Bubba Watson winning the Masters on the second hole of a playoff against Louis Oosthuizen was absolutely the big story last Sunday.
I don’t play golf (guys only ladies forbidden) anymore, or watch much on TV, but I just got enthralled watching this tournament. It had everything an avid golfer would want to see and all an audience would want to watch.
The Masters started to really heat up after 2010 British Open winner Louis O. hit the ball 253 yards with a five iron on the par five second hole of the Masters for the rarest shot in golf, a Double Eagle 2.
Louis then took the ball out of the cup and tossed it into the crowd. It turns out the man who caught the ball for Oosthuizen gave the ball to the Augusta National Golf Course for their historical memorabilia. Augusta National officials declined to say what arrangements were made with the man in exchange for the ball, but I would think both parties are happy.
Anyway, with the Double Eagle, Louis took a two shot lead over Phil Mickelson and Peter Hanson and it looked like it would be just those two chasing Louis until Bubba “Tin Cup” Watson (no relation to Tom). And then the story line began.
Bubba, who has never taken a golf lesson and is the longest hitter on the PGA Tour, hit what was a shot right out of the movie onto the green in the second hole of the playoff.
Louis, who had hit a bad drive, could not get on in two, and his two-putt for a bogey left the door wide open for Bubba, who only needed a two-putt for the life changer. He got it and the crowd went crazy.
I really don’t follow golf that much, but with Tiger in the woods tossing F bombs around plus his temper tantrums kicking his club, the final outcome has to do a ton of good for the game. I do like a good guy named Bubba to win such a great event like the Masters.
BASEBALL RALLIES
The first full week of baseball was wild and crazy even though it started very slow. On Thursday there were seven games with five going UNDER the total with the aces dominating.
Things really turned going into the weekend as we found out how bad the second tier pitching is for some of these ball clubs, not to mention the bullpens and the closers.
There were very few Brendas out there to close things out for some of these teams.
Some of the surprises were Angels losing two out of three to the Royals, the Mets sweeping the Braves and the Diamondbacks sweeping the Giants. The series I liked the most was the Pirates using great pitching and speed to take two out of three against the Phillies.
We will soon see what the Pirates are really made of as they head West for a three-game series with the Dodgers, then three with the Giants and three with the Diamondbacks before heading back to Pittsburgh for three against St. Louis.
The Pirates need five victories in order to keep the confidence they got in the Philly series. We will see if their pitching can hold up.
SEMINAR TIME
This Friday at 6 p.m. at the Palace Station race book we will be holding the first of two Kentucky Derby free seminars. This one is called Dinner With the Derby Preps.
Vic Vivio from the Palace, Ralph Siraco, Rich Rose and Lou D’Amico from the Bad Beat Radio Show, and yours truly will be there with some selections. For sure there will be a lot of insight on what has transpired, especially at the last two major preps this Saturday – the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland and the Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park.
The seminar, food and drinks are free. Plus, there will be cocktail service. The seminar usually lasts around an hour with a Q&A session and some surprises. So if you are a fan or just a casual bettor, come and have a good time. You may even get a winner or two, but in any case you will enjoy yourself.
This past Saturday, I had the pleasure of attending the Santa Anita Derby and received first class treatment from the famed California track, especially from Tom Quigley the VIP Player Concierge.
Quigley made the trip great despite not cashing very many tickets. The service was outstanding and the weather perfect. The ladies were from Southern California so I need not say anymore.
As I told my two friends who were with me, Syl Vallella and Bob Mann, we couldn’t have it all so winning was just not in the cards.