By Tim Clark / / Column, Tim's Two Cents
Two

Winning back to back Masters is akin to winning back to back triathlons. You have to be at the top of your game, plus endure the mental and emotional toll that comes with the task of conquering Augusta.

To prove the difficulty of accomplishing such a task, it has only been done three times. Jack Nicklaus did it in 1965-66, Nick Faldo went back to back in 1989-90, and Tiger Woods was driven enough to do it in 2001-02. Now you can make that four times, as Rory McIlroy accomplished the feat on Sunday.

McIlroy looked like he would run away with the tournament as he built a commanding six shot lead after two rounds. If you follow golf you know that isn’t how they roll at Augusta. Nine times out of ten the Masters provides a Sunday rollercoaster ride. It rarely disappoints.

Except it did kind of disappoint this year.

McIlroy —and he basically acknowledged such in his Butler Cabin interview— tried to allow other players to grab the tournament by the throat. As the holes chipped away, the challengers fell off into Ray’s Creek.

Scottie Scheffler dug his usual first two rounds hole, but started shoveling out with a sensational 65 on Saturday. Yet, Sunday when the door was open he couldn’t quite slide through. He was a par machine for far too long in the final round. With that said, he finally made a couple birdies to close in, but then slid a birdie putt on 17 an inch to the left. A putt that ultimately would have put him in a playoff with Rory.

Justin Rose was challenging just like a year ago, but he didn’t have any of last year’s magic.

Cam Young took the lead, but if you blinked you missed him coughing it right back out onto the Augusta pine straw.

Sam Burns flirted, but got shut down at every advance.

Tyrell Hatton got close, but never felt like he was going to pull it off.

Russell Henley, likewise.

Colin Morikawa could barely walk by the end of Sunday. He was sunk by his opening round 74, despite three really good rounds that followed.

McIlroy had a two shot lead heading to 18, and needed both shots as he pulled an old school Rory move by hitting his tee shot 25 yards right. A bogey was still good enough to win.

It just seemed a bit, meh.

Maybe it was the CBS coverage. I constantly rave about their coverage of golf, but the network had an exceptionally bad weekend.

First, I want to hear Jim Nantz not Andrew Catalon. I don’t know if this was some sort of Masters internship or just trying to allow Nantz more time for interview work in Butler Cabin. Nothing against Catalon, but I want the best at The Masters. Also, many shots were missed throughout the week, capped by a horrible effort on the eighteenth hole on Sunday. CBS had no idea where either Cam Young or Rory McIlroy’s ball went off the tee. They followed by not knowing where Rory’s second shot landed, simply guessing it was the ball in the green side bunker. They culminated their bad week by not allowing a front view of Rory’s final putt. But, hey, we did get to see the teenagers back at Rory’s home golf club pounding Guinness beer about 100 times on Sunday. All of that, plus I still miss Verne on the sixteenth tower.

It didn’t help matters that I had to have three or four different apps or channels to watch the first two rounds. Not an inspiring choice. 

With no golfer being able to make an honest to goodness run at McIlroy and McIlroy’s average final two days, this year’s Masters felt just a bit lackluster. CBS managed to make it feel even worse.

Having said that, it is still the best week in golf. The beauty of the course, the discipline of the crowd(no cell phones), and the fact it is the most coveted title in golf to win still makes for a joyous spring weekend.

If nothing else, the music will always give me goosebumps.

Even a lackluster Masters is still my favorite week of the golf season.

Tweet of the Week

Chris Vernon is the master with the Masters updates. The silliness here is elite level stuff, and I’m here for it.

 


The Weekly Shiny Penny

How about the Pittsburgh Pirates TV broadcast tapping into the Masters energy. Top notch.

 


A Penny For My Final Thoughts…

There was more than just the Masters last week. Here are some quick thoughts.

  • The Pirates just feel different this year. The bullpen and defense are going to get in the way more than is acceptable.
  • Pens/Flyers in round one of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Should be fun.
  • Shohei Ohtani is doing things we will never see again. 

 

 

  • Bobby Witt would probably be the best all around player in baseball if not for what Ohtani is doing.

 

  • Louisville struck it rich early in college hoops portal season, snagging Flory Bidunga from Kansas and Jackson Shelstead from Oregon. The Cardinals plan to be big spenders.
  • The NFL Draft takes place in Pittsburgh in 9 days. Will the Steelers make a hometown splash or play it straight? I will give my thoughts on Wall2WallFootball podcast early next week and follow up in this column next week.
Just my two cents…