It’s Championship Sunday at the Masters, and the first few groupings have teed off. With 2000 Masters champion Vijay Singh and Adam Hadwin getting things started at 9:15.
It’ll be close to 1 p.m. before anyone currently starting the day in the top 20 will tee off. Rory McIlroy is set to begin at 12:45 with Joaquin Niemann. That duo finished T-21 Saturday along with Will Zalatoris, Tyrell Hatton and 2016 Masters champion Danny Willett. Zalatoris and Hatton tee off at 12:35 p.m. while Scott and Willett get started at 12:25 p.m.
Now that the action has officially begun, here are a few quick things we’re keeping our eyes on throughout the day.
THE TIGER WOODS WATCH
One day after carding a third-round 82 and finishing 11 over par — his worst round of golf at a major in his career — there was still no discernible drop off in the amount of patrons who lined the first tee perimeters to watch the 5-time Masters champion begin his fourth round at the Masters.
Playing purely for pride and to try and best his own personal worst, Woods donned his traditional Sunday red polo shirt and black pants and seemed loose and carefree both in taking his pre-tee off practice swings and in his first walk down the fairway for the day. He sauntered freely, chatting up his caddie and group partner Neal Shipley while sharing a few laughs along the way. There was no noticeable limp or any real visible signs of strain in his first two drives, although it’s a safe bet the last few days have taken a toll on him.
He easily made par at 1 and made a stellar drive on 2 to set himself up for an easy birdie.
Tiger will likely do well just to finish, but it’s great to see that he’s going to finish — or at least give it a go — when there was some light speculation when things got really rough Saturday that he might pull out.
One thing’s for sure, 48-year old Tiger Woods with the bad back, surgically repaired ankle and likely all of his best days of golf behind him is still a major draw, and likely will be for the foreseeable future, whether he ever wins another major or not.
WATCHING THE COURSE
Saturday was arguably the best day for golf as far as weather goes. Skies were clear and high temperatures were in the upper 70s. The wind was still present, but not nearly as “swirly” as Thursday or Friday. So conventional wisdom seemed to suggest a good day for all.
Not so much.
Though the winds calmed down a good bit, the course became difficult as the greens dried out and got really hard and fast. It made for tough going for most golfers throughout the day. So far, on Sunday, there’s only a slight, barely discernible breeze, and at 10 a.m., temps were already approaching 70 degrees.
We’ll be watching to see how golfers adjust to the speed of the greens today and if the best day of the week will bring about the best golf of the week.
FAST START FOR THE FRONTRUNNERS?
We’re four hours away from seeing the top of the leaderboard tee off, and it’s a crowded bunch toward the top. Scottie Scheffler leads at 7 under, but Collin Morikawa (-6), Max Homa (-5), Ludwig Aberg (-4), Bryson DeChambeau (-3) and Xander Schauffele and Cam Davis (-2) are all in prime position to make a realistic charge at the Green Jacket.
Who will get off to the fastest start?
Can Homa finish strong, whether he wins or not, and help change his narrative a bit?
Aberg has impressed in his first-ever Masters, and has a real chance to join Horton Smith, Gene Sarazan and Fuzzy Zoeller as the only rookies to ever put on a Green Jacket. Does he have what it takes to finish?
Will Scheffler’s soon-coming newborn baby be the only one who can take him away from Sunday victory? The Schefflers are expecting an addition to their family anytime within the next couple of weeks, and the 2022 Green Jacket winner has said on more than one occasion this week that if his wife goes into labor, he’s leaving Augusta National to be with her, no matter where he is on the leaderboard or what round of the competition he’s in.
In short, plenty of storylines to go around to carry us through what should be a stellar finish to the 88th Masters.
