The Punter 
/ Steven Rawlings / 09 April 2012 / Leave a Comment 
Bubba gets a hug from Ben Crane after his emotional win
“The back-nine is where you make your score. Once through the tricky 12th birdie opportunities are there on almost every hole. The 17th and 18th are tough but not impossible and the last two winners have both made four straight birdies on the back nine.”
Steve looks back on yet another fantastic Masters tournament. What lessons have we learnt for next year?
It really is quite remarkable how year after year this event produces so much drama and this time around, three shots grabbed the headlines.
First there was Louis Oosthuizen's second to the par five 2nd, which incredibly found the bottom of the cup to propel the South African to the top of the leaderboard. Then there was Phil Mickelson's horror tee-shot on four that ricocheted unluckily off the grandstand and into a virtually unplayable spot to cost him his chance of a fourth Green Jacket. And finally there was a magic moment from Bubba Watson on the second extra hole. Presumable affected by just missing a ten-footer for the title, Bubba smacked his tee-shot on the 10th hole deep into the trees, right of the fairway, from where he hit a 50-yard hook, setting up a birdie opportunity. As it transpired, Oosty failed to make par and Bubba was able to two-putt for the title.
My Bets
They say fortune favours the brave. Well I was brave last night and ill-fortune favoured me. With a substantial wager on Lefty from the start, after much deliberation, my plan was to lay back my stakes and a wee bit more should he go odds on and had Oosthuizen not made that miraculous albatross, he would have done.
With a five-footer for par on the 1st hole, Phil was around [2.3] when Oosty struck. Had the South African not made his astonishing two, and once Phil had safely made the par on the 1st and then found the fairway on the 2nd, he almost certainly would have gone odds on.
And then there were the horrors of the 4th hole. Yes he hit a terrible shot but boy was he unlucky with the outcome. Still, I've no regrets, a couple of freak occurrences robbed me of a profitable tournament but I wouldn't do anything differently given the same set of circumstances. I think it was just bad, bad luck.
Observations and lessons for next year
You need a good start.
Phil Mickelson didn't just lose the event on the 4th hole yesterday, he lost it on Thursday. A fast start at the Masters is imperative. Mistakes will always happen and you need a good start. A cushion if you like. The first four names on the day one leaderboard were Lee Westwood, Louis Oosthuizen, Peter Hanson and Bubba Watson. Mickelson's opening round of 74 left him a mountain to climb.
Who to back in 2013?
Nobody has ever won the Masters having made a triple-bogey, yet Lefty very nearly pulled it off having made two! Add to that his very poor start and it's quite incredible how close he came to winning. Nobody prepares for, or plays, Augusta National better than Phil Mickelson and although the years are ticking by, I still think he has at least one more victory in him.
Lefty apart, as I just think he's so well suited to the test, it may be worth opposing those in the mix this year. Eight players hit the front on day four in 2011 and none of those eight, despite many of them being quite well fancied, featured this year. It could just be a coincidence or there could be something in it. Could players that figure one year, expect too much of themselves, and therefore heap too much pressure on themselves, the following year?
Course experience is vital
With three straight missed cuts, Louis Oosthuizen hardly had course form to boast but he does have the game for Augusta. He's far from the first to suddenly get it and I wouldn't give up on someone just because their previous course form is poor - providing they have the right game.
What skills are needed to win the Green Jacket?
Length is a big advantage - Louis ranked 2nd for Driving Distance and Bubba 4th. And Westwood, Hanson and Mickelson can get it out there too.
Scoring on the par fives is vital. It's all about hanging on elsewhere and making hay at the long holes but yet again, the most important stat is putting...
Bubba is an unusual winner, in that he didn't rank very highly with the putter this week. In fact, his poor performance with the flat-stick when I backed him last time out at the Arnold Palmer Invitational was the only reason I didn't back him here - just to add to my frustrations! Mickelson was the best putter on the week but Hanson and Oosthuizen weren't far behind him, ranking 3rd and 5th respectfully.
In-running angle
The back-nine is where you make your score. Once through the tricky 12th, birdie opportunities are there on almost every hole. The 17th and 18th are tough but not impossible and the last two winners have both made four straight birdies on the back nine. And both may have felt their chance had gone when they did.
Adam Scott looked the winner last year until Charl Schwartzel followed a frustrating run of pars with birdies at each of the last four holes. This time around, Bubba made four off the bat after bogeying the 12th. I just wonder if both players had thought their chances of glory may have passed and as a result they relaxed slightly.
Hole-in-one
Geoff Ogilvy very nearly aced the 16th yesterday. Bo Van Pelt and Adam Scott did. I highlighted this angle before the off and no doubt I shall be doing so again next year.
I'm sure there are plenty of other little snippets and angles in and if anyone has their own, please feel free to comment. Paul gave us a cracker on this year's preview when he posted that every winner, apart from Tiger Woods in 1996, has made the cut the year before they won since Fuzzy Zoeller won here on debut in 1979 - though Louis came very close to blowing that one!
Getting over the Masters hangover isn't going to be too hard this week, we've a pair of cracking events kicking off on Thursday - the Maybank Malaysian Open on the Race to Dubai and the RBC Heritage on the PGA Tour. I'll be back tomorrow or on Wednesday with previews for each.
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