Major(s) News & Notes, March 28th, 2024
Major(s) News & Notes, March 28th, 2024
The (almost) final week to play into the Masters. Plus, Scheffler surges to huge favorite status, first course views, latest forecast, ANWA preview, R&A creates an online channel, This, That & Reads.
Days to the 2024 Masters first tee shot: 14
Farmers’ Almanac forecast. “April 4-7: Dry initially, then showers. April 8-11: Showers continuing. April 12-15: Risk of showers for opening round, clearing skies and drier weather for Masters Tournament in GA.”
Days to the 2024 PGA Championship first tee shot: 48
Days to the 2024 U.S. Open first tee shot: 77
Days to the 2024 Open Championship first tee shot: 112
We’ve reached that blissful pre-Masters continuum where air traffic control cleared us for landing, announcements and turbulence seems behind us, and our focus can lock in on vital first world matters like a re-positioned second tee and studying April 11th weather forecasts. Regarding the latter, the latest long range weather reveal is featured in the latest News & Notes even if the outlook is likely to change 25 times between now and Masters Thursday.
The 2024 field is at 86 with only two more PGA Tour events to and the ranking-based path wraps up when the OWGR’s algorithm arrives at the office on Monday.
World ranking forecasting guru Nosferatu says no player can win this week’s DP World Tour’s Hero Indian Open and play their way in by the OWGR Top 50 cutoff deadline. But three players could make their way to Augusta via a strong Houston Open finish. They’re featured in white:
Kyle Porter pointed out some top 50 players in Data Golf’s ranking of all Tours who are not in the Masters: Christiaan Bezuidenhout (No. 26), Ben An (29), Alex Noren (35), Talor Gooch (37), Tom Hoge (42), Beau Hossler (43) and Louis Oosthuizen (44).
Bezuidenhout finished T9 at the recent Valspar and finished second earlier this year in the American Express to then-amateur Nick Dunlap. Curiously, the South African is not entered in Houston despite having had the best mathematical chance to play into the Masters.
And now a bit of housekeeping before we get to the latest notes on an array of Masters news and an R&A announcement:
Also, things are about to get busy leading up to a TULAO. The staff has been working on a bunch of fun stuff, including a look at three key front nine holes and if they uphold Bobby Jones’ philosophy, a chat with Ben Crenshaw on the 40th anniversary of his first of two wins, and, if those dreaded second and third sources would just stop sending my calls to voicemail, several major exclusives.
Then, before you know it, the Masters will be here with daily coverage from on-site. And remember, unlike joining Augusta National, becoming a Quadrilaterpatron is remarkably easy. We just don’t have the peach cobbler or wine cellar.
Now on to the latest, with a clear favorite emerging, vital Masters appetite-whetters, an ANWA preview, the R&A’s new TV channel, This, That and Reads.
Scheffler Is Biggest Masters Favorite In Years
With incredible consistency for this parity era and one green jacket already in hand, punters have separated Scottie Scheffler even farther from the favorites pack.
In the utterly meaningless pre-tournament favorite race, Scheffler is hovering around +450 to +490, well clear of Rory McIlroy at +1000.
Not since 2020 when Dustin Johnson was a +850 favorite has one player been so likely to win (in the eyes of plungers.)
Brandon Gdula at FanDuel writes that Scheffler’s improving number implies a win probability of 16.95%. And Kevin Rogers at VegasInsider.com looked at how favorites have fared in Masters oddsmaking over the last eight years.
Even after coming so close last year, Brooks Koepka is a healthy +2100 despite being a five-time major champion with an uncanny track record of perking up at majors. Now if he could just avoid giving out information against the rules this year, the Golf Gods may help him out.
First ‘24 Look At ANGC Courtesy Of ANGC
The Pink Dogwoods are blooming, the ryegrass is loving it refills of iron, the bunkers can be seen from Mars and overall everything looks right with Augusta National.
In an Instagram posted saying “March, 2024”, the official tournament account buried the lede: the club is all in now on drone shots. Traditionally we haven’t seen many still images from above even after CBS was allowed to use a live drone. So it’s nice to see some fresh perspectives of a place we know so well. (Presumably official photographer Martin Miller captured these gems.)
Besides a fun shot looking down on No. 7 green (above), have a look at the below shot of the third:
Because only I and a few other people who bunk in the basement down the hall from Hannibal Lector care about stuff like this, the third hole view shows tight mow fairway well to the left of the fairway bunkers. In recent years this area gets converted to “second cut” in the weeks prior to the tournament. I only know this because by Masters week you can still see the faint green line put down to guide the mowing team.
Short grass always looks more elegant and strategically the tight mow encourages players to think about using other parts of the landing area depending on hole locations. Of course I also think the fairway bunkering should be restored to just one pit as Jones and MacKenzie had it. This would bring back another lay-up option Tom Weiskopf lamented the loss of. But I don’t have a vote on that one.
So why the late change from member play to tournament week? Only the Lords know. But again, maybe six people care about so let’s move this newsletter along, ladies and gentlemen of the Masters jury.