by Jeff Skinner
Hits
All Miguel Angel Jimenez has to do is to show up, anywhere, and he is the center of the party. His “Coolest Guy in Golf” persona has made him a favorite among fans and players alike. But his stretching, cigars, wine, ponytail and great sense of humor may camouflage this fact: Miguel can really play golf. He’s 
fifty years old, more than twice as old as many of the kids he plays with, and 40th in the World Ranking. Just to show the world he is right in putting off his Champions Tour career to still compete with the flatbellies he shoots low round of the Masters and is ready to break Jack Nicklaus’ record for oldest Masters Champion. Stay thirsty my friend. As my son would say He Is The Man.
Could someone please get Jordan Spieth in an x-ray machine. I want to see what forty year old golfer is inside that twenty year old body. This kid is unbelievable. His golf game is world class as he proved today with his 2 under 70 and is tied for the lead of the biggest tournament in the world… at twenty! He just keeps getting better but the real factor that sets him apart is his maturity. He’s an old soul…the soul of a really great golfer.
Augusta National looked absolutely gorgeous today. But I wasn’t putting on those greens. They weren’t very receptive and putting fast as lightning. Just like the boys of Augusta like it.
Matt Kuchar pulled a Bubba today and strung three birdies together on the back nine to help him craft a four under 68 and climb into at tie for third and one stroke back of the lead.
Jonas Blixt is fun to watch and fun to listen to. He bounced it around today with four birdies and three bogeys but scratched out a 71 to finish T3.
Rickie Fowler had a great day and shot a very solid 67 to move up the leaderboard and a tie for fifth. And he gets the pleasure of playing with Jimenez tomorrow. That is a fun pairing.
Misses
It is all over but the green jacket ceremony for Adam Scott and his reign as Masters Champion. Scotty had a bad day and got off to a horrid start going four over par through six holes. He could never right the ship and struggled to a 76 and fell into a tie for sixteenth.
John Senden started the day in the final group but may have felt the pressure of the spotlight at the Masters. He struggled to a 75 but is still only four shots off the lead.
There was good news and bad news for the pre-tournament favorite today. Rory McIlroy went out first today and shot 71 to climb out of last place into a tie for 24th. That’s the good news. The bad news is he was beaten by his non-scoring marker. Jeff Knox is an Augusta member that will play alongside a pro when there are an odd number of players left in the tournament. He shot 70 to Rory’s 71. That’s good shooting.
Hits & Miss
Gary Woodlawn was on fire on the front nine as he tied the course record with a 30. He was actually seven under par through ten holes but then Amen Corner bit him. A bogey at eleven, a double at twelve killed his momentum and he finished with a three under 69
Bubba Watson started the day with a four stroke lead and lost it. If this was Sunday he’d be getting the Greg Norman Choke Award. His lousy start let the entire field back in the tournament. And he couldn’t manage to gain any of his lead back on the closing nine. Pars on 13 and 15 for this longballer are like double bogeys. But he did manage to hold onto a share of the lead and he’ll have his chance at his second green jacket tomorrow.
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