1. Mystery of Why The Sunday Pin on No. 16 Was Moved
I guess it’s the wacky year of 2020 and that pretty much explains it, right? Some haters are even questioning if this is an official Masters because the pin wasn’t in the traditional place and didn’t allow players to use the bank of the green to work the ball to the hole. I surmise the organizers saw the scores going lower than the John Deere Classic so they threw the players a knuckleball and set the pin high right so the slope would coerce the balls down toward the pond leaving long putts.
2. Bernhard Langer Beating Popeye DeChambeau
Looks like the 63-year old Langer kicked some sand in the face of Muscles DeChambeau. Langer bested him on the final day by two shots (71 to 73) and one shot on total score 285 to 286. Perhaps the most amazing stat is Popeye averaged 315 yards off the tee in round four and Langer averaged 250. Back to the protein shakes for Popeye.
3. Amazing Drone Footage Shots
Hey, I’ve watched the Drone Racing League (DRL) on ESPN and thought that was pretty cool, but the drone panoramas we were getting of Augusta National were over-the-top phenomenal. I watched just about every minute of coverage and I couldn’t wait to see the drone shots. Please, Augusta National membership, always let the Drones fly from here forward.
4. Dustin Johnson’s Overwhelming Emotions
For those of us who thought D.J. was the closest thing to a robot playing golf, man, were we surprised? His emotions were all about the countless hours at the range, the thousands of putts on the living room floor and the fierce belief he’s developed to beat the best players on the planet. Actually, this should have been D.J.’s second green jacket. I’m convinced he would have won in 2017 when he was playing the best golf of his life, but he had to WD because of a stumble down some stairs at his Augusta rental home.
5. Different New Views and Camera Angles
While having no fans took lots of excitement out of the tournament (no roars wafting through the pines), it also enabled cameramen and women to get to certain spots and offer up some spectacular new looks at Augusta National. It really was making lemonade out of lemons. Some of the new angles were stunning.
6. Popeye DeChambeau’s Lost Ball
A lot of haters were glad Popeye lost his ball in the rough on the short par-4 third hole in his second round. I was not. Simply put, you give these ball spotters one stinkin’ job and they can’t even come through. What the heck were they doing out there? Bird watching? Munching a Moon Pie? Then to really rub it in, some goofball spotter finally finds the ball and gives it to DeChambeau on the fourth tee box. Thanks for nothing Mr. worthless ball spotter guy.
7. Lee Elder Announcement As Honorary Starter in 2021
This was such a great move by Augusta National. I’ve met Lee and he’s one of the kindest and classiest people I’ve ever encountered in the golf universe. He was the first black man to play in the Masters in 1975 and I can’t wait to see him tee it up with Jack and Gary in April of next year.
8. Tiger’s 10 at No. 12
No doubt, if Tiger was playing as a youngster and hot head high school golf coach sees the 10 septuple-bogey on the scorecard, Tiger would probably be kicked off the team. But only Tiger can score a 10 on a hole and come away a hero. He hit three balls into the water on the 155-yard par-three and it looked for sure like he eventually would write something in the 80’s on his scorecard for the day. But he’s Tiger freakin’ Woods and it pissed him off so much that he birdied five of the next six holes. You wanna teach your junior golfer a lesson, Tiger’s ferocious comeback from the 10 tells you everything you need to know about competitive spirit at the highest level.
9. Paulina Gretzky’s Presence
Why were we pulling for D.J. to win the Masters? Many of us had seen glimpses of Paulina on the Augusta National grounds and her appearance at No. 18 to greet her victorious significant other was not disappointing. Nobody and I mean nobody does spandex athletic tights and a Masters sweater like Paulina. It was certainly more exciting than the social distanced Butler Cabin ceremony. Keep on winning Dustin!
10. Intriguing Fashion Statements
I guess to stay with the zaniness of the 2020 theme, some of the players decided to display some questionable fashion statements. Among the more interesting were Dylan Fritelli’s chemistry teacher glasses, Tommy Fleetwood’s wild stripe “Where is Waldo” shirts, Nike team endorsers with their UPS brown golf shirts and Cam Scott with his mullet, flat brim hat and skimpy surfer beard.
