glad that Tiger wasn't in the run, as it made it more interesting for me.  It gave us another story with new characters, and that is good for golf.  I doubt Tiger will ever use Driver on 3 again.  

  Mr. Mingay, et al, are you happy?  Will Wier knock Celine off the national hero throne? (Hope so)    Congratulations.

Mollydookers rejoice!  

  

[RJ_Daley]

It was quite a study in sporting emotion and psychology to watch the way the fickle finger of fate struck Maggert and Mattice.

I thought it was so noble and gutsy for Maggert to stay focused and play on after the bunker richocet.  But, when Maggert dumped that bunker shot from behind 12 into the water and had to take that very long walk back to the drop circle and would be forced to cross the hazard yet again, after surviving the bad break on 3.... well I really empathized with him on every excruciating step he took to the drop circle.  But you then knew what was to come as if it were pre-ordained that he would dump yet another into the creek.  That was just something you knew the dark fates would cast from the shadow worlds that lurk behind the azelea bushes in the recesses of ANGC.

As for Mattice, well he was a good sportsman and kept it together right after the crushing bad break bounding behind the tree on 10, and he shook Weir's hand bravely and almost got out of there in one emotional piece.  But alas, a while later in a subsequent after the toon-a-mint interview, the poor fellow lost it.  How tough is it to work hard and always show-up year after year, then you get to the pinacle with your dream just there for the grasping, after playing perhaps the best round of your career, and wham, you skank one stymied behind a tree.  I do wish birdie or par would have won it at the end of the day...

[Norbert P]

... stymied behind a tree.

  Dick, ya think we can safely say that it's not A tree anymore but "The Mattiace Tree"?  I don't think that's where Len wanted his name to be engraved though.  Will it become as famous as the Ike Tree?  

  I do feel for him but heck, he just earned a fortune, by my standards, anyway.   Great sport played regardless. Thrill of victory and agony of defeat, indeed.  

[ian]

Celine is yours, we sure as hell won't admit to that Vegas act.

Mike dropped the ceremonial puck at tonights play-off game (did I mention the Flyers lost) and got a 5 minute standing ovation. Mike was huge before this, now he's a national hero.

Did I mention the Flyers lost?

[Mike_Cirba]

Bob;

Gesundheit.  

[Tommy_Naccarato]

Bob, I think there should have been more embarrasment on Vern Lundquist's part, after Floppy birdied #15, which put him only 4 strokes down, and he is still in it! ! ! ! !

Am I a Phil Phan? I would say I'm probably middle of the road, because I remember so well when he was tearing up the Jr. Golf scene here in SoCal during the early to mid 80's, and it was quite impressive.

BUT

I have been a Dodger fan my whole life, but everytime I saw Steve and Cindy Garvey on TV, talk of each other, etc. I wanted to turn BoSox Blue & Red!  Why do I "Phil" the same way about Phil and AMY, and those spawn of the devil children of their's! ! ! Does he have any idea how insignifcant his personal home life is to me or th general public? Why does he have to force feed it to me how "cute" he and his family are? Didn't he learn anything about the Garvburger when he was in both San Diego and Los Angeles? Trying to invite the public into your personal life is well............sort of irritating with sugar all over it.

OK, I'm WAYYYYY out of line here tonight! I'm going to go to bed!

[JohnV]

Shivas, Schadenfreude is a German word which means taking joy in another's pain or feeling malicious joy.  In this case, Bob was talking about Tiger's implosion on the 3rd which took him out of the tournament.  I did feel a little of that, even though I would have liked to see him stage a charge and win the Masters in a come from behind fashion, or have someone like Weir do a Rich Beem and hang on against his charge.

Mattice has now suffered two of the bigger heartbreaking losses in the last few years with this one and the 8 on the 17th at the TPC when in the lead.  Hopefully he will come back even stronger and win more tournaments.

[Bob_Huntley]

Jim Kennedy.

I derived no joy from Maggert's misfortune, but on the other hand he has not been bestowed with a messianic presence. Quite frankly, I think Maggerts play and demeanor exemplify what is so unique about the game of golf. The ability to overcome a disaster with grace and fortitude and also to continue to play at the highest level. I do believe John Daly might well have taken a different tack.

Shivas.

Anti-Schadenfreudian indeed. Have you never taken the slightest pleasure in seeing a fellow competitor, who has called a rule on you, incorrectly, been undone by breaking the same rule a few holes down the road?

Your take on Len Mattiace is priceless. Could this do long term damage to his future?

[Jim_Kennedy]

Bob,
I'm sorry if my reply seemed terse, I didn't mean it that way.

[Bob_Huntley]

Jim_Kennedy.

Not taken that way at all, thanks for replying.

[Allan Long]

Can't say I enjoyed what happened at three, but what happened after the round made me sick. When asked about it, the first words out of Tiger's mouth were (more or less), "I
wanted to hit iron, but Stevie told me I should hit driver."

Later on, he owned up to the fact that ultimately it is up to the player, but he should have never dropped that to begin
with.

[DMoriarty]

I generally enjoy seeing these guys have to cope with situations that are much more common to we mere mortals.  It says more about their character than any cakewalk win ever will.  But with this tournament, the three major moments left me with mixed feelings.

Shivas' take on Len Mattiace is on the money.  What competitive golfer hasn't dreamt of mounting a comeback from way back in the pack on Sunday at the Masters?   But dreams never end with a complete collapse on the first playoff hole.  The most merciful moment of the tournament was Mike Weir tapping in so Mattiace didnt have to hit yet another putt.  Mattiace has battled for a long time to get where he is, so I hope that this doesn't damage the rest of his career, but it will probably be pretty tough for him to focus on the comeback and forget about the playoff.

As for Maggert hitting himself, I am ashamed to admit it, but I enjoy when quirky things happen in important moments.  Gives us something to remember (who can forget T.C. Chen?) and reminds us that no matter how fair the tournament committees try to make it, golf is inherently unfair.  Plus, while he did not win, he is one golfer who can walk away from his "loss" with pride.  Bob, I don't think we have to go so far as John Daly to find golfers who would not have bounced back with such character.  In fact, it is hard to think of many who would.

Then there is Tiger.  I was happy watching him play 3.  We know he is an gracious winner, but this gave us a chance to see he handles screwing up.  The low point of the tournament, and possibly the low point of his career, was Tiger's casting blame on his caddie for the screw-up on 3.   Unlike everyone, I am not a huge Nicklaus fan, but I cannot imagine Nicklaus blaming his caddie for a misplayed hole.  

[THuckaby2]

That comment was DEFINITELY a bad slip-up by Tiger and one he's going to have to live with for a long time.  I'm sure his media people have been coaching him since that second on how not to make this mistake again, if not how to rectify it now.  Image is everything, after all...  

As a human being though, hell he had to be so pissed off after the first real gag of his career in majors - that is, the first time he had a real chance to win a major and failed due to his own poor play, and couldn't blame it on weather (ie last year's Open), or another guy going crazy (ie last year's PGA) - that this slipup is understandable, at the very least.

As for taking joy in Tiger's failure, well... my rooting interest always seems to be for history to be made, and three Masters' in a row is just "better" history than first Canadian or anything else that might have happened (for me)... so I took no joy from Tiger's mishaps, except maybe in the thought that it proved he is human after all, and this game maybe ISN'T as easy as he makes it look so very often.

TH

[DMoriarty]

So Bob, in the photos below, are you relishing in your victory, or your opponent's defeat?

[THuckaby2]

Classic!  

Who is the mysterious dark, fedora'ed, right-handed stranger putting out of the shadows??

TH

[Bob_Huntley]

David.

Thank you. By the way I have not seen one photograph of the group at end of play that day at Cypress. Can someone send me one? I must say that there is a tad of jublilation showing, I had just won a dollar.

Tom.

The shadowy figure is the best and probably, the only hustler at the club. He shall remain nameless.

[THuckaby2]

Thanks, Bob.  This photo only adds to the mystery, as is appropriate!

TH

[Lou_Duran]

On what other site can one learn about sport, philosophy, psychology, and foreign languages all in one short thread!

One such obvious instance of Masters "schadenfreude" (now that I know what it is) was many years ago when Seve dumped his second shot in the pond on 15 while leading the tournament.  The crowd in the men's grill at my home club went crazy with joy.  It may have been 1986, the year when Nicklaus made Masters history.

It will be interesting to watch Mr. Mattice's career unfold.  Some of you may remember Ed Sneed bogey the last three holes to lose the Masters in the late 70s/early 80s.  He was a real low-key, softspoken gentleman, with a fantastic, rythmic swing.  He was never the same afterwards.  Listening to Mattice talk, he seems to have similar personality traits as Sneed.  Maggert comes across to me as having more fire inside, and he is no stranger to adversity.  He could very well gain something from the way he came back after the highly unusual bad breaks he got on 3 and 12.  

[THuckaby2]

redanman:

That was classic!  You've made very clear your antipathy (there's a 25 cent word!) for young Mr. Woods for years now and I gotta hand it to you, you are consistent.

But one comment that begins by blaming his caddy and ends by taking blame himself, and Tiger is now a "game boy playing vapid one-dimensional overly managed juvenile."  That is one hell of a stretch!

As I say though, I do admire the consistency.  

I have no wish to battle the personal merits of the greatest golfer of the last 20 years yet again, btw.  Here's hoping he does get a real rival or two and we really do get to see what he's made of.  In the meantime, fight the fight, my friend - great stuff.  Misguided and wrong, but classic.

TH

[THuckaby2]

redanman:  I can dig that, as some of my older relatives like to say...    Tiger is very "packaged."  

TH

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