The Masters — a tradition unlike any other — begins today with Jack Nicklaus and Arnie Palmer teeing off before you wake up or read this.
The azaleas will be at their peak season at Augusta National, the grass will be verdant and golf will be played in three (four shalt thou not count, neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three) dimensions on ESPN.
Even better is the battle between six players who could claim the No. 1 spot in the World Golf Ranking.
The list includes No. 2 Lee Westwood, No. 3 Phil Mickelson (2010 Masters champion) and No. 5 Graeme McDowell (2010 United States Open champion).
The focus should be on all six of those golfers.
Instead, the cameras will likely be looking at one spectacle — Tiger Woods, the No. 7 golfer in the world who is among the six.
When you see him taking all 78 of his strokes Thursday and the ESPN guys analyzing every one of them, don’t be alarmed. It’s not a lesser clone of him, nor is it a stunt double.
Though it may appear that way, it is indeed Tiger.
It’s a terrible, mentally broken-down Tiger.
The Tiger a lot of us grew up watching in awe isn’t the Tiger he used to be. And he won’t be the same ever again.
The media as a whole need to get over it (and I suppose I’m guilty because I’m sitting here writing about it). The faster we move on to the young crop of talent the PGA Tour holds, the better.
Tiger was once the leader of that pack but has now been lost in his own infidelity and downfall.
He has lost the mental edge he once had. They aren’t scared of him anymore.
In fact, some have been quoted this week as saying they don’t believe Tiger can win this weekend.
Instead, let’s focus on who can win.
Mickelson won last week in Houston, and he won last year’s Masters. I like the golf he has been playing of late, and I fully expect to see him up there come late Sunday.
Bubba Watson, the wacky left-handed long driver from Bagdad, Fla., could make a move to win his first major, especially with the recent roll he’s been on.
Dustin Johnson finished in the top 15 at three majors last year. Not many can say that. He was a sand trap gaffe (he grounded his club before hitting the ball, which is an automatic disqualification) away from winning the 2010 PGA Championship. He’s certainly someone to keep an eye on.
One final pick: Justin Rose. He’s not the Brit most are picking (many experts believe it’s Westwood’s time to shine), but I like his game. He has never lived up to the hype, but he has the shot type needed to win at Augusta.
Another foreigner to look for is 21-year-old Rory McIlroy. He has shown good poise in both majors and the prestigious Ryder Cup. He could be armed to shoot up the leaderboard.
If Tiger isn’t in contention for the crown come Saturday or Sunday, or even if he’s in the middle of the pack in the first two rounds, I don’t want to see him, especially not in 3-D.
I hope ESPN and CBS tailor their coverages to show those in the lead on the final days. It’s fun to watch people who are, you know, actually playing solid golf.
It’s time for everyone, including the media, to move on from the fallen “hero.”
Andy Schwehm is a 21-year-old English and psychology senior from New Orleans Follow him on Twitter @TDR_ASchwehm.
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contact Andy Schwehm at [email protected]