Happy Masters Sunday. It's in the mid-60's in Augusta, Georgia, with the winds gusting between 20-30 mph. Feel free to e-mail any comments to thegolfwatcher@thegolfwatch.com -- I will get things started at 2:30 EST. See you soon.
2:34 - An interesting father-child montage used by CBS, with Tiger Woods, Zach Johnson, and Trevor Immelman.
2:44 - We are really seeing some first hole jitters in the final group, with two bogeys from both Immelman and Snedeker. Immelman had a poor opening tee shot, but at least had two good looking putts.
2:49- Tiger used the driver on the short par-4 3rd, and ended up in the fairway. That's an important shot for his confidence, considering where he's ended up on the hole in the past.
2:55- With relatively calm conditions for the first three days, it looks like the wind will have a major impact on play today. The second shots on the 13th and 15th holes will certainly be interesting.
3:00- Tiger misses a very makeable birdie putt on the third. Going low will be hard today. I wouldn't be surprised if 7 or 8-under is the winning score.
3:06- What a putt--Snedeker eagles the par-5 2nd. Immelman pushes his birdie opportunity to the right, and the Vanderbilt grad is tied for the lead.
3:11- Uh oh...Tiger misses his three-footer for par on the 4th. He's now six back. "He looks worn out by the effort that he's put in Nick, this week. I think he feels really shortchanged, and it's easy to feel that way." -Feherty
3:21- The front nine is showing some teeth. Snedeker bogeys, Casey bogeys. Besides the Snedeker putt and Cink tee shot on four, we haven't seen any stellar shots. "This golf course is going to win today. Somebody will wear a green jacket, but I'm not sure that anyone is going to conquer this." -another Feherty quote
3:26- It's only the fourth hole, and this is the second time today I have heard Snedeker's caddy say, "Committ to it."
3:35- Tiger makes birdie on six after a beautiful tee shot. He pulls to within five.
3:46- For the second time this tournament (the first time it happened to Michael Thompson), the ball moved when Paul Casey had already put his putter behind the ball, and a one stroke penalty has been dealt. Casey is having a tough day.
3:55- It looks like Immelman and Snedeker have settled down. Both players are back to where they started at the beginning of the day.
4:00- In a rare moment, Steve Flesch got pretty aggressive on the 7th hole, and teed off with a driver. He overcooked it, and the ball went well left. Now, he is in the bunker lying three, with a bogey or worse in sight.
4:06- Snedeker bogeys, Flesch bogeys. Immelman now has a three stroke lead with 12 holes to play.
4:14- Immelman hits his second shot on the 7th to a few feet. Kostis calls it a "lucky break." The ball bounced forward on the slope a few yards in front of the green, rather than back.
4:18- Snedeker bogeys, and Immelman misses a short 4-foot par putt. What looked like a two shot swing, turned into a one shot swing. Immelman has a four stroke lead with 11 to play.
4:37- For the second green in a row, Immelman has pulled a putt, moving back a stroke. No excuse with 126 yards to go from the middle of the fairway for his third shot.
4:46- Woods and Cink have been all over the place around the 10th green. Both missed their lengthy par putts, and have ended up with bogeys.
4:50- Jim Nantz just said that Gary Player left a voicemail for fellow countryman Trevor Immelman last night saying, "There will be bad breaks, and I know you are going to win." No pressure, Trevor.
4:53- Immelman just made a clutch par putt on the 9th that broke hard right-to-left. Snedeker bogeyed, and Immelman has a two stroke lead heading to the back-9. Much respect to Snedeker. He continues to smile.
4:57- CBS did a nice little tribute to the green jacket. "It means history, it's a symbol of excellence." Good editing, with lots of quick cuts to the likes of Gary Player, Arnold Palmer, Tiger Woods, and Zach Johnson.
5:07- Tiger Woods has been standing over his second shot on the 11th hole for quite some time. The wind is howling. He hits his shot to the front of the green. Baker-Finch said he needed one more club.
5:12- Two solid pars from Immelman and Snedeker on the 10th hole. Here comes Amen Corner...
5:40- Woods hits a good second shot out of the trees on the 13th and has a very delicate third shot to the green. Flesch drops two shots on the 12th.
5:42- The first two roars I've heard all day since Snedeker's eagle on the 2nd hole. Woods with a remarkable third shot on the 13th to a few feet, and then Immelman converts a difficult par putt from off of the green on 11.
5:45- Woods misses another short putt. This time, on the 13th. "Just when you thought he was going to put the pressure on." -Kostis
5:53- Ian Baker-Finch makes a great call as Brandt Snedeker's birdie putt rolls in on 12. "Yes! Brandt Snedeker!" I know I wrote this two posts earlier, but Brandt Snedeker really does have some of the most up-and-down rounds imaginable. 6 bogeys, one eagle, one birdie, still six holes to play.
5:59- It's been a tough couple of holes for Tiger. With a three-putt on the 14th hole, he drops back to 4-under. Immelman bogeys 12, and Woods still trails by five strokes.
6:03- Implementing the Zach Johnson strategy of 2007, Immelman lays up on the 13th hole. We'll see if it pays off...
6:05- For the second straight day, Brandt Snedeker went for the green in two on the par-5 13th, and ended up in the water. "Almost an exact replica of yesterday." -Kostis
6:10- Steve Flesch has his first three-putt of the week on the 14th for a bogey. Immelman just stuck his third shot. It looks like the South African will go up by five.
6:21- On the 14th hole: "Trevor Immelman has been fantastic. He has the guts, he has the heart, just like Gary Player." -Feherty. I know he has a five stroke lead, but isn't it a little early for such praise?
6:28- Immelman is doing what major champions have to do in order to win. He's not making mistakes. Snedeker and Flesch are both moving back. Immelman now has a six stroke lead as he approaches the 15th tee.
6:31- Feherty makes up for his previous observation..."How many times has Tiger Woods seemed to just play awfully and finish second. How do you do that?" Good point.
6:50- Immelman just hit his ball into the water on the 16th. Lundquist thought it was in the bunker, but realized that he made an error.
6:55- Tiger sinks his birdie putt on the final hole to finish at 5-under. His gesture when he made it sums it all up...it's about time
6:57- Immelman two putts for double bogey. He has a three stroke advantage over Woods with two holes to play.
7:01- As he waits for Trevor Immelman to finish up, Bill Macatee asks Tiger Woods what he will do in the meantime. Woods responded, "I'm going to eat..."
7:06- This is getting interesting. Immelman hits his second shot into the front greenside bunker on 17th. This will be a tough up-and-down.
7:11- Immelman gets up-and-down successfully. All he needs is a double-bogey or better on the 18th, and the green jacket is his.
7:22- As Immelman walks up the 18th green, Jim Nantz says, "Augusta salutes it's soon to be major champion."
7:27- Trevor Immelman wins with a par on the final hole and finishes at 8-under-par. Tiger finishes in second at 5-under. Thanks for checking in throughout the day. Expect updates throughout the night.
