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| At Augusta National, golfers face most dangerous foe — and it’s an inside call | At Augusta National, golfers face most dangerous foe — and it’s an inside call |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| AUGUSTA, Ga. — For the next three days, with a little luck, golf fans may get to see one of the better leader boards in the past 40 years of the Masters. After the first round Thursday, defending Masters champion Jordan Spieth (66) leads by two shots. That chance of a repeat winner ensures high drama all by itself. | |
| Rory McIlroy is just four behind after shooting 70 and has a chance to complete the career Grand Slam — a win in all four majors — at the startling age of just 26. | |
| “To be one of only six people to do it, I feel, would set me apart,” he said. | “To be one of only six people to do it, I feel, would set me apart,” he said. |
| Who else within three shots of Spieth is also among the world’s top 10 players? Justin Rose, Paul Casey, Sergio Garcia and Ian Poulter. Jason Day, No. 1 in the world, trashed a brilliant round with a 31-41—72, but at even par, the same score as Phil Mickleson, Day is still a plausible contender if he can pull himself together. | Who else within three shots of Spieth is also among the world’s top 10 players? Justin Rose, Paul Casey, Sergio Garcia and Ian Poulter. Jason Day, No. 1 in the world, trashed a brilliant round with a 31-41—72, but at even par, the same score as Phil Mickleson, Day is still a plausible contender if he can pull himself together. |
| As we watch these distinguished fellows, we should remember that we also are gazing at a group of men full of peculiarities and golf demons, a list that’s addicted to exotic methods of talking themselves out of their fears. | As we watch these distinguished fellows, we should remember that we also are gazing at a group of men full of peculiarities and golf demons, a list that’s addicted to exotic methods of talking themselves out of their fears. |
| [Defending Masters champ Jordan Spieth picks up where he left off] | |
| Trying to be the world’s No. 1 golfer is like trying to be the best person in the world at threading a sewing needle while standing in a wind tunnel: tiny hole, tiny thread, big wind and your nervous system a wreck. | Trying to be the world’s No. 1 golfer is like trying to be the best person in the world at threading a sewing needle while standing in a wind tunnel: tiny hole, tiny thread, big wind and your nervous system a wreck. |
| Are you sure you weren’t crazy for wanting to become a superhuman needle-threader in the first place? Think of the young threaders trying to dethrone you. | Are you sure you weren’t crazy for wanting to become a superhuman needle-threader in the first place? Think of the young threaders trying to dethrone you. |
| In this sport of constant calamities, every player needs his own unique methods of soul-saving self-defense. In other words, golf has turned these stalwarts into a bunch of borderline nut jobs. They know it. And unlike many athletes, they talk about it. | In this sport of constant calamities, every player needs his own unique methods of soul-saving self-defense. In other words, golf has turned these stalwarts into a bunch of borderline nut jobs. They know it. And unlike many athletes, they talk about it. |
| Let Day stand for them all. His bogey-triple-bogey-bogey disaster at the 15th, 16th and 17th holes symbolizes what potentially awaits them all at any moment. Doubt it? Rickie Fowler shot 80. Eminent Ernie Els six-putted from three feet for a 9 at the first hole. | Let Day stand for them all. His bogey-triple-bogey-bogey disaster at the 15th, 16th and 17th holes symbolizes what potentially awaits them all at any moment. Doubt it? Rickie Fowler shot 80. Eminent Ernie Els six-putted from three feet for a 9 at the first hole. |
| “I feel sorry for whoever that was,” Casey said. Told it was Els, a four-time major tournament champion, Casey just said softly — and sadly — “Wow.” | |
| On Tuesday, Day recalled how, a few years ago, golf drove him so batty that he sat in a shuttle bus across Washington Street from Augusta National and told his wife, agent and sports psychologist he might quit the sport. That day. | On Tuesday, Day recalled how, a few years ago, golf drove him so batty that he sat in a shuttle bus across Washington Street from Augusta National and told his wife, agent and sports psychologist he might quit the sport. That day. |
| [Friday’s second-round tee times] | |
| “Golf is a very, very frustrating game,” Day said. “As a junior, you’re playing for fun and to win. Once you turn pro . . . you get nit-picked. . . . ‘He doesn’t drive it straight enough or hit enough greens,’ whatever. Then you start stressing, losing a bit of confidence . . . getting frustrated. It’s a downward spiral from there.” | |
| There, on the shuttle bus, Day told those closest to him that he didn’t know whether he could bring himself to pick up a club. Uh-oh, time for extreme mind games. | |
| “We came to the conclusion, ‘This might be my last Masters ever. I may as well enjoy it,’ ” Day said. “So I went out there and finished second. And then I loved the game again.” | |
| His message is mordant nonetheless. | |
| “When you’re thinking about getting rid of caddies, coaches, agents and sometimes wives — that wasn’t me, trust me,” Day said. “Well, I’m [just] glad I got through it and sitting here number one in the world.” | |
| Spieth may have the lead, but he has problems, too. Before the tournament, he raved about how well his game had come together, even though almost everyone (except Spieth) considers his 2016 to be mildly disappointing, and wondered whether his money-harvesting globe-hopping after his amazing 2015 season had produced some brain burn. South Korea, China, Australia, the Bahamas, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates since November — nice vacation spots, tough golf travel. | |
| On Thursday, Spieth conceded he was not hitting his irons well. He simply overcame it, for one day, with amazing putting. No player on earth, at the moment, has that kind of preternatural composure. Casey, who played with him, said, “Yes, it is like playing with Tiger. With Jordan, he just exudes — whatever ‘that’ is that you expect of a world number one. There’s something different. It’s cool. It’s the way he walks, the way he stands, the way he speaks. It’s the whole thing.” | |
| [For starters, Els’s opening 9 is one for the books] | [For starters, Els’s opening 9 is one for the books] |
| But golf respects no one. In fact, it plots against peace of mind 24-7. On Wednesday on the range, Spieth discovered a crack straight across the face of his driver. That can’t happen, can it? Yet it’s the third time it has happened to Spieth. | |
| “I just took the shaft off and used four different heads, mixed the swing weights around a little bit, hit five or six balls with each one and picked the best. Obviously not ideal,” Spieth said. “I did hit a lot of 3-woods today.” | “I just took the shaft off and used four different heads, mixed the swing weights around a little bit, hit five or six balls with each one and picked the best. Obviously not ideal,” Spieth said. “I did hit a lot of 3-woods today.” |
| So Kyle Busch, other than driving on three wheels, how did the car handle today? | |
| The measure of Spieth’s toughness is that “I got everything out of that round.” | The measure of Spieth’s toughness is that “I got everything out of that round.” |
| As Spieth and amateur Bryson DeChambeau walked up the 18th fairway, Spieth congratulated the 22-year-old amateur on a 72 in his first Masters round. But Spieth also said, according to DeChambeau, “I don’t know what it is about this place. I just love putting here. I can see the break. I can see the lines.” | |
| Oh, golf, the sport of self-brain-washing. | Oh, golf, the sport of self-brain-washing. |
| So for the next three days, as you follow this Masters, try to remember that almost everyone is holding on for dear life — including men who you are convinced have blood made of frozen water. | |
| They’re holding on to swing thoughts and peaceful images. In some cases, players even say they have had a religious conversion that has helped them keep golf in a less-than-life-consuming perspective. | |
| Who says a non-contact game can’t inflict head injury? Golf doesn’t literally scramble brains. But at the pinnacle of the sport, it sure feels that way. | Who says a non-contact game can’t inflict head injury? Golf doesn’t literally scramble brains. But at the pinnacle of the sport, it sure feels that way. |