The 2018 Masters

In years past, our Masters post has waxed on about the best week of golf all year - and rightfully so. The Masters draws more eyes to golf than any other tournament (save perhaps the Ryder Cup).  Even casual golf observers will tune in to watch the best players in the world compete on the familiar grounds of Augusta National.

Instead, we decided to do a Pro/Con list for the year’s first majors.  Cons you say?  Could there possibly be cons?  Yes - even the best tournament in the world can do things better.  In fact, one of the best things about The Masters is that they do revisit ways to enhance the tournament for the viewing audience.  And the pros and cons are admittedly opinion based - some will agree and some will disagree.  It doesn’t make the tournament any better or any worse. So without further adieau...

PROS 

1. Best Course in America.  Yes this is a debate that rages in golf magazines every year, but for our money Augusta National is the best golf course in the United States.  Arguments can be made for Pebble Beach and others, but Augusta National is so pure can be so challenging that it’s the best course the players will face every year.  Plus - name a golf course that is in more pristine condition than Augusta National - we’ll wait.  
2. The Traditions.  What has made The Masters the best golf tournament is the unwavering commitment to upholding the traditions that have been born from the tournaments founding.  The green jacket, the ceremonial tee shot, the inclusion of several amateur players, etc.
3. Online Streaming.  This pro is also going to “reappear” later in the cons - and you’ll understand why.  But with regards purely to online streaming, no tournament has done more to offer premium content than The Masters.  You can watch players on the range Monday and Tuesday. You can watch the Par-3 contest on Wednesday.  Beginning Thursday mornings, you can watch Featured Group coverage along with every shot played on Amen Corner and 15 and 16.  
4. Familiarity.  While this could go under “Traditions,” the familiarity with the golf course deserves it’s own designation.  What has made The Master so popular is the familiarity that fans have with the course.  This is especially true with the Back-9 which dominates network coverage.  Golf fans know that you can’t come up short on No. 12.  2 great shots will give you an eagle chance on No. 13.  Playing The Masters at the same course every year has given the tournament a significant advantage to building an audience of viewers and patrons on the course.  
5. “So You’re Saying There’s a Chance.”  The US Open prides itself on being “the most difficult test in golf.”  That has become a fancy way of saying “we trick out the golf course.”  That also means that when a player gets out to any sizable lead, barring a collapse by the leader, the tournament is effectively over.  The brilliant layout of Augusta National means that players who are not necessarily leaders when the final round started have an ability gain enough ground on the field to rip away the green jacket by Sunday evening.  One need look no further than last year’s intense battle between European stalwarts Justin Rose and Sergio Garcia.  The Back-9 drama was incredible and seems to repeat itself nearly every year.  

CONS

1.  TV Network Coverage.  The Masters has been historically stingy when it comes to the broadcast windows for the tournament.  On Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, the ESPN/CBS broadcast begins at 3:00PM EST.  On Sunday, the green jacket elite extends the broadcast an additional hour beginning at 2:00PM EST.  So if your favorite player tees off early?  Too bad.  Is someone making a move on the front nine?  Better check out an app or Twitter.  For as much credit as The Masters gets for the streaming services (see above), they deserve equal criticism for failing to to extend broadcast times.  
2. Broadcast Restrictions.  You can literally hear the nerves in the voices of the CBS broadcasters as they call each shot.  That is because they know that any type of slip up is going to bring the wrath of th Augusta membership and tournament committee.  The club also restricts other broadcast staples such as pro-tracer technology (while some holes will have it this year, the vast majority will not) and on-course reporters.  
3. Green Jacket Ceremony.  This might get the most jeers from traditionalists.  And yes, while we applaud The Masters for continuing to honor traditions, this is one that they can change.  The green jacket ceremony inside Butler Cabin borders on cheesy and is corny at best.  The camera opening on the chairman who offers some words about the tournament and its history followed by Jim Nantz entering to thank the chairman for, well we’re not really sure, letting CBS broadcast the tournament?  The low-amateur, champion, and previous year’s chamapion walk in with green jackets.  Jim asks some mundane questions.  The green jacket is presenented to the champion and CBS cuts to a montage of the champions’s week - narrated by Nantz of course - and then closes with a shot of only the champion starring into the camera with applause from the occupants of Butler Cabin.  It’s weird and needs to be tweaked.  Yes Butler Cabin and the Billy Jones portrait are special - but the green jacket ceremony needs to be re-worked.  
4. The Field.  Again, this is going to draw criticism because it indirectly combats a well-known tradition, but the field for The Masters is the weakest of the four major championships.  Now to The Masters credit, that really isn’t their problem.  Bobby Jones did not envision this tournament to be more than a gathering of his friends to play at his masterpiece.  That is something that has continued.  But when Sandy Lyle, Ian Woosnam, and Mike Weir are playing in a major championship, there is no question that the quality of the field is going to be diluted. 

PREDICTION

So who in the 87 man field is going to win the 2018 Masters Tournament?  There are a number of easy players to eliminate such as the aging champions and the group of amateurs.  This Masters could be very exciting given the caliber of play from the biggest names in golf right now:  Phil, Tiger, Justin, Rickie, Jordan - all have a legitimate chance of capturing the green jacket.  But B&B thinks this is the year that a career grand slam is achieved: