Thursday, April 11, 2013

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)

source

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)

source

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)
source

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.

14 comments:

  1. So what you're saying is... your strategy for choosing Masters picks is not quite the same as your strategy for filling out March Madness brackets?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Whenever I see golf I just think of Happy Gilmore. I've watched that movie too many times and I'm sure real golf is nothing like it haha. Go Sergio!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Love your picks! Sergio has always been a fav of mine and like you, I fell in love with Bubba last year! Seriously can you even imagine being 14 and playing a competitive sport with men who could clearly be you father (or grandfather)!?!?! Yikes!!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm completely oblivious to golf so I'll trust that you know your picks well. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. If you get sad about not being there, just remind yourself of the near-record pollen count today. It may be beautiful, but it's also nasty out there.

    Unfortunately I have little hope for your picks. I see the kid as least likely to make the cut, but there have only been 3 back-to-back winners EVER, so Bubba's odds aren't that great (but let me tell you that I did more than my share of crying at him and his story and baby pics last year). And we all know poor Sergio is more of a pretty face than an I'm-gonna-win-a-major golfer. Bless his heart. I'm still happy to root for your picks despite my reservations though. :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. I don't care about golf at all but now you have me interested. And I love that you pick your sports people/teams to cheer for with as much strategy as I do!

    And we're getting an ice storm this afternoon so I'm heading to Georgia ASAP for my Spring weather fix because we're obviously not going to get any here.

    ReplyDelete
  7. If Nick read this, he'd probably wish he'd married you instead of me. He'd love me to show an ounce of interest in his beloved sport of golf! Last night he said "let's bet who wins the Masters and the loser pays for dinner" (which is interesting, b/c our money comes from the same pot!). :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. I am rooting for Sergio too. I too have LOTS of respect for him.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh Bubba Watson...he is amazing to me. And he is the only golfer that I know of besides Tiger, who I have zero respect for.

    I can't watch when a man cries because it makes me cry!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Watching #2 and #3.

    All our golfy friends can't believe that we hail from the Home of the Masters!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I really wasn't sure where you were going with your third selection, since the first two seemed to be about crushes. I was thinking "really, a crush on the 8th grader, PULL IT TOGETHER, Erika..." :) HAHAHA. Now I realize it had nothing to do with that.

    ReplyDelete
  12. GOLF CHANNEL IS MY FAVE.

    Mainly because I like to look at all the green and have the nice quiet.....and take a nap to it..... :))

    My husband's fam is part owners of a golf course, so I try to know about it.....but mainly it is my napping background :))

    ReplyDelete
  13. Um, wow. I am super impressed with your sports knowledge. Go girl!

    ReplyDelete

I love comments almost as much as I love Mexican food. Seriously.