Sunday's Masters Clippings

Well isn't this going to be fun exciting something to see!

I am jealous of all the writers who might get to be there for the historic, first ever slow play-influenced Monday finish. Kamille Bostick reports on the chilly weather and the forecast for tomorrow. That first tee time is set for 9:35. According to weather.com, the temp at 9 am is supposed to be just 30 degrees. And the last group is going out 45 minutes earlier tomorrow, hope that's enough time!  Also note the Singh-Singh pairing.

For those of you participating as patrons, Masters.org has posted a warning that gate openings may be delayed.

For you stat junkies, the course numbers for four rounds are here, and the round 3 tally came in at 77.305.

And note 8 eagles so far. The tournament all time low is 12.

Damon Hack's game story in the New York Times.

Thomas Bonk reports that Fuzzy called the place "a morgue" and Tommy dares to mention the possibility that the tepid pace of play could result in a Monday finish.

Matthew Rudy at GolfDigest puts Hootie Johnson and Tom Fazio under the "winners" header for day 3, but I'm not sure if this is winning:

If you enjoy watching the game’s best perform at the highest level, golf was set back 50 years today. Actually, more like 80—the leading score after three rounds, 2-over, was the highest in the history of the tournament, and they've been playing golf in these parts since 1934. Second-round leader Tim Clark shot 80 and was still on the first page of the leaderboard. If you like watching players get embarrassed, it was probably a two-bags-of-chips day. Stuart Appleby said after his round that it was pure luck if you picked the right club for your approach shot. That’s just what you want to hear at the pinnacle of the sport, right? Since that randomness clearly seems to be the case, why not just have the guys shoot dice in the locker room for the trophy and save us the trouble of having to watch? Paper, rock, scissors, maybe. Tiger’s probably good at that too, though.

Paul Forsyth in the Sunday Times shares this from Henrik Stenson:

“They are trying to make it harder every year,” he said. “I have only been here twice, but they seem to be taking out the good slopes, the ones that can help the players, and putting more awkward ones in. It is on the edge of being ridiculous, if it’s not ridiculous already.”

That's our Faz!

AP's Tim Dahlberg says:

Believe it or not, they actually moved some tees up and watered the greens in a last-minute but ultimately futile effort not to make things any more embarrassing than they already were.

They held a Masters, and a U.S. Open broke out.

"It was like trying to land a golf ball on your driveway, but your driveway has mounds on them and they stick the pin near the mounds," Rich Beem said.

John Eisenberg in the Baltimore Sun isn't a fan of the new look either.

Tod Leonard explains the rules infraction that Phil Mickelson was accused of by a TV viewer. Competition committee head Fred Ridley cleared him of any wrongdoing.

Leonard notes that Ridley "was not made available for comment."

Hey, it's only the defending champion we're talking about. Why would you have to comment on that? Though somehow I think Will Nicholson would gladly have answered questions on this topic or any other. Could it be that Ridley did not want to answer questions about the course setup? The USGA jet?

An unbylined Scotland On Sunday commentary blasts the "mundane slog" that the Masters has become.

Jose Ramone on Sandy Lyle's 5 putt.

Finally, Tom English reports the breaking news that Tom Watson feels Tiger is the best golfer of all time. You know these Stanford types, always biased.