Is this Daly's year?
Posted: Fri April 3, 1998 at 2:06 PM ET
Guess who is No. 1 on the PGA Tour in
putting? Believe it or not, it's John Daly.
Since Long John is also leading in driving
distance, it gives him an unheard of
statistical double going back to when the
tour began keeping such statistics in 1980.
It bodes well for Daly at Augusta, where his
best finish is a tie for third in 1993. He
missed the Masters last year while
undergoing alcohol rehabilitation, and has
been pointing for Augusta ever since.
Toughening up at Augusta
After what Tiger Woods did to the Augusta
National last year, there's a presumption the
elders at the Masters will have a few sneaky
surprises for the field this year. But early
reports are that there have been no drastic
changes.
Three greens, the 6th, 8th, and
14th have been slightly enlarged, creating
some potentially new pin positions, some
trees have been added on the 13th and 18th
holes, and the tees on the 11th and 15th
have been moved to the right. The club
seems to be saying to Woods, "Let's see you
do that again." If he or somebody else does,
bet on big changes in 1999.
Will Duval contend at Masters?
David Duval is overdue to contend in a major
championship. Augusta rewards
explosiveness, and at the Players
Championship, Duval made 19 birdies and
an eagle over 72 holes to lead the field in
underpar scores. While he made almost as
many bogies for the week to tie for 18th,
Duval should have a better handle on his
mistakes next week. If he does, look for him
to at least post his first top 10 finish ever in
a major.
Singh eyes another cut
If Vijay Singh makes the cut at the Masters,
he will pass Tom Kite and own the fifth
longest streak of making the cut in
consecutive events in PGA Tour history. Out
ahead of Singh are Byron Nelson, 113; Jack Nicklaus, 105;
Hale Irwin, 86; and Dow Finsterwald, 72.
OK, here are my favorites to win at
Augusta. In order: Tiger Woods, Phil
Mickelson, Mark Calcavecchia, David Duval,
and Jose Maria Olazabal. Honorable
mention: Ernie Els, Jesper Parnevik and Tom
Lehman. If Woods is on, he wins.
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