Tour News
The Masters: Our Major Preview
“The winner of this tournament doesn’t just win a major,” Phil Mickelson said in 2001, when the 30-year-old was still trying to win his first major championship.
“He becomes a part of the history of the game, and that’s what excites me. This tournament creates something that is very special, and year in year out, history is made here.”
Come 2013, Mickelson is now a three-time Masters Champion, and a veteran of the Sunday shootouts at Augusta National — a launching pad for the careers of many golfers, including himself.
But despite all of Mickelson’s success since his first win at Augusta; the three other major titles and his induction in the World Golf Hall of Fame, the excitement he feels as a golfer trying to win the Masters hasn’t changed.
“To feel that excitement, to feel that pressure, to grace Amen Corner knowing that you need birdies and trying to win a Green Jacket . . . that is the greatest thrill that a golfer can ever experience,” Mickelson said in his Tuesday press conference.
On Thursday morning, the eyes of the sporting world will ascend on the hallowed Augusta National Golf Club for the 77th playing of The Masters Tournament.
The 2013 version brings with it as much anticipation as any year in recent memory. Bubba Watson will defend his title against a field of 93 players that includes the youngest participant in Masters history, 14-year-old Guan Tianlang of Thailand, as well as the usual suspects from the top of the world ranks.
The story lines are endless. Can Tiger Woods win his 15th major title? Will Rory McIlroy overcome early season adjustments to win his third major? Is Mickelson still capable of taking over Augusta for his fourth green jacket, or will one of the high-ranking European players like Luke Donald, Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter or Justin Rose finally put it together to win their first major?
Watson is looking to become only the third player in history to defend his Masters title (Jack Nicklaus 1965-66, Nick Faldo 1989-90, Woods 2001-02). He was emotional in describing what he did with his “take home” Green Jacket, which he took home and wrapped his adopted infant son, Caleb, in after the tournament.
“We were swapping stories back here and my man [Claude Mielsen, moderator of the press conference] right here last year drove me from No. 10 to Butler Cabin and I said, ‘Is this my green jacket?’ He said, ‘Yeah this is your green jacket that you’re taking home,'” Watson said. “I told him I was going to go home and wrap Caleb up in it . . .That’s the only thing I did with it. Out of respect, out of honor.”
In 2012, Watson defeated South African Louis Oosthuizen in a playoff with the now infamous snap-hook gap wedge out of the right trees on the long par four No. 10 to secure his first major victory.
Oosthuizen had turned the 2012 Masters on its head early on Sunday when he holed his second shot, a 4 iron from 253 yards on the par-5 No. 2 for an albatross that sprung the South African into the lead at 9-under. He finished at 10-under, in a tie with Watson and two shots ahead of American Matt Kuchar, who made a late back nine charge with an eagle at No. 15, but followed that up with a bogey at the par 3 No. 16 to end his chances.
Woods is the odds on favorite (3/1) is coming into Augusta with a head full of steam, winning three of his first five events so far this year and in doing so reclaiming his place as the No. 1-ranked player in the Official Golf World Rankings. No. 2 Rory McIlroy (8/1) arrives at Augusta with a new sense of confidence with back-to-back top-10 finishes at Houston and the Texas Open.
On his press-induced rivalry with Woods, McIlroy added at his Tuesday press conference:
“When you speak of rivals you tend to speak of rivals who have had similar success,” he said. “He’s got 77 Tour titles, I’ve got six. He’s got 14 majors, I’ve got two. If I saw myself as a rival to Tiger, I wouldn’t be doing him much justice.”
Rivalry or not, Woods and McIlroy should provide plenty of fireworks this week.
At 3 p.m., when Jim Nantz leads us off with his initial intro, golf history will remake itself one more time. It’s Masters Week. Enjoy.
Click here to see the hundreds of photos we’ve snapped of Augusta National this week.
The Course
Augusta National Golf Club
Augusta, Georgia
Par 72
7435 Yards
Architects-Bobby Jones and Alister MacKenzie. Redesigned by Tom Fazio in 2002
Course Record-63 Nick Price (1986) Greg Norman (1996)
Tournament Records
Most Victories: Jack Nicklaus (6)
Lowest Score: Tiger Woods 270 (18-under) 1997
Largest Margin of Victory: Tiger Woods (12 shots) 1997
Most Appearances: Gary Player (52)
Most Cuts Made: Jack Nicklaus (37)
Lowest Career Scoring Avg. with 50+ Rounds: Tiger Woods (70.87)
Key Pairings
Brandt Snedeker, Ryo Ishikawa, Justin Rose: 9:17 a.m.
Zach Johnson, KJ Choi, Graeme McDowell: 9:50 a.m.
Bubba Watson, Ian Poulter, Steven Fox: 10:34 a.m.
Tiger Woods, Luke Donald, Scott Piercy: 10:45 a.m.
Jason Day, Rickie Fowler, Paddy Harringotn: 10:56 a.m.
Phil Mickelson, Louis Oosthuizen, Martin Kaymer: 1:30 p.m.
Rory McIlroy, Keegan Bradley, Freddie Jacobson: 1:41 p.m.
Jason Dufner, Matt Kuchar, Bill Haas: 1:52 p.m.
Click here to see the hundreds of photos we’ve snapped of Augusta National this week, and click here for more Masteres discussion in the “Tour Talk” fourm.
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans
GolfWRX is live on site this week at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans for the PGA Tour’s one-and-only two-man team event.
As usual, general galleries, WITBs, and pullout albums — including some pretty spicy custom putters and headcovers — await your viewing.
Be sure to check back for more photos from the Big Easy, as we’ll continue to update this page with additional galleries throughout the week.
General Albums
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Monday #1
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Monday #2
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Tuesday #1
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Tuesday #2
WITB Albums
- Alex Fitzpatrick – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Austin Cook – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Alejandro Tosti – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Davis Riley – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- MJ Daffue – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Nate Lashley – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- James Nicholas – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Kevin Streelman – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Rasmus Hojgaard – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Tom Whitney – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- SangMoon Bae – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Daniel Berger – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
Pullout Albums
- MJ Daffue’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Cameron putters – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Swag covers ( a few custom for Nick Hardy) – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Custom Bettinardi covers for Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick – 2024 Zurich Classic
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 RBC Heritage
GolfWRX is on site this week at Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island for the RBC Heritage. Plenty of golfers who competed in the Masters last week will be making the quick turnaround in the Lowcountry of South Carolina as the Heritage is again one of the Tour’s Signature Events.
We have general albums for you to check out, as well as plenty of WITBs — including Justin Thomas and Justin Rose.
We’ll continue to update as more photos flow in from SC.
Check out links to all our photos, below.
General Albums
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Monday #1
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Monday #2
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Tuesday #1
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Tuesday #2
WITB Albums
- Justin Thomas – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Justin Rose – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Chandler Phillips – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Nick Dunlap – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Thomas Detry – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Austin Eckroat – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Xander Schauffele – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Jason Day – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Will Zalatoris – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Patrick Cantlay – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Ludvig Aberg – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Collin Morikawa – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Sam Burns – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Stephen Jaeger – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
Pullout Albums
- Wyndham Clark’s Odyssey putter – 2024 RBC Heritage
- JT’s new Cameron putter – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Justin Thomas testing new Titleist 2 wood – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Cameron putters – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Odyssey putter with triple track alignment aid – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Scotty Cameron The Blk Box putting alignment aid/training aid – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Cameron putter – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Odyssey Ai One Eleven T putters – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Christian Bezuidenhout – testing new Callaway Ti 340 mini driver – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Rory McIlroy testing the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Xander Schauffele testing the Callaway Ti 340 mini driver & the DUW – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Byeong Hun An, two new L.A.B. Golf putter builds with “T” alignment – 2024 RBC Heritage
See what GolfWRXers are saying and join the discussion in the forums.
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 Valero Texas Open
GolfWRX is on site this week at the Valero Texas Open.
The event has been around since 1922, making it one of the oldest on the PGA Tour calendar. Over the years, it’s been held at a variety of courses across the Lone Star State, but it’s found its home at TPC San Antonio in recent years. Some of the biggest names in golf have taken home the title here, including Arnold Palmer, Ben Hogan, Lee Trevino, and Ben Crenshaw.
GolfWRX has its usual assortment of general galleries, WITBs and special pull-out albums. As always, we’ll continue to update the links below as more photos come in from TPC San Antonio.
General Albums
WITB Albums
- Ben Taylor – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Paul Barjon – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Joe Sullivan – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Wilson Furr – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Ben Willman – SoTex PGA Section Champ – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Jimmy Stanger – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Rickie Fowler – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Harrison Endycott – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Vince Whaley – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Kevin Chappell – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Christian Bezuidenhout – WITB (mini) – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Scott Gutschewski – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
Pullout Albums
- Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Ben Taylor with new Titleist TRS 2 wood – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Swag cover – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Greyson Sigg’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Davis Riley’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Josh Teater’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Hzrdus T1100 is back – – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Mark Hubbard testing ported Titleist irons – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Tyson Alexander testing new Titleist TRS 2 wood – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Hideki Matsuyama’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Cobra putters – 2024 Valero Texas Open
See what GolfWRXers are saying in the forums.
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