John Huh – the Crescenta Valley High graduate – will tee off in his first Masters in 10 minutes. Huh has been loose all week and has yet to battle nerves, but that could change today. He birdied the 16th hole Monday, the first time he played the course. It’s a cloudy day today with rain in the forecast later this afternoon.
Day Two at the Masters, Wednesday, the day before the tournament begins!
The sun-drenched day was absolutely gorgeous. I took a photo outside the gates with the sun shining so brightly, and it was a good day from there. I met L.A.-based photographer Paul Lester near the oak tree and scoreboard to get my picture taken there, for proof that I was there. You can’t take cellphones on the course, and I haven’t used a regular old camera in ages, so Lester graciously took a couple of photos for me. Lester is one of the nicest men on the planet and I found that not only does he know everyone in L.A., he knows everyone at Augusta, too.
I was introduced to Bobby Hinds, Woodley Lake’s teaching pro, and Mark White, a Wilshire CC member who, like me was here for the first time. He did some considerable damage in the merchandise shop.
I got my first walking tour of the course today from Ventura County Star golf writer Bob Buttitta, who’s covering his ninth Masters and knows most every nook and cranny of the course. And I’ve had my ah-ha moment, at Amen Corner. Sat down where you could see the 11th, 12th and 13th holes, looked at the bridge, took in a few breaths and realized how much history is there. That Corner makes and breaks golfers and while it looks great on TV, it doesn’t do it justice.
On the 13th hole, a man asked me to take a picture of him and his buddies, one of whom was wearing a Denver Broncos shirt. Come to find out, a couple of them were from Ft. Collins, Colo., where I grew up, too. Such a small world, even at Augusta.
Watched John Huh – a Crescenta Valley graduate – play in the Par-3 Tournament. Talked to him the last two days, and he seems to be completely OK with the big stage he’s about to be on for the first time tomorrow.
Was so cool to see Zach Johnson playing with his toddler son, Wyatt, who was sprinting to keep up with Johson’s walking stride. Then on the ninth hole, Johnson let his son putt out, and he made the putt. He posed over the hole, then high-fived his dad. Cool moment.
Today is the Par-3 Contest day, and that’s always a highlight before the tournament begins, watching many of the game’s biggest stars playing golf with their kids. It’s a gorgeous, sunny day. Tomorrow might not be as nice, although the rain forecast is for late afternoon, evening. Saw a few guys from the Valley this morning, and one was here for his first time and dropped $2,500 on hats, shirts and wine.
Balance..
At the Masters on Tuesday, Woods said this when asked about happiness: “Well, I think life is all about having a balance, and trying to find equilibrium and not getting things one way or the other, and I feel very balanced.”
a pairing of Michael Thompson and John Senden… 7:30 a.m. Pacific on Thursday.
Huh – who prepped at Crescenta Valley – was the PGA Tour’s rookie of the year last year and is ranked 105th in the world.
The Clippers domianted the Phoenix Suns, 126-101, as they should’ve and set a franchise record with their 50th victory.
No mention of it on the video board, no streamers, no 50 cake, nada! Guess they’re trying to act like they’ve been there, done that, even though they haven’t.
By The Associated Press
MARANA, Ariz. _ A brief look at the second round of the Match Play Championship on Friday at the Ritz-Carlton Club at Dove Mountain:
Falling seeds: No. 8 Bubba Watson was the only seed from the top 10 remaining after two rounds. No. 1 Rory McIlroy, No. 2 Tiger Woods, No. 6 Adam Scott, No. 7 Lee Westwood, No. 9 Charl Schwartzel and No. 10
Jason Dufner dropped out in the first round, and No. 3 Luke Donald, No. 4 Louis Oosthuizen and No. 5 Justin Rose fell in the second.
Advancing: Ireland’s Shane Lowry followed his opening victory over Rory McIlroy with a 6-and-5 rout over Carl Pettersson to become the first No. 64 seed to advance to the third round in the history of the
15-year-old tournament.
Match of the day: Bubba Watson beat U.S. Ryder Cup teammate Jim Furyk in 22 holes. The Masters champion missed two straight putts from 5 feet that would have won the match before he finally put away Furyk
with a par on the fourth extra hole.
Shot of the day: Scott Piercy holed out with a 4-iron from 221 yards for eagle on the par-4 fifth hole in his victory over Luke Donald.
Quote of the day: “I think we’re beyond surprises, in this event especially. Anybody can have a great day and anybody can have a tough day. It’s what makes the game exciting, and it’s what makes this game
extremely fickle and extremely frustrating.” — Graeme McDowell.
Stat of the day: Scott Piercy has played only 27 holes in the first two rounds, beating Paul Lawrie 4 and 3 and Luke Donald 7 and 6.
Third-round matches: Robert Garrigus vs. Fredrik Jacobson, Matt Kuchar vs. Nicolas Colsaerts, Graeme McDowell vs. Shane Lowry, Bubba Watson vs. Jason Day, Steve Stricker vs. Scott Piercy, Ian Poulter vs.
Tim Clark, Webb Simpson vs. Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, Hunter Mahan vs. Martin Kaymer.
Forecast: Morning frost is expected over the weekend, with overnight lows around 33 on Saturday and 38 on Sunday. Saturday will be the best day of the tournament hit by snow Wednesday with mostly sunny
conditions and a high of 63. On Sunday, it is expected to be partly cloudy and breezy with a high of 59.
John Merrick makes par on second playoff hole to beat Charlie Beljan in the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club.
A victory today would make Bill Haas the eighth player to win in back-to-back years in L.A.’s PGA Tour stop.
The others:
MacDonald Smith (1928-29);
Ben Hogan (1947-48);
Paul Harney (1964-65);
Arnold Palmer (1966-67);
Corey Pavin (1994-95);
Mike Weir (2003-04);
and Phil Mickelson (2008-09).
