who needs ESPN when you've got me?

Yesterday afternoon I was doing a little research on this webpage. A co-worker came up from behind me and saw the computer screen. From a few feet away, she exclaimed in astonishment:

"Are you browsing eHarmony??!!!! That looks like eHarmony!!" I cackled out loud with laughter and waited for her to get close enough to see what it really was. "Oh. Golf? You like the Masters? Actually, that's probably not a bad group to pick a husband in, really..." and I had to agree. You could do worse. And is there any other sporting tournament with such a variety of ages and nations represented and playing? As a world-renowned sports expert, I submit to you that there is not. 

Anyway. YES I like the Masters. I'm from Augusta. It would be extremely wrong not to love the Masters. While I don't pay a whole lot of attention to golf the other 11.75 months of the year, for the first week in April- I'm all about it. So I needed to find out what time 'my' players were teeing off and what the pairings looked like. And then I realized that my choosing of golfers to root for is only slightly more legit than my March Madness bracketology. So naturally I wanted to share my picks for this year so that you can join me in rooting for them (since I get the feeling that 98% of you really couldn't care less about golf...and the 2% that do are also from Augusta and probably have your own complex Golfer Picking Methods. Or maybe you actually know golf for more than one week a year. Whatever).


My #1 Pick of All Time: Sergio Garcia (Spain)

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I have been rooting for Sergio since 2000. At that point in time I was 17 and he was about 20 and I'll give you three guesses why I followed him around the National all year that year (I worked at the Masters--HUGE PERK OF LIVING IN AUGUSTA), but I'm guessing that you only need one. Yup. I was pretty sure I was destined to become Mrs. Garcia. For the record, Matt is well aware of my love deep respect for Sergio and isn't threatened by the fact that when my dad calls to tell me that "my man's on TV" or "my man had a great round yesterday at the such-and-such tournament," I get pretty giddy. It's cool. The great thing about being a Sergio fan is that it's never crowded there. He's never done so well that it's really trendy to root for him (ahem, I'm looking at you, millions of Tiger groupies...). Half the years he doesn't even make the cut for rounds 3 and 4. It's okay. I'm no fair weather fan. I will be Sergio's #1 fan until he retires from golf, and probably even after that. 

So as always, my #1 pick for the year is Sergio. But I've learned that it's good to have a few backup picks just in case he gets knocked out early...I mean, it's no fun having no one to root for on Sunday. Therefore I present to you--

My #2 Pick: Bubba Watson (US)

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I've been rooting for Bubba since...last year when he was the playoffs to win the tournament (and he did). So. Not a lot of history there. HOWEVER. What an amazing guy. I became his Twitter follower immediately following the conclusion of the tournament and watching him blubber all over the place, bawling his eyes out about how he was happy to win the Masters, but it all paled in comparison over his excitement about the baby he and his wife had just adopted a few days prior to the tournament. Hearing his story about their infertility and journey to adoption (his wife wasn't even at the Masters to see him win- they hadn't even had the baby for a week yet!) and his excitement over being a daddy...oh my GOSH. Not a dry eye in the world, I'm pretty sure. Not to mention Bubba went to my alma mater!! At the same time as me! I'm pretty sure we had some classes together...okay, no I'm not, but what if we did? Anyways, Bubba's the real deal and a really good golfer and incumbent winner...of course I'm pulling for him!

Although it's pretty safe to assume that at least of my top two picks will make it through to Sunday, I decided to let one final golfer into my good graces and favor this year.

My #3 Pick: Guan Tianlang (China)

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This is Guan's first tournament, and I really don't know a thing about him except that he's FOURTEEN YEARS OLD. I mean, for real! How cool is that? In the MASTERS! This isn't the Olympics, where the barely-pottytrained crowd regularly compete. This is an old man's sport. So I'm pretty excited to see an 8th grader stepping up to the plate, and I will definitely be checking up on him and cheering when he's doing well. Unless he starts acting like a 14 year old boy. In which case I will write him off as obnoxious and move on with life. So don't screw this up, Guan.

So there ya have it: My 2013 Masters Picks. Feel free to join me in cheering for these obviously excellent choices as you drink your lemonade, munch on your egg salad sandwich, and dream of azaleas and Amen Corner. There is truly nothing as delightful as a warm April day on the Augusta National, and even though I'm practically the only one in my family that won't actually be there this year, I'll happily watch on TV and bask in the happy memories. And cheer for Sergio. Obviously.