Nike Golf Athletes at the 2012 Masters :: Round 1 Tee Times and Group Analysis

This is an interesting group, but Ross Fisher should dominate. He has a T15 at last year’s Masters and a T30 here in 2009. I would expect Ross to show up here. However, Ryan Palmer finished inside the Top 30 at ALL of the Majors last year. Meanwhile, this is Harrison Frazar’s first time at Augusta.

 

This is a pretty solid group. Stricker has been under the radar, Paddy has had flashes of his old form recently and Cink is looking to get into his stride. I think all of these guys make the cut. They all know what MAJOR game is, even though Cink has missed his last 3 cuts at the Masters.

 This may be the ultimate “under the radar” group. Baddeley finished 12th at Doral and 4th at Pebble Beach. Kyung-Tae Kim made the cut at 3/4 of the 2011 Majors. He had a T6 at the WGC Bridgestone and is in the Top 50 in the world. Glover had a nice Top 15 at the Open Championship in 2011 along with a win at the 2011 Wells Fargo. This should be a great group.

This should be a fun group to watch. The defending Masters champ, one of the hottest golfers in the world (Keegan) and the Current US Amateur Champion. Shootout.

This group should also provide some fireworks. Tiger Woods is the main attraction, Jiminez is like the court jester and Sang-moon Bae is like the diamond in the rough. This is a really good spotlight for Bae, but also great playing partners for Woods.If you don’t know Bae, then boy, you’re in for a treat.

Huge group for Molinari. While his last 4 starts have all been Top 17 finishes, Luke is coming off of a 1st place and 6th place finish. Meanwhile, Watney hasn’t been great, but had a Top 10 at the Masters in 2010. Francesco is the only one missing a Masters Top 10 in this group.

This is sort of a strange group. You have an old Masters winner, along with Dyson who had 2 European Tour wins in 2011 and Corbin Mills, who is the US Amateur Public Links Champion. Dyson should come out on top here.

Another strange group. This puts Ian Woosman, former winner, with Edoardo (Top 16 at Masters last year) and Kevin Chappell (Top 8 at 2011 US Open). There have been flashes from each of these guys, but I hope Chappell shows some more flashes of his major game.

This is a better group than most would think. Senden and Casey are both in the Top 50 in the world, while Byrd was in the Top 30 on the Money List last year. While Casey has a pair of Top 10′s at the Masters, Byrd missed the cut at all 4 majors last years and Senden had Top 30′s at the US Open and PGA Championship. Should be a good group to watch.

Check out the full list of tee times here >> 

Nike Golf Athletes at the 2012 Masters :: How They Qualified and Where They Stand

This year, we have 9 Nike Golf athletes in Augusta for the 2012 Masters. I’m here to break down how they’ve qualified, their best masters finish, along with recent finishes. Consider this as a status update for all of the Nike Golf athletes playing at Augusta National this week.

Paul Casey
current world golf ranking;
38
qualification; 
Top 50 in OWGR
best Masters finish;
T6 in 2004
recent finishes;
Missed last 2 cuts

Kevin Chappell
current world golf ranking;
176
qualification;
Top 8 in 2011 US Open
best Masters finish;
First time here
recent finishes;
Two Top 25s in last 4 events

Stewart Cink
current world golf ranking;
163
qualification;
2009 Open Championship winner
best Masters finish;
T3 in 2008
recent finishes;
Missed last 2 cuts

Simon Dyson
current world golf ranking;
36
qualification;
Top 50 OWGR
best Masters finish;
CUT in 2010
recent finishes;
 72nd at Doral and 1st round exit at Match Play.

Ross Fisher
current world golf ranking;
133
qualification;
Top 16 in 2011 Masters
best Masters finish;
T15 in 2011
recent finishes; 
Last start was 66th at Dubai in February.

Lucas Glover
current world golf ranking;
87
qualification;
2009 US Open Champ and 2011 PGA Tour event winner
best Masters finish;
T20 in 2007
recent finishes; 
MDF last week at Houston Open and hasn’t made a cut in 2012.

Francesco Molinari
current world golf ranking;
46
qualification;
Top 50 in OWGR
best Masters finish;
T30 in 2010
recent finishes; 
4 starts since mid-February, finishing 17th, 13th, 17th and 16th. .

Charl Schwartzel
current world golf ranking;
8
qualification;
Masters Champion, Top 30 in 2011 Money List, Top 50 OWGR
best Masters finish;
1st in 2011
recent finishes; 
4 starts in March; 2 missed cuts and 2 top 10s.

Tiger Woods
current world golf ranking;
7
qualification;
Masters Champion, US Open Champion, PGA Champion, Top 16 in 2011 Masters, PGA Tour Winner, Top 50 in OWGR
best Masters finish;
1st in 1997, 2001, 2002 and 2005
recent finishes; 
2nd best scoring average (68.67) in the last 8 weeks, including his win at Bay Hill.

Best of luck to the 9 swooshers in Georgia this week!

PHOTOS: Nike Golf on Wednesday at the Masters

Today Nike Golf tweeted photos from their Twitter account of Nike Athletes during their Wednesday practice rounds at Augusta National. Like the photos from Monday and Tuesday, I’ve put these into a gallery here so you can see them all together. Enjoy!

Nike Golf Swag for the 2012 Masters

We haven’t seen a whole lot of the custom goods for the Nike Golf athletes participating in the 2012 Masters, but Nike did tweet out this pic of Paul Casey in a custom jacket and hand painted Air Force 1s.

The AF1 has been used before for the custom shoe for majors, however, this marks the first time they are hand painted. More pics to come as details emerge.

PHOTOS: Nike Golf on Tuesday at the Masters

Nike Golf posted more photos from their Twitter account yesterday of Nike Athletes during their practice rounds on Tuesday at Augusta National Golf Club. Like yesterday I’ve put them into a gallery here so you can see them together. Enjoy!

NGN Lookback :: Charl Schwartzel’s 2011 Masters Win

 


While everyone is hot with anticipation for the 2012 Masters, I thought I would take a look back at Charl Schwartzel’s thrilling 2011 Masters win.

Today, everyone knows Charl’s name, but before his Masters win, who was this guy?
Well, you can find that out here -  Meet 2011 Masters Champion, Charl Schwartzel >>

Professional Tour Wins Before the 2011 Masters

  • 2011 Joburg Open
  • 2010 Joburg Open
  • 2010 Africa Open
  • 2008 Madrid Masters
  • 2007 Open de Espana
  • 2005 Dunhill Championship

2011 Season Prior to the 2011 Masters

Charl’s resume in the 2011 prior to the Masters was quite phenomenal and definitely went under the radar. Let’s take a look;

  • 2nd at Alfred Dunhill
  • 4th South African Open
  • 4th Africa Open
  • 1st Joburg Open
  • 8th Abu Dhabi
  • 17th Match Play
  • 14th Honda Classic
  • 24th WGC Cadillac Championship
  • 47th Arnold Palmer Invitational
  • 30th Shell Houston Open

During the 2011 Masters

After finishing 30th in the 2010 Masters, Charl was familiar with the course and already had some major wins under his belt. He opened the 2011 Masters with a 69, good for 7th place at the time, but still had 2 bogies on his card.
His 2nd round was a 71, consisting of 3 birdies and again, 2 bogeys.
The third round also consisted of 2 bogeys, but was peppered with 6 birdies, giving him a 68 and a 2nd place standing heading into the final round.

After he opened his final round with a birdie, he holed out for eagle on the 3rd hole. After he bogeyed #4, Charl would par holes 5-14, then making 4 straight birdies to win the Masters. Incredible.

A big part of Charl’s win was that he was 2nd in the field in putting

His 66 was the lowest final round score at the Masters in 20 years.

This is your 2011 Masters Champion. Best of luck to Charl in the 2012 Masters.

Check out his hole by hole score-graph here >>
Check out his 2011 Masters scorecard here >>
Check out all of NGNation’s 2011 Masters Coverage here >> 

Fantasy Four :: 2012 Masters


*sniff sniff* What’s the smell? Amen Corner, green jackets and Magnolia Lane. It’s Masters week!

Personally, I think the theme of the 2012 Masters should be “Clash of the Titans”. I really think it will come down to a Tiger, Phil, Luke D, Rory and Westwood showdown.

This is event 2/5 in Month 4 and Event 14 overall.

For a refresher on the rules, hit the link — Contest Guidelines and leave your Fantasy Four below (don’t forget your ONE Nike Athlete).

Check here for last week’s recap post >>

Paul Casey
Missed last 2 cuts. In 7 Masters starts, he has 4 Top 25s and 2 missed cuts (2010 and 2005). 38th last year.

Kevin Chappell
First time at the Masters; but has 2 Top 25 finishes in his last 4 events.

Stewart Cink
Four starts in March; 2 missed cuts, to go with 70th and 36th place finishes. Missed last 3 cuts at the Masters, but 6 straight Top 25s prior to that.

Simon Dyson
Cut at last year’s Masters. Coming off a 72nd at Doral and 1st round exit at Match Play.

Ross Fisher
Last start was 66th at Dubai in February. 15th at last year’s Masters, cut in 2010 and 20th in 2009.

Lucas Glover
MDF last week at Houston Open and hasn’t made a cut in 2012. Cut at the Masters last year, 36th in ’10 and 20th in ’07.

Francesco Molinari
4 starts since mid-February, finishing 17th, 13th, 17th and 16th. Cut at ’11 Masters and 30th in ’10.

Charl Schwartzel
4 starts in March; 2 missed cuts and 2 top 10s. Last year’s defending champ.

Tiger Woods
2nd best scoring average (68.67) in the last 8 weeks. 70.45 scoring average in last 20 rounds at Augusta. Hasn’t won here since ’05, but finished 3rd, 2nd, 2nd, 6th, 4th and 4th since then.

Other Nike athletes in the field; none

Rory McIlroy
recent finishes – 3rd Doral, 1st Honda, 2nd Match Play, 5th Dubai
15th here last year after leading the first 3 rounds.

Keegan Bradley
Recent finishes –  4th Houston, 8th Doral, 12th Honda, 17th Match Play, 2nd Northern Trust
First time here.

Bubba Watson
Recent finishes –  4th API, 2nd Doral
Okay Masters history; 38th in ’11, 42nd in ’09 and 20th in ’08.

Luke Donald
Recent finishes –  1st Transitions, 6th Doral
4th at last year’s Masters.

BONUS – Hunter Mahan
1st at Houston. Cut at ’11 Masters, but Top 10s in ’10 and ’09.


Phil Mickelson
best finishes – 1st in ’10, ’06 and ’04, 5th in ’09 and ’08.
Coming off 4th at Houston.

Lee Westwood
Best finishes at this event – 2nd in ’10, 11th in ’11 and ’08
Coming off 21st at Houston

Justin Rose
Best finishes at this event – 5th in ’07, 11th in ’11, 20th in ’10
Last 4 starts in March; 15th, 29th, 1st and 5th.

Angel Cabrera
Best finishes at this event – 1st in ’09, 7th in ’110, 18th in ’10
Coming off 21st at Houston.

BONUS- Jason Day
2nd place in 2011 in first Masters appearance.
Finished 20th in only 2 events in March.

Alan :: Webb Simpson, Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods
Bob :: Phil Mickelson, Luke Donald, Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods
Damian :: Justin Rose, Luke Donald, Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods

Check out the full field here for the Masters >>

Leave your Fantasy Four in a comment below.

Remember, you have to pick at least ONE Nike Golfer and have your picks in by WEDNESDAY at Midnight (PST).

It is also your responsibility to sub your player if they WD before the deadline

(email) damian [at] ngnation.com

(twitter) [at] d_daniels

CONTEST: Caddy for Nike Athlete Ross Fisher

Today the European Tour announced a contest that will benefit The Children’s Trust, the Official Charity of the 2012 BMW PGA Championship. The grand prize winner of the contest will get to caddie for Nike Athlete Ross Fisher in the Official Tournament Pro-Am on Wednesday May 23, to be held at Wentworth Club’s famous West Course. By entering the ‘Text to Win’ competition you will make a donation to The Children’s Trust and you will be automatically entered into a draw with the chance to be part of a truly unique experience, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Ross Fisher as his caddie for the day at the European Tour’s flagship event.

You can read more about the contest here, and you can click here for the official contest terms and conditions.

VIDEOS: Nike Athletes on The Masters Tradition

Nike Golf has posted the videos below on their YouTube Channel showing Nike Athletes Stewart Cink, Paul Casey and Tiger Woods talking about the traditions of the Masters Tournament and what they mean to them. Check ‘em out:

STEWART CINK ON THE MASTERS TRADITION >>

PAUL CASEY ON THE MASTERS TRADITION >>

TIGER WOODS ON THE MASTERS TRADITION >>

VIDEO: New Nike Golf Tiger Woods Commercial

Yesterday Nike Golf posted this video on their YouTube Channel of a new commercial featuring Tiger Woods advertising their VR_S Speed Trials at Golfsmith, which began yesterday. The commercial is announcing a contest where if you take part in a Nike Golf VR_S Speed Trial at Golfsmith, you can win the grand prize of a trip for four to Jupiter, FL, to play nine holes with Tiger Woods. Each member of your foursome will also get a full set of VR_S clubs and be outfitted head-to-toe in Nike Golf apparel. All you need to do is complete a Speed Trial at Golfsmith before May 15, 2012. Check out more details on the contest here.

But for now, check out the commercial, it’s hilarious!

CHECK OUT THE NEW TIGER WOODS SPEED TRIALS COMMERCIAL >>