Sushi, Scheffler and Shh! - you know who! - the 2022 Masters

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

Ah, Augusta. I don't know if Hideki Matsuyama will be as stereotypical as serving the members sushi tomorrow, as Nick Faldo was when he gave them roast beef or Sergio when he gave them lobster and rice, but I hope so!

Yes, all the focus will be on the 2019 (and 1997) champion returning for the first big event after his car crash, and speculation varies wildly between "will he win again?" to "can he walk 18 holes?". We'll see. It's likely he'll get all the attention but miss the cut.

At the sharp end? Well any one of the current top six - including new world number one Scottie Scheffler - could come away on Sunday night with both the green jacket and that number one position. Including Cameron Smith, the Aussie with the 'tache and the mullet who has had a couple of top-5 finishes around Augusta and is my each way tip.

[caja-dglh]

Sushi and Wagyu beef.

[elguapo4]

Irish media are talking up Shane Lowry's chances, as he is in a bit of form. He has a chance of course, but is just too inconsistent.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

The beeb are bigging up Danny Willett's chances of repeating his 2016 success. In all honesty, if Willett wins a second major here it will be as bizarre a story as Andy North winning his two US Opens in 1978 and 1985 (and similarly fuck all before, between or afterwards).

[Gangster Octopus]

Just gone from four under to evens in four holes...

[Sporting]

Yes, all the focus will be on the 2019 (and 1997) champion returning for the first big event after his car crash, and speculation varies wildly between "will he win again?" to "can he walk 18 holes?". We'll see. It's likely he'll get all the attention but miss the cut.

I would have predicted the same.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

Scottie Scheffler's annus mirabilis continuing so far - five shots clear at the halfway stage. If he goes on to make the Masters his fourth win of the season he'll have done something that not even Nicklaus, Watson or Woods did - they each had a Masters win as their third win of the year (so too did Fred Couples and Sandy Lyle) but never their fourth.

[Tony C]

My interest in the majors has declined to the extent where as long as Woods, DeChambeau or Reed don’t win I’m reasonably happy. Brooks Koepka and Zach Johnson always seemed like decent guys. I think their form has fallen away a bit though.

[Duncan Gardner]

Heard McMidAtlantic interviewed, he sounds full on Yank now?

[elguapo4]

I don't know what it is about the Northern Ireland golfers, McDowell has the same weird hybrid accent. Harrington and Lowry haven't changed.

[ursus arctos]

McDowell went to university in Alabama, is married to a USian and has lived in Florida for more than a decade.

I'm surprised that he sounds Irish at all.

[elguapo4]

The American twang seems to be something that people take on when they move. One of my friends came home to Ireland with his family when he was 10 , 44 years ago. He lived in Dublin for 30 years before moving to Galway to work for Irish language TV station TG4. He's a fluent Irish speaker, who's married to another one, and still sounds like he arrived from Croydon yesterday.

[Discordant Resonance]

Even when speaking Irish?

[elguapo4]

Even when speaking Irish?

I presume so, l speak English around him, though he said that they generally speak Irish at home.

[San Bernardhinault]

You don’t automatically get a mid-Atlantic accent from moving here. I’ve discovered a few Boston “ah”s when talking to locals but otherwise mine is basically unchanged.

[Gangster Octopus]

Suddenly something's happened.

[elguapo4]

McIlroy with a late charge to probably secure second, Schaeffler will have to really blow it to lose.

[Auntie Beryl]

Scheffler aside (who went in as world number one) the rest of the top five is made up of previous major winners plus Smith, who won the Players this year. Augusta sorting the winners from the pretenders this time around.

Had a quid on Scheffler, and each ways (eleven places) on Fitzpatrick and Fleetwood, both T14.

[Duncan Gardner]

Fair dos to Holywood's finest

[Duncan Gardner]

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

Made a right mess of the last, but it didn't matter. What an extraordinary run of form he's found. Made me a bit of money too (as did Smith and Zalatoris).

[San Bernardhinault]

I managed to make a little money too. Got in a pool bet on 4 cumulative scores. Lots of people had Scottie, but almost nobody had McIlroy.

[seand]

Ah, Augusta. I don't know if Hideki Matsuyama will be as stereotypical as serving the members sushi tomorrow, as Nick Faldo was when he gave them roast beef or Sergio when he gave them lobster and rice, but I hope so!

Yes, all the focus will be on the 2019 (and 1997) champion returning for the first big event after his car crash, and speculation varies wildly between "will he win again?" to "can he walk 18 holes?". We'll see. It's likely he'll get all the attention but miss the cut.

At the sharp end? Well any one of the current top six - including new world number one Scottie Scheffler - could come away on Sunday night with both the green jacket and that number one position. Including Cameron Smith, the Aussie with the 'tache and the mullet who has had a couple of top-5 finishes around Augusta and is my each way tip.

Nice work from Rogin here!

The final round briefly threatened to be interesting with McIlroy's charge and Smith briefly getting within 3, but no amount of Sky hyperbole could convince me that the world number one cruising through the 4th round in second gear to win by 3 constittuted 'incredible scenes at Augusta'

[Toby Gymshorts]

Apparently Scheffler "cried like a baby" earlier today.

Forgive me, but you're playing golf for a living. I could understand if i cried at the thought of playing golf but you doing it seems weird.

(Yes, I know, workplace stress. But something tells me this bloke can afford to heat his house.)

[Sporting]

But stress can get to successful people too. It's not just about paying the bills.