This Easter, non-religious sort that I am, I celebrated by ducking in to the only open bar nearby and checking out the final round of the Masters.
I used to write tons about golf in this space. Eventually, that space was usurped not only by the mainstays (college sports, football in general), but by soccer and poker, two things I did not care about five years ago.
But it may be high time for me to get back in the swing of things and remember what makes golf such an underrated spectator sport and very underrated as a bar/pub sport. It has as much drama as any other sport, and probably more tension, but at a pace that allows much more schmoozing with buddies, checking out that girl over there, or poring over the menu in detail, one of my favorite things to do on this earth.
The Masters, of course, was won by Angel Cabrera, who may be the least known two-time major winner ever. The two majors represent 40% of his total number of wins on the PGA and European Tours, and the only ones he's claimed since 2005. Just two years ago (not that he needed to), he was playing the circuit of the Tour De Las Americas, which might not even rank in the top 10 of highest quality golf tours.
The pudgy, smiley guy would rank as one of Spain's greats along with Sergio Garcia, Seve Ballesteros, and Jose Maria Olazabal — if he was actually Spanish like most of the country thinks. He's Argentinean.
Here are some more names from the top of the FedEx point standings that you may not have heard much about:
Nick Watney (4th) — He slugged it out on the Nationwide Tour for years, and is finally starting to break-through in the PGA, getting his second tour victory in San Diego this year and several other high finishes. Also, his first tour victory came in New Orleans, where they play this week.
Dustin Johnson (11th) — I can't find it anymore, but I know that in one of my last golf columns for SC, years ago now, I lamented that there were no good young American golfers. Johnson may prove me wrong. Just 24, he burst onto the scene in 2007, earning his way on tour through Q-School and skipping the Nationwide route. He's also won two events, but one was the prestigious Pebble Beach tourney (albeit a rain-shortened version). And if John Daly fades away, he may be able to take the mantle of golf's bad boy — he was busted for drunk driving in March.
Pat Perez (12th) — Perez is a bit more of a lifer than the other guys on this list, having won his way onto the tour at the 2001 Q-School tourney. But it was only just this year that he got his breakthrough win, after a lifetime's worth of disappointments and runner-up finishes. Maybe he will mellow out a bit now. Perez has one of the most infamous tempers on tour. He's flipped the bird at his ball and broken a club over his leg, among other antics.
Charley Hoffman (16th) — The man with the long, golden locks (considerably longer than John Daly's when the PGA made him cut his) has made his way into FedEx race contention just by being very consistent. He's made the cut in all nine of his tournaments this year, with two top-six finishes.
John Rollins (17th) — This guitar-playing Virginian with the aw-shucks Mayberry looks has already been a bridesmaid twice this year, giving him seven top-twos for his career. Unfortunately, only one of those seven has been a victory. He's a pro's pro, playing at least 28 events in each of the last four years.
John Merrick (22nd) — No relationship to the elephant man. Merrick got his card in 2007, lost it, won it right back in q-school, and managed to keep it through for 2009 by registering four top-10 finishes last year. Now only in mid-April, he already has three top-10s, so his star is clearly rising.
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