The Masters - Augusta National

[Sylar]

This Wednesday sees the start of coverage of this years Masters, with the Par-3 tournament live on the BBC (red button I think?).

No doubt this will be a Masters with a difference, with a lot of focus on the return of Tiger Woods, who arrived at Augusta yesterday for his first practice round of the year.

This competition is always my second favourite of the majors, behind the British Open as it has a very special feel to it.

There are a lot of the players who have hit some good form in the past few weeks and will be in with a good shout for taking the first major tournament of the year. Miraculously, William Hill have Tiger as favourite, offering odds of 9/2, with Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson sitting just behind him at 12/1.

I don't know who I fancy to be honest, though I've seen Els twice this year and he looks on top of his game right now.

[Golden Bear]

Really looking forward to this one and for some reason "The Masters" always seems to herald the start of another golf season for all us golfing rabbits.

I think the Beeb have managed to secure some extra viewing time this year and for the lucky ones it's also available in High Definition. Outwith the normal viewing times there is also coverage via the red button of the Amen Corner holes.

I've punted a few bucks on:-

Charlie Schwartzel (55/1 each way) - great odds for a golfer who has arguably a better record than anyone else in 2010

Ernie Els (12/1 each way) - The Big Easy is on a hot streak of form and normally plays very well at Augusta.

Ian Poulter (40/1 each way) - Simply because he's a great putter and he's got to come good some time in one of the Majors.

Roll on Thursday!

:thumbsup:

[Houchy]

Tiger £10 win @ 11/2
Tim Clarke top 5 finish £5 @ 20/1
Poulter top 5 finish £5 @ 8/1

All on Betfair.:agree:

[Hanny]

Els certainly looks good, and I fancy the non-Americans to do well.

Els top Rest of the World player 5/2

McIlroy 10/1 for top European player.

Casey to finish in top 10 - 9/4

Hopefully it's a good one :thumbsup:

[Hank Schrader]

Charl Schwartzel is a cracking shout but has never played Augusta before, that may deter me from putting money on him as its rare for someone to do well on debut at Augusta, such is the difficulty in the course.

I placed an e/w bet on Hunter Mahan last year, he finished tied for 10th but he showed he could do well at Augusta. He won the Phoenix Open recently but missed the Houston Open cut at the weekend there so not in prime form going in, worth a shout though.

Others worth a shot are the already mentioned Ian Poulter, who is now starting to let his Golf do the talking. He is a major winner in the making and has a good record at Augusta. Camillo Villegas is also going to be in the mix, he is a fantastic player and again on form. Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson have much shorter odds than the rest, if Els plays like he has been doing in recent weeks then he might have won that elusive fourth major come Sunday.

Oh and there is the small matter of Tiger Woods comeback.:greengrin It wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if he won but his odds are way to short to back him and I don't use Betfair so won't be laying. One good bet I did see was 12/1 for Tiger to win three of this years four majors. That is decent value as this year will see the return to Pebble Beach and St Andrews on the major venue rota. We all know how much Tiger loves Augusta. At Pebble Beach in 2000 he won the US Open in record breaking fashion, winning by 15 shots. And he has never finished below 1st place at the Open when is has been played at St Andrews, he has beaten the field well on both occasions. So that bet might be worth a shot, who would bet against him coming back as strong as ever.

[hibsboy90]

I've heard that ernie els has put 10k on himself to win. :wink:

Colleagues big brother works for the golf betting area for a large bookmaker, and apparantly thats the chat.

[HibeeMcGinn1]

What channel will we get it live on?

[Sylar]

BBC 1, BBC 1HD, BBC Sport Website and BBC Red Button are all showing it.

[HibeeMcGinn1]

BBC 1, BBC 1HD, BBC Sport Website and BBC Red Button are all showing it.

Thanks. Really cant wait for it

[Golden Bear]

BBC 1, BBC 1HD, BBC Sport Website and BBC Red Button are all showing it.

And on BBC 2 - alternating with BBC1

[IWasThere2016]

Miraculously, William Hill have Tiger as favourite, offering odds of 9/2, with Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson sitting just behind him at 12/1.

Ladbrokes have him at 4/1 to win and 4/1 to miss the cut! So, basically they don't know how he'll do!

I'm backing Kim e/w at 50s, and Els and The Goose to win at 10/1 and 25/1 repsectively.

Cannae wait! :thumbsup:

[Houchy]

I see that they are getting it in 3D in the States on ESPN.

Are we getting it on 3D over here?

Watching the Masters in HD is awesome but in 3D, I think i'd need to change my pants:agree:

[Sylar]

Sky don't release their 3d box until August (I think?), so unlikely.

Some of the pubs in the UK showed the recent Arsenal vs Man Utd game in 3D, but I doubt they'll show the Masters.

I saw a commercial for Sky 3D whilst at the cinema one night and it looks breathtaking - the football/rugby clip were awesome!

[Higgy115]

The Goose for me at 25/1 and Nick Watney at 40/1.

[Houchy]

Sky don't release their 3d box until August (I think?), so unlikely.

Some of the pubs in the UK showed the recent Arsenal vs Man Utd game in 3D, but I doubt they'll show the Masters.

I saw a commercial for Sky 3D whilst at the cinema one night and it looks breathtaking - the football/rugby clip were awesome!

It's been releases to pubs Scott:agree: I watched the Man U v Chelsea game at the weekend at the Green Tree in Bathgate.

When the cameras were on play from a normal angle ie up in a stand looking down, there wasn't much difference from HD but when they were taking corners and throw ins etc, it was brilliant.

The golf previews before the football were simply awesome (probably because, again, you are at the same level as the golfers).

It's only released to busineses at the moment but if the pub was showing it, i'd definately go up for it.:agree:

[Sylar]

It's been releases to pubs Scott:agree: I watched the Man U v Chelsea game at the weekend at the Green Tree in Bathgate.

When the cameras were on play from a normal angle ie up in a stand looking down, there wasn't much difference from HD but when they were taking corners and throw ins etc, it was brilliant.

The golf previews before the football were simply awesome (probably because, again, you are at the same level as the golfers).

It's only released to busineses at the moment but if the pub was showing it, i'd definately go up for it.:agree:

Awesome! I knew they run a trial with it a couple of months ago, but wasn't aware they had fully released it to businesses - probably would have wanted it rolled out for something like the World Cup coming up I guess.

I imagine the golf would look pretty damned sweet.

[Houchy]

Tiger £10 win @ 11/2
Tim Clarke top 5 finish £5 @ 20/1
Poulter top 5 finish £5 @ 8/1

All on Betfair.:agree:



Just stuck another £10 on Tiger at 6/1 as he's apparently hitting it longer and sraighter than ever. If his flatstick's working, 6/1 is robbery.

If it comes back to bite me in the ass...:embarrass

When else do you ever get Tiger at 6/1.

Just about to tee off on the first and you can watch it on the red button.:agree:

Edit: 12/1 if you lay tiger on betfair not to have all 4 rounds in the 60's ie if you think he will shoot 4 in the 60's, take the guys bet that says he won't at 1/12. Worth £5???

[greenlex]

Just stuck another £10 on Tiger at 6/1 as he's apparently hitting it longer and sraighter than ever. If his flatstick's working, 6/1 is robbery.

If it comes back to bite me in the ass...:embarrass

When else do you ever get Tiger at 6/1.

Just about to tee off on the first and you can watch it on the red button.:agree:
Just watched it. He looked focused and ready. Not troubled in any way. Smashed it down the middle. Fans gave him a good reception. Reckon he will take a bit of beating. Mon the Tiger. :thumbsup:

[Houchy]

Fred Couples is 5 under, YES 5 UNDER through 3 holes!!! WTF???

Edit, no he's not. He started off Birdie, Birdie, Par, Par.

Something else when the official US Masters page can't get it right:grr::grr::grr::bitchy::bitchy::bitchy:!!!

[TheGreenMan]

Bet Sergio Garcia £5 e/w @ 70/1 on B365 just before he Tee'd off.

Not sure why, but I like Sergio - think its because he wears green & white...

http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2007/07_02/SERGIo230707_468x418.jpg

edit:dont know if pic worked :doh:

[H18sry]

Bet Sergio Garcia £5 e/w @ 70/1 on B365 just before he Tee'd off.

Not sure why, but I like Sergio - think its because he wears green & white...

http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2007/07_02/SERGIo230707_468x418.jpg

edit:dont know if pic worked :doh::agree:

[Houchy]

Does anyone know why Tim Clarke and Vijay Singh are using yellow balls?

[greenlex]

Does anyone know why Tim Clarke and Vijay Singh are using yellow balls?

In case it snows. Yellow balls!!!!! Sacreligious Pair of twats.

[Sylar]

Does anyone know why Tim Clarke and Vijay Singh are using yellow balls?

Do they use/are they sponsored by Srixon? Their new line of balls are yellow for some odd reason.

What about Woods' draw shot at the 9th hole tonight?!?! Oh.My.Goodness!

[Houchy]

Qvestion next... Why is Tiger using a Bridgestone bag when he's sponsored by Nike and they've stood by him so well during his "transgressions"

[Houchy]

Do they use/are they sponsored by Srixon? Their new line of balls are yellow for some odd reason.

What about Woods' draw shot at the 9th hole tonight?!?! Oh.My.Goodness!

That may be a good shout mate. I was sure that Vijay played a pro v1x but as he's sponsored by Cleveland and Cleveland have just bought Srixon...

Also Tim Clarke plays Srixon:agree:

[Scooter]

I've got e/w bets on els, langer, Westwood, cabrera sp? And mclroy can't remember what odds

[Andy74]

Sky don't release their 3d box until August (I think?), so unlikely.

Some of the pubs in the UK showed the recent Arsenal vs Man Utd game in 3D, but I doubt they'll show the Masters.

I saw a commercial for Sky 3D whilst at the cinema one night and it looks breathtaking - the football/rugby clip were awesome!

That cinema advert was incredible.

Sky are rolloing out 3D to HD viewers later in the year.

3D TV needed though - won't be cheap I'd expect!

[Houchy]

That cinema advert was incredible.

Sky are rolloing out 3D to HD viewers later in the year.

3D TV needed though - won't be cheap I'd expect!

£4500 I believe:agree:

[Allant1981]

£4500 I believe:agree:


They are impressive though, i managed to see them at a sony trade show at the start of the year

[Sylar]

According to the advert Sky have running in the cinema just now, you only need an HD television, as it is the broadcast which is shot and produced in 3D.

If you think about it, the cinemas didn't need special screens to show 3D films when they started to come out as it's the projection which creates the 3D image - not a special screen.

I don't know if the 3D TV's will be able to take away the need for the glasses mind you, but I would even doubt that!

[Houchy]

According to the advert Sky have running in the cinema just now, you only need an HD television, as it is the broadcast which is shot and produced in 3D.

If you think about it, the cinemas didn't need special screens to show 3D films when they started to come out as it's the projection which creates the 3D image - not a special screen.

I don't know if the 3D TV's will be able to take away the need for the glasses mind you, but I would even doubt that!

Definately need a 3D telly:agree: Pubs were charged around £2500 for the telly and 100 pairs of glasses.

The 3D tellys also don't take away the need for glasses. The whole pub was wearing them for the Man U v Chelsea game.:agree:

I also don't see the need for a different telly though.

[Sylar]

Tiger looks abysmal thus far - 3+ par through 6 holes and playing some REALLY bad shots.

Westwood and Mickelson still looking like a strong pairing, though KJ Choi is playing/scoring well just now and is only 2 off the pace.

[Sylar]

Tiger looks abysmal thus far - 3+ par through 6 holes and playing some REALLY bad shots.

Westwood and Mickelson still looking like a strong pairing, though KJ Choi is playing/scoring well just now and is only 2 off the pace.

He followed that up with a birdie/eagle to get back to 8 under, where he's remained until 13, now he's at 9 under.

Anthony Kim has made one hell of a charge to get to 12 under, just 1 behind Mickelson, who leads on his own. K.J. Choi is also at 12 under just now.

Couples looked good until a disasterous bogey/double back to back.

As I type, Choi drops back to 11.

Mickelson looking good for it just now!

[Sylar]

Phil Mickelson makes another birdie on 13 following the shot of the tournament to get him out of the trees on the right onto the green.

He looks very comfortable just now!

Edit: Tiger just 3-putted from inside 4 feet. Unforgivable really.

[Removed]

Phil Mickelson makes another birdie on 13 following the shot of the tournament to get him out of the trees on the right onto the green.

He looks very comfortable just now!

Edit: Tiger just 3-putted from inside 4 feet. Unforgivable really.

Aye, worse than adultery :greengrin

[Houchy]

Phil Mickelson makes another birdie on 13 following the shot of the tournament to get him out of the trees on the right onto the green.

He looks very comfortable just now!

Edit: Tiger just 3-putted from inside 4 feet. Unforgivable really.

Just shows that Tiger really aint back to where he was. In a quote from him he said that when he was playing a tournament at 7 years old, he felt he wasn't hitting the ball well and just wanted to get off the course. The quote was that his dad "scolded me so badly, I vowed i'd never give up again".

That, to me, was him waving the white flag today.

Re the "Unforgivable" bit, we've all done it in the heat of he moment. Maybe not quite in the Masters of course but we've all hit putts in anger and frustration in our own "majors" ie club championship qualifiers etc.

[Delboy4]

Didn't realise Phil Mickelsons wife was Scottish?

[J-C]

Well done Phil Mickelson, but I can't help thinking Westwood through away one of the best chances he'll have of capturing a Major, you ain't gonna win with a level par in the final round, his driving was awful today.

[seanraff07]

Didn't realise Phil Mickelsons wife was Scottish?
She's not bad like.

[lyonhibs]

"No bad" - that's one way of putting it.............. :drool::faint: