Master's Review

The Masters' this year was full of controversy and excitement. Tiger Woods entered the tournament number one in the world, but he exited the tournament in controversy. But in the end, it was an Aussie who donned the Green Jacket.

The controversy didn't start until after the second round. At Hole 15, Tiger Woods hit the flagstick and the ball bounced backwards into the water. Woods could have either a) played the ball from besides the water in the "drop-zone", b) played the ball from behind the water, but still on the same projectory, or C) dropped the ball from where his last stroke was. Woods went with the final option, but with a catch. He admittedly dropped the ball two yards in front of where his last stroke was on purpose. This set Woods up for a decent stroke that would allow him to minimize the damage. When the Masters' Committee found out, they discussed the matter amongst themselves and with Tiger Woods. Woods was given a two stroke penalty, pushing him away from the lead. The public was outraged. Many called for him to withdraw from the tournament. While the penalty did set Tiger a fair way from the lead, (No pun intended) it didn't knock him out of contention. Personally, I thought the punishment was fair. For such a minor amount of yardage, dropping out of the tournament would be a tad over the edge.

However, the magic doesn't reach the climax until the final round. In this case, the defining moments were deep into the fourth and final round. When Angel Cabrera of Argentina and Adam Scott of Australia, both had a score of -9, everyone knew this was just another thriller. The first playoff hole was the eighteenth, which both players recorded a par. Impending celebrations would have to wait. It was on to the tenth. Cabrera came up just a little short by failing to make a birdie. Scott, however, did make a birdie, and became the first Australian to ever win the masters. Scott's inspiration, Greg Norman, is the only other Aussie who came close to winning the Masters in 1996 when he surrendered a six stroke lead. Like his idol, Scott also broke down in the final round last year, except Adam had a four stroke lead at the British Open.

Golf is one of those sports with a very global reach. Which is interesting because it's often viewed as a "Rich Man's Sport" while other internationally popular sports are popular be sauces they require little equipment. (For example, association football/soccer, in theory only takes a couple fabrication of home items found in African homes. A large part of golf is mental. Because of this, I could very easily see both genders competing against each other. The only dividing factor between males and females in golf would be driving distance. In the short game, physical strength doesn't matter nearly as much as finesse and fundamentals.

The Masters has kicked off a bit of a summer fiasco for the PGA. The four major tournaments are starting to begin their cycle, just as the prestigious tennis tournaments have their own cycle. Golf is just another game that's so fascinating to follow because of its global reach and intricate competition.