Masters Day 3: Pimpin' (and Play) Suspended

Damn, I thought yesterday was disappointment. I can only assume that knowing they were going to get rained on, the finest threads got left at the house. There was virtually nothing. Clarke had some sweet but very subtle plaid pants, and Thomas Bjorn wore a pretty cool sweater, but that was about it. Phil even went so far as to don the vomit-tone shirt. Although he always dresses well, when Tiger looks like the coolest cat on the course then something is seriously amiss. However, with most players having to complete the 3rd round in the morning, there will be two opportunities to bring it strong tomorrow.


Best In Show to TW = a disappointing day

Sergio actually did pretty well again today, sporting a red & black getup on the day of the G-Day game, but then again, seeing a dude in red pants is not all that unusual within 100 miles of Athens, GA. He looked like he's tailgated on the north campus quad a time or two.

"Call the airport & have them fire up the Gulfstream, we can still make the 2nd half of the UGA spring game!"

Other thoughts:

Tim Clarke made a good move today with birdies on 1, 2, & 5, but he easily could have gone 5 for 5, as he missed short birdie putts on 3 and 4. I wonder if that is why he elected to mark his ball and not putt out when play was called after hitting it to 4 feet on #6. Anyhow, dude was absolutely in the zone on the 5 1/2 holes that he got to play today; he was probably the least happy camper about not being able to finish his round because of darkness.

Watching Chad Campbell play is like watching Nick Price play. It simply boggles the mind that a professional golfer can have such a fast swing and be such a great ballstriker. You usually don't see swing speeds that fast on anything less than a 10 handicap, let alone a Tour Pro. Remarkable.

Well the rain came out, took away the roll off the tee, and "The Big 5" all are now in the top 7 on the leaderboard. Is that because they are the 5 best golfers in the world or because of the ongoing debate about this year's lengthening of the course? Probably a bit of both I would guess.

I think I heard Jim Nantz confirm for me today that the champion has come from the final pairing on Sunday every year since 1991, so it will be interesting to watch who make the big surges up the board in the morning. As interesting as that stat is, I personally think that is an anomaly: I once witnessed a roulette wheel at The Aladdin in Vegas hit black TWENTY ONE times in a row (and I have a witness to back me up on this) even though the odds for this on any individual spin are 18/38 or 47.3%. I think that stat is a bit similar, that is, 21 in a row does not guarantee 22 in a row. I would give anyone within 4 shots of the lead going into the final round a healthy chance to win.

The last time I remember the leaderboard being packed with so many big names going into the final round was 2002, but all the excitement turned anticlimatic, as everyone else screwed up and Tiger cruised to an easy victory. Hopefully tomorrow will live up to the expectation moreso this time around.