Analyzing The 2015 Masters Groupings And Starting Times

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I'm open to any findings of deep, hidden meaning in the 2015 Masters Groupings. Sadly, the dream pairing of Tom Watson, Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh will have to wait another year.

Groups and times of note Thursday...

8:18 am Weir, Crane, Conners(a). They'll be a hole behind but at least the two Canadians will get to spend time together.

9:24 am Watson, Rose, Gunn Yang(a) - the defending champion lands Justin Rose and the US Amateur Champion.

9:35 am Scott, Johnson, Murdaca - the Asia Pacific Amateur champ gets to watch two pre-tournament favorites.

10:08 am Crenshaw, Haas, Dufner - Gentle Ben gets two cool, understated cats for his final Masters.

10:41 am Mickelson, McIlroy,  Moore - Nice contrast in styles and personalities.

11:47 am Langer, Wiesberger, Ogilvy - Committee trust Ogilvy to master his pronunciations of Bernhard and Bernd

12:20 pm Cabrera, Ooisthuizen, Dominguez(a) - The Latin American Amateur winner gets to Masters vets likely to make cut and contend.

1:15 pm Spieth, Stenson, Horschel - No shortage of fire.

1:48 pm Woods, Donaldson, Walker - As if watching Tiger's return wasn't interesting enough, he gets one of the favorites to chase.

Here is the Masters official sheet (click to enlarge)

Bubba On His Peer Pressures: "I need to improve as a man."

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An ESPN.com survey noted that Bubba is not the most popular player on the tour and may need some non-PGA Tour assistance if he were to be walking down a dark alley.

Bubba was asked about this during his Tuesday Masters press conference. Very well handled by the two-time champion despite the best efforts of the ByTheMinuteGolf's senior Augusta Correspondent to get him to crack:

Q.  I was reading this morning about how you had written a check for the school and all that which is great publicity.  Did you see the survey on ESPN yesterday?

BUBBA WATSON:  No, I didn't.  I take that back, I heard about it because I did an interview ‑‑ I'm playing in China next week, so I did an interview for the China tournament and they asked me about it.

Q.  What do you think about when you read about that stuff?  On a scale of 1 to 10, how much does it irritate you, that kind of publicity?

BUBBA WATSON:  Here is the way I take it.  I take it as I need to improve as a man.  I take it with pride.  I need to get better.  And I think over my career, since my rookie season to now, I've gotten better.  But obviously there's more room for me to improve as a man.  And so hopefully next year or the year after, it improves.  It's a challenge.  It's great.  I'm glad that it came out and it's going to help me improve.

So if it's a bad thing and people don't like me, then I've got to improve and prove them wrong.

Q.  Do you get any sense of this in the locker room at all?

BUBBA WATSON:  No.  I had the same question asked to me, so I answered that question.  I put my name on there to, because I'm not going to call out anybody, there's nobody I dislike on Tour.  I dislike them if they beat me, but I don't dislike them as a person.  So I put my own name down there.  So one of those names were me; I wrote it down myself.

Q.  If you were being beaten up ‑‑
BUBBA WATSON:  Obviously, I've never been in a fight in my life, so if I was in a fight, it was my fault.  I caused somebody to get angry.  So yeah, I wouldn't help myself either.

Q.  Does this stuff irritate you at all?
BUBBA WATSON:  No, it helps me improve.  So I don't know which way I would go with that, but it helps me improve as a person.

I've had some mess‑ups on Tour, and I think I've improved in those areas and I'm trying to get better.  That's all I can do.  I'm glad people that call me out when they do; that's the only way I can get better.  If I don't know about it, then I can't improve.

Gene Wojciechowski of ESPN.com defends Bubba post-parking lot revelation. Sort of.

Can he be a bit of a hick, a goof? Do you sometimes wonder if his visor is impeding blood flow to his brain? Yes ... and yes.

But I've seen him talk about the joys of being a father and watched as his tears of pride unashamedly flowed. I've seen him at North Berwick Golf Course in Scotland, where he had a smile as wide as the fairways as he played a goof-around 18 holes with his buddies. I've heard him gush with excitement as he explained why the third round of the 2008 U.S. Open was the most fun he has ever had watching a tournament on TV (he had bet his wife that Tiger Woods would eagle the par-5 13th hole at Torrey Pines, birdie the par-4 17th and eagle the par-5 18th to move into first place -- and Woods did exactly that).

And yes, I've seen and heard Watson do dumb things, but he almost always publicly acknowledges his dumbness. It's as much a Bubba tradition as his pink driver.

Chairman Payne: I Don't Get Much Pushback

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There are fables of member consternation over the speed with which Billy Payne has attempted to move Augusta National into the 21st Century while staying true to the origins of the club, but in an ESPN.com profile by Bob Harig, the Chairman refutes that he gets much pushback. Or funny looks.

Harig writes:

None of his efforts have necessarily been required. There are likely those inside the Augusta National gates who were satisfied with that status quo -- showcasing their beautiful golf course to the world one week a year and then going about their business while practicing the club's intense desire to reveal little.

So perhaps it is fair to wonder: Have the decisions Payne has made over the past eight years produced any pushback among the powers-that-be? 


"That's not really the way Augusta works," Payne said with a sly smile, as if to suggest one should know better. "You don't get many quizzical looks."

And moving forward, Payne feels he's upholding the tradition of the club with his approach.

"That's always been the attitude of Augusta National; that's not me," Payne said. "I inherited that. You go back and read a lot of what Mr. Roberts said. I've mentioned this in a lot of the member meetings. There is a complete, absolute driving mandate to do better every year. That may be the one overwhelming objective of everything we do.

"Now people can measure whether we attain that. That's a different question than what we are trying to do."

The King: I'll Be There Thursday Morning

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Arnold Palmer, who has a bum shoulder that has kept him from swinging the club and entering the Par 3 contest, is a go.

He tells GolfDigest.com's Dave Shedloski that he'll be at Augusta National Thursday morning for his honorary starter duties.

"I will be there," Palmer said by phone Monday from his office at Bay Hill Club & Lodge in Orlando. "I am getting myself ready."

Ben Crenshaw is stepping in for Mr. Palmer Wednesday in the Par-3 contest where he will play with Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player. David Westin's report.