Masters Sunday means me sitting in a chair and watching golf for 6 hours. As such, I figured I might as well write down my thoughts about what’s happening on the course during the best day in golf for the year. So check back throughout the final round for updates and random thoughts as the 2015 Masters concludes!

Update #17 — 6:58 EST

That’s it. Spieth wins, celebrates with everyone, and gets to play in the Masters forever. Or until they don’t let him anymore.

Update #16 — 6:38 EST

Tiger with the casual bone replacement after it popped out on his second shot on 9. Bout as casual as you can get.

Update #15 — 6:35 EST

Rory beats Tiger by 7 while playing together. But nobody is gonna remember that. They’ll remember Spieth winning by a bunch, and Tiger actually finishing a tournament.

Update #14 — 6:06 EST

“Tough as an old Texas snake boot.” Thanks David Feherty.

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After Bubba Watson’s slightly less emotional win at the Masters yesterday, left handed golfers, albeit only 3 different ones, have won 6 of the last 12 years. Mike Weir in 2003, Phil Mickelson in ’04, ’06, and ’10, and now Bubs in ’12 and ’14. So why are left handers playing so well at the Masters?

A popular thought about how to play at Augusta, is that you need to be able to move the ball from right to left. Think holes 2, 8, 10 and 13 (among others), all big swingers from right to left. Conventional wisdom stated that a draw was the shot you needed since, before 2003, no left hander had ever won the Masteres. With the left handers however, their shot of choice would be a fade. And this, is what people are claiming the lefty binge is all about. Where righties are hitting these low draw shots which bounce with lower spin rates on the firm Augusta greens, lefties can hit higher spin fades which are way more likely to hold on the greens. And because of the softer landings, lefties have a better chance at winning at Augusta.

Unfortunately, you can’t really make a statement like that with such a small sample size. Twelve years of lefty play doesn’t make up for the fact that a lefty had never won there before. Combine that with the fact that Mickelson is a top 2 player of a generation who has won everywhere (except the US Open…) and the argument of lefty fades kind of falls apart. The only other conclusion I can come up with is that winning the Masters takes crazy shotmaking, both of which Phil and Bubba are known for. So maybe after 50 more years of Masters we might be able to make a conclusion, but until then, I’ll call this theory bunk.

To an untrained eye, Augusta National and the Masters seems to personify (tournsonify?) tradition in all different forms. Caddies must wear the same white jump suits with numbers assigned by when the player registered (except the defending champion whose caddie wears number 1). Etiquette violations aren’t really violations, they’re merely “frowned upon.” Caddies can’t wear crocs (I might be ok with that actually). Patrons are strictly prohibited from bringing cell phones and cameras. And did I mention that they call tournament attendees “patrons”?

And yet with all these traditions, the Masters has become sort of a beacon of the future. Or maybe my expectations are just low.

Drive Chip and Putt

When I first heard that the Masters was putting (ha) on this competition, I laughed and figured it would probably be something along the lines of the NFL’s punt pass and kick. Just a dumb competition that improves public perception about the league and then no one cares about it (just don’t tell Andy Reid). Well it turns out that the drive chip and putt competition that took place this last Sunday was anything but.

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First thing’s first, click play on this

and keep it on the background. You gotta get yourself in a Masters state of mind, baby!

If you’ve been watching any of the NCAA men’s college basketball tournament, you’ve undoubtedly heard the glorious voice of Jim Nantz describing the Masters as “A tradition unlike any other.” Sidenote, if I didn’t suck at explaining things, I really should have been a sports announcer. Nantz gets to watch the Final Four, and then goes straight to Augusta? Not a bad deal. And oh man, as long as I’m going down the Jim Nantz hole, turns out there’s a ton of juicy drama behind his voice. He recently went through a divorce in which he cried on the stand, got married to his girlfriend, who was born 3 years before Nantz got married the first time, on the 7th hole at Pebble Beach and now has a child with her! Luckily, this is America and as long as you entertain us, nobody cares if you marry someone 20 years younger. In fact, it’s probably expected.

Even though he may have lied to his wife, Nantz sure as hell isn’t lying about the Masters traditions. The Masters is the first major of the year, the weather is warming up and the sun is starting to peak out from the winter clouds. People’s spirits are up, and we’re ready to watch the Masters! Here’s a list of things that you need to know in order to get the most out of the best sporting event on the planet.

The Masters has a thing for Amateurs

Ever since the lifelong amateur Bobby Jones started the Masters, amateurs have been an integral part of the tournament. As of two years ago when they added an invitation for the Asian Amateur champ, there are 6 spots per year reserved for amateurs. The other invitations include the winner and runner up for the US Am, the Pub links champion, the British Am champion and the Mid Am champion. All these invitations are taken away if the player decides turns pro. Besides inviting these amateurs to play, the low am who makes the cut gets interviewed — before the actual winner — in the basement of Butler Cabin after the end of the tournament. Talk about treatment.

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