2006 Masters



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Round 3 was continued around 8 am this morning, which favored some of the golfers, and hurt others. Chad Campbell went from 6 under par, to 3 under after his round. His playing partner Rocco Mediate injured himself on the 15th hole. Yes, a golfer hurt his leg on the golf course. Sadly, the wasn’t the worst thing that happened to Rocco.

Tim Clark started the day on fire, and at one point had a two stroke lead, but he struggled on the back nine. Well the shaky players looked shaky, the superstars moved up the leaderboard. Tiger Woods bogeyed 3 straight holes in his round, but still was two off the lead. Vijay Singh and Retief Goosen were also in the hunt. Fred Couples also had hopes for another green jacket, and was in second place after round 3 Phil Mickelson played well, and was the leader after round 3.

The biggest move in the final round was Jose Maria Olazabal, who caused a stir with a great back nine, which included an eagle. However, on the 16th, Olazabal bogeyed, and his hopes for a 3rd green jacket were dashed. Olazabal did finish 3rd. Another former champ, Vijay Singh, just could not get the putts to fall, an finished 8th.

The biggest surprise of the day was Tiger Woods putting. Tiger missed two eagle putts on the back nine, and while he did finish tied for 3rd with several players, his round was a shock. If Tiger’s putter was on, this would have been a lot more interesting.

Rocco Mediate was in the hunt, but his hopes ended with a 10 on the par 3 12th. That’s right, a 10. He went in the water three times, and I felt uncomfortable. First he injures his leg, then he gets a 10. Ouch. Tim Clark rebounded, and played a very nice round. Tim Clark holed a bunker shot on the 18th, to finish in second place. Chad Campbell never was able to make a big run in the final round, and finished in 3rd place, along with Retief Goosen.

Phil Mickelson, and Fred Couples were the last pairing, and for a while it looked like neither guy would blink. Phil played a very solid and controlled round, and his lead increased to two shots. Fred Couples missed a lot of short putts, but was still in the hunt after a birdie on 13. On the 14th, the tournament was sealed, when Fred Couples who was trailing by two, missed a short birdie, then missed the par putt coming back. Had he have made it, Phil would have had to work the final four holes. Fast Freddy did finish in 3rd place, he just could not make putts when he needed them.

Phil Mickelson wins the Masters by two strokes, and wins his second green jacket. I think Phil wants to win his own verison of the grand slam. Hey, he is halfway there.