A Tradition Unlike Any Other

This is one of my favorite times of the year.

• The NCAA March Madness tourney is coming to a close.


• The folks at KJR 950 Sports Radio are beginning their annual Bigger Dance Tournament.


• Baseball Season has just started.


• And lastly the Masters starts on Thursday. It is a tradition unlike any other.

This year I thought I’d take a shot at sharing my top 5 favorite Masters. For those of you that know me you may be surprised at what came in at number 1 for me.

NO. 5 – 1996 The Shark is snake bitten

In 1987 Greg Norman lost the Masters to Larry Mize in a playoff. It was a sudden death playoff, and Mize shipped in from about 50 yards to win it. Fast forward to 1996 where The Shark begins Masters Sunday with a 6 stroke lead over Nick Faldo. Norman systematically fell apart for 18 holes, and Faldo reaped the rewards of his collapse. Golf is tough enough without the pressures of holding a lead on Sunday and this was mortifying to watch. I’d never wish this sort of thing on anyone.

No. 4 – 1997 “A win for the ages”

This was the phrase coined by Jim Nance as Tiger Woods putted in for par on 18. He won the tournament by 12 shots which was the largest margin in over 30 years. Colin Montgomery, Tiger’s playing partner on Saturday, said that he appreciated the way he drove the ball and chipped the ball, but did not appreciate his putting. Colin was making a joke at the time about how well Tiger played. He was 21 at the time.

No. 3 – 1986 “Maybe? Yes Sir!”

The first time I ever watched the Masters was in 1986. I was so sick I actually stayed home from church that day. I was treated to watching the Golden Bear become the oldest person to ever win the Masters. He was 46 at the time. He did not start the day in the lead but he over came Seve Ballasteros to win. Jack parred the 8^th hole after hitting his drive into the trees. He Birdied 9, 10,and 11. Eagled 15, and topped it all off with another birdie on 17. I was hooked from that moment on.

No. 2 – 2005 Next time center the logo

DiMarcco vs. Tiger. The tournament went into sudden death and Tiger ended up winning but we will all remember this one for the impossible chip in on 16. The video is below and Vern’s call is perfect. I’ll let him tell the story.

No. 1 – Stupid and dumb, but HOLY CRAP WHAT A SHOT!

I’m not a big fan of Phil “tits” Mickelson. Most the time I root against him. Last year was one of those times. So you can imagine how happy I was when he started struggling last year on Sunday. There I sat all smug watching Lefty struggle with his driver. The contenders (KJ Choi, Anthony Kim, and Tiger) were surging. Phil started missing both the fairways and the rough somewhere around the 7^th hole. On the Par 5 13 he put it into the trees. A normal, sane person would have punched out and chipped on to give himself a chance at par. Hell, his caddie Bones tried to talk him into doing just that. But he was having none of it. It was a defining moment that Tin Cup would have been proud of. From a pine needle laden lie, and from behind 2 trees he miraculously knocked it to 3 feet. I’ve never seen anything like it. I’m guessing his adrenalin was running a bit strong because he missed the subsequent eagle putt but the birdie putt was a mere formality.

Now here's Vern to tell it how it is