1 week Ago
There are any number of ways to breakdown the Masters field into various categories to try and work out who are the main chances to claim the first major of the year, but Australia’s 2006 US Open Champion, Geoff Ogilvy, believes the best way to help you find a winner this week is this - those who already have a green jacket and those who don’t. “A green jacket in your locker here at Augusta National is worth one shot per round”, said Ogilvy. “The guys who have won here can play without the pressure that builds on players from the moment they drive down Magnolia Lane.
If you’ve already won here you’re more relaxed, knowing that if you come up short it’s okay, because next year you’ll come back, put on your green jacket, go to the the Champions Dinner on Tuesday night, and enjoy all the things that come with being a Masters champion”. Luckily for Rory McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau doesn’t have a green jacket either. The highest green jacket holder onte hleaderboard is Patrick Reed at six-under, followed by Scottie Scheffler one shot further back.
FOX SPORTS, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch the 2025 Masters LIVE | New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited time offer . READ MORE ‘SHOULDN’T HAPPEN’: Star storms out of interview as hint over Masters gag order causes stir ‘IMPOSSIBLE’: Masters shock as late twist, iconic shot set up final duel that ‘doesn’t get bigger’ ‘GOT TO ME’: Lee fuming over brutal Augusta call; Day image exposes ‘severe’ issue — Aussie wrap GREG NORMAN the dual major winner always struggled with hayfever when he headed to Augusta in April.
He mentioned it after his heartbreaking collapse in 1996 after leading by six shots going into the final round, but he isn’t alone when it comes to golfers batting allergies when they head to the Masters. The city of Augusta is renowned as being one of the pollen capitals of the United States, and while the pines, dogwoods and magnolias are the backdrop to the wondrous images we see on the Masters television coverage, they also push the pollen count to a level that has the manufacturers of Claratyne doing handstands. “I get out of my car in the morning, my eyes start watering,” two-time Masters winner Scottie Scheffler said this week.
“It’s a little bit worse than normal years.” Sniffles or not, it certainly didn’t hurt Scheffler in Round 1, with his opening 4-under 68 bettered only by Justin Rose, but if the winds pick up and start filling the air with even more pollen, you might hear less of ‘You da’ Man’ and more ‘Gesundheit’ on your TV screen. THERE isn’t a golfer on the planet who doesn’t want to play Augusta National, but most of us never will, and that’s okay.
Like me, you’ve probably made peace with the fact that this magnificent layout, designed almost a century ago by famed golden age architecture genius Alister MacKenzie alongside champion golfer and club co-founder Bobby Jones, is never going to be subjected to your duck-hook and flubbed-chip golf game. And while I’m comfortable knowing my future doesn’t feature a caddie in white overalls waiting to pick up my bag and stroll to the first tee, I’ve always wanted to stroll down the hill at Amen Corner and stand on the Hogan Bridge that leads the players to the 12th green, just to take in the sheer beauty of it all. When Fox Sports sought permission for Paul Gow and myself to record a preview piece looking at the hole known as Golden Bell while perched above Rae’s Creek, I thought we were an outside chance at best.
Well, sometimes dreams do come true. It’s fair to say we were floating on air as we walked by the 11th green, over the magnificently manicured carpet that is the fairway grass at Augusta National, and up onto the Hogan Bridge. And yes, the scene was everything I’d always imagined it to be.
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