Golf Empire

Despite all the hoopla surrounding Tiger’s return, the actual event went off with less fanfare and controversy than all expected. As he warmed up on the practice green, people watch and applauded, but no one heckled. As Tiger walked to the first tee, he received a spirited applause that was amplified by the fact that EVERY SINGLE PERSON at the tournament was there to watch him. Tiger hit his drive with a slight fade right into the middle of the fairway. What a relief.

Now that the drama has ended, it is time to see what Tiger is going to do in the actual tournament. He had a solid day, shooting a 68 (his best opening round ever) and sits two shots behind the leader Freddy Couples. The most remarkable stat of Tiger’s day was his two eagles, which is the first ever at a Masters in one round. Despite that impressive feat, Tiger did have a couple bogeys that hurt an otherwise great first round back to golf.

Sitting in second place are a few big names. Phil Mickelson opened up the Masters with a five under 67 and is looking to continue his great play and win his third green jacket. Also tied is sixty years young Tom Watson, who took the world of golf by storm last year when he almost won the British Open only to choke on the last green. In addition there are a couple of South Koreans, Y.E. Yang (who won the PGA Championship last year) and K.J. Choi (who was partnered with Tiger today) who look to keep Tiger at bay. A final notable is Anthony Kim who is tied with Tiger for seventh, two shots off the lead.

There have been rumblings of bad weather in Augusta with a possible tornado warning. Today, the golfers were lucky with near ideal conditions. Hopefully the weather will continue to hold tomorrow and into the weekend. If not, we may be seeing some US Open conditions.

More fun to follow tomorrow!

All eyes will be on the first tee at 1:42 pm (EST) this afternoon as Tiger Woods takes the tee for his first tournament round since his incident last year. Most people wonder what type of reaction Tiger will receive from the crowd and some about how he will react. Tiger is not accustomed to being booed, but in my opinion, I doubt the crowd at Augusta will have the audacity to heckle Tiger (do so and face the wrath of the Master’s security). This is not the US Open in New York, where things often get rowdy for the (cough) well lathered fans, but one of the most respected and polite crowds in professional golf. However this may change due to the media circus that has been created around Tiger. Personally, I think there should be complete silence. Imagine how disconcerting it would be to step up to the tee in front of thousands of people, only to hear absolutely nothing. If that wouldn’t shock you, I don’t know what to say.

In other Tiger news, Nike has released a new ad featuring the voice of Tiger’s late father and a very remorseful looking Tiger. At first watch, I was kind of shocked and confused as to why Tiger would allow such a commercial. I thought his last press conference was fine, he owes the fans and the media no other apologies. This campaign perplexes me.

With only two days left until my favorite tournament of the year (well it’s a toss up between the Masters and the US Open) everyone is wondering the big question: will Tiger step up and win his fifth green jacket. Of course this is impossible to know, but here are my three top players who I expect to challenge Tiger this weekend who by the way has been out of competitive golf for five months and hasn’t won at Augusta in five years.

1. Ernie Els. Quite possibly the hottest golfer on tour right now, Els has jumped out to a quick start on the year, winning the WGC-CA Championship at Doral and following that victory up with another at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill. Both courses are historically two of the most difficult on tour, and to have Ernie playing his best so early is a good sign going into the weekend. Although he has battled injury and inconsistent play in the last couple of years, Els looks healthy and ready to take home the championship. One warning though, Els has never won at Augusta (even though he usually plays well) and his last major victory was back in 2002 at the British Open. However, I still think that Els will continue to ride his hot streak to at least a top 10 finish this weekend.

2. Steve Stricker. Who you may ask? Sticker is the number 2 golfer in the world and has a good chance to win it all this weekend. He may be the best putter on tour, and combined with his consistent play off the tee, makes him a scary opponent to fall behind. Stricker is also coming off his best season ever in 2009 with three wins including one at the Deutsche Bank Championship (held at the TPC Boston!) and one this year at the Northern Trust Open out in California. Steve is looking for his first major so expect him to play with a sense of purpose.

3. Phil Mickelson. After two positive contenders, I want to give credit to one of golf’s most visible names. Although Phil has not played well, especially when he was expected to step up in Tiger’s absense, don’t count Lefty out yet. Who is Rocky without Apollo, the Yankees without the Sox, Batman without Joker? Likewise, Phil needs Tiger to further fuel his drive to win his fourth major and third green jacket. After a difficult 2009, Phil should be able to channel his rivals energy and catapult himself back into the top 5.

That being said, this weekend should prove to be one of the most memorable Masters in recent memory, not only because of the Tiger saga, but also because of the great golf that will be played by many of golf’s brightest stars.

Honarable Mentions: Anthony Kim (won last week at Shell Houston Open and one second place finish), Camilo Villegas (beat Kim for a victory at The Honda Classic), Vaughn Taylor (hometown hero, finished tenth at Master in 2007).

Tomorrow is the Par 3 Challenge, which is quickly becoming a fan favorite event. Hopefully Chris Berman will not be announcing it again this year.

At 2 pm this afternoon, Tiger Woods finally broke his “silence” and allowed for a full disclosure media press conference. No topic was off limits and it started off where the scandal began, with a question about the mysterious night when Tiger crashed his SUV. Surprisingly Tiger seemed relaxed, addressing many of the reporters by name, and owned up to his mistakes. In a brief opening statement he gratefully thanked his fans and all who have supported him, and unlike his last “reveal,” this time he seemed genuinely sorry for what he had done.

The only question that still remained completely unanswered in my mind was the possibility of a drug problem that Tiger had the night of the crash. When asked about Ambien being a factor in his impairment he immediately dodged the question and passed it off on the authorities, who fined Woods for destroying public property, but nothing else. This is completely unrelated to the accusations that were being made about possible HGH and steroid usage, which Tiger answered with a definitive no.

Tiger repeatedly address how he has grown in rehab and recognized how his behavior affected more than just himself. His regret stemmed further than the golf course and missing tournaments, going back to his personal life and how he had hurt his children and wife. Again, TIger did seem genuine and in this way won back a lot of respect that he has lost.

Finally, when asked about expectations, Tiger expected big things from this weekend. Despite having to take a few months off his rigorous training schedule, he has been working hard with Hank Haney to prepare himself for the Masters.

After all this publicity, hopefully the world can turn back to the importance of this weekend, which is the first major tournament of the 2010 PGA tour season. Tiger is no doubt expected to be a favorite to win it, but who else can step up and challenge him? Look for a preview of the rest of the field tomorrow.

A few minutes ago, Anthony Kim delivered in a sudden death playoff for his first victory of the season in the Shell Houston Open at the Redstone Golf Club. Vaughn Taylor left himself in a little bit of trouble after having to get up and down from the bunker to force a second playoff hole. Unfortunately he missed seventeen footer to tie Kim, who had a twenty foot birdie putt which he missed and an easy par putt to win the entire thing. A strong day overall, the leader going into today, Bryce Molder fell apart, posting a score of two over and eliminating himself from contention. Molder, who grew up in Augusta, Georgia (you may have heard of a small club called Augusta National) was looking for his first career victory. Now he will have to strive to achieve his first career victory in his hometown, but on the greatest of stages.

In other news (i.e Tiger Watch 2010) Tiger Woods made his first public appearance on a golf course since his last tournament. Tiger played the back nine at Augusta with his old friend Mark O’Meara and about 20 security guards. The practice round was closed to the public, however reporters were able to watch Tiger at the practice range and greens. Despite being away from professional golf for more than a year, Tiger looked sharp, and of course had his swing coach Hank Haney there to do some last minute fine tuning. With only 4 days left until the first round, everyone is wondering what the reaction will be when Tiger takes the first tee. My guess, respectful applause for the disgraced legend.