Bobcats' golfer Andrew Mlynarski gives some advice for watching the Masters this weekend.
The Masters truly is a tradition unlike any other.
To help those who may be less familiar with golf, senior Andrew Mlynarski shared some of his knowledge about the Masters and golf in general. Mlynarski, who was a Golf Coaches Association of America Academic All-American last year, has been surrounded by golf his entire life. He’s had eight jobs in the golf industry from teaching lessons to supplying golf professionals with their clothes and recently accepted a job running the upcoming U.S. Open this summer.
The 79th edition of the Masters will tee off Thursday at 7:45 a.m. with 18 holes of golf and will continue through the weekends. Rounds one and two can be seen Thursday and Friday on ESPN from 3 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., round three can be seen Saturday on CBS from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. and round four can be seen Sunday on CBS from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.
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Whether you’re an avid golf fan or someone new to the sport, the Masters is widely regarded as one of the top sporting events of the year.
“For someone that’s not experienced with golf, the thing that they should focus on when they’re watching is to know that in golf, unlike any other sport, you want the lowest score possible,” Mlynarski said. “They make it really easy for you because you’ll see in the top right corner (of the television screen) it’ll say their name and it’ll say minus-five, for example, and that’s five under par.”
Three of the most common words used in regards to scoring are par, birdie and bogey. If a hole is par four that means the player is expected to take four shots to complete that hole. If a player were to finish that hole in three shots, it would be called a birdie and five shots would be a bogey.
The field will consist of 98 golfers this year as selected by the committee at Augusta. This committee is part of what makes this tournament one-of-a-kind.
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“What’s great about the Masters is, unlike any other tournament in the world, it’s invite only,” Mlynarski said. “You could automatically qualify, but if you don’t get a Masters invite (from the committee) you don’t get in because it’s a private club, so when a player actually gets their invite it’s a big deal.”
The setting for this sporting event also contributes to the tournament’s legendary status. Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia, plays host to the Masters, which is the only major golf tournament always held at the same location. Augusta is consistently ranked the best or second-best golf course in the world each year.
Perhaps the most famous thing associated with the Masters is the green jacket, which is presented to each winner along with a trophy replica of the Augusta National Golf Club clubhouse.
“For fans wishing to get into golf I would make the recommendation of finding a favorite player,” Mlynarski said. “My player to watch would be Corey Conners because he was the best player in our conference last year, so he would be my player to root for, for fans around here.”
Tune in and give it a try, even if you’ve never watched golf before, because it is, after all, a tradition unlike any other.
@Matt_Fout
mf056713@ohio.edu
