No Better Work Assignment Than This…

1980

Everyone has had a job (or two) they dread, and hopefully at least one they have loved.

This week it’s the latter for me, where I have the privilege of reporting from Augusta, Georgia at The Masters. My first time was 2009.

The first announcement on this week’s blog is the pairings which were just released at 12:00 noon, Tuesday, April 3, 2012.  Some key ones of note to watch are:

Alma, Michigan’s Randal Lewis is paired with former Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal, and Robert Garrigus, at 8:01 Thursday, 11:08 Friday.

Tom Watson, who played a practice round Monday with Lewis, is paired with Johnson Wagner and amateur Hideki Matsuyama at 9:40 and 12:58.

Defending champ Charl Schwartzel tees off at 10:24 and 1:31 with Keegan Bradley and amateur Kelly Kraft.

Tiger Woods follows in the next grouping with Miguel Angel Jimenez and Sang-Moon Bae.

World No. 1 Luke Donald follows Tiger’s group, with Italy’s flashy Francesco Molinari and Nick Watney, the player some are picking as the sleeper 2012 Masters champ.

Phil Mickelson brings up the back of the field on Thursday with a 1:53 tee time with Hunter Mahan and Peter Hanson.

No Bloom:
When viewers turn on CBS television to watch the Masters, the course will look unusually green this year because – just like our unseasonably warm Michigan weather – Georgia has experienced an early spring. The Azaleas and many other flowering plants are past their peak and most blooms are long gone…. but it’s still Augusta National, a phenomenally beautiful course to walk, watch, and play.

No Johnson:
tMoments ago, Dustin Johnson withdrew from the tournament due to injury. No other details were provided.