15 Rookies to face challenge at Masters - Golf News
The first major event of the year, Masters Tournament, is about to start at the Augusta National Golf Club on Thursday, April 5, 2012, with 15 new faces appearing in the field.
Since the inaugural event in 1934, only three players have succeeded in registering wins in their first appearances at the Augusta National.
Among them, Horton Smith won the inaugural event in 1934 to become the first winner of the tournament, Gene Sarazen won the very next event in 1935 and Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979.
Since then, no other player has done that so far. This year, there are a few players who have the ability to repeat history at Augusta National by earning a victory in their first appearance.
Among them, Keegan Bradley is the strongest contender for his first Masters victory.
He has already booked a major championship title to his name with a stunning performance in the PGA Championship last year.
There is another player who has an edge over his rookie fellows with some experience at the venue, Webb Simpson.
Simpson visited the field of Augusta National Golf Club when he was just 12 years old. He received an invitation to play at Augusta through the Raleigh's Carolina Country Club’s head professional, Ted Keigiel.
He, along with his father, then visited the venue and played one complete round. "My eyes were wide open the whole day," Simpson recalled.
Recently, he visited the venue several times before the formal start of the Masters Tournament.
According to Simpson, he will be relying highly on his caddie, Paul Tesori, who used to work with the legendary Vijay Singh.
"I love it to death," Simpson said. "From what I hear from most guys that have played in the Masters, it's obviously a lot softer (during those early season practice rounds)".
"Ball is not going as far and the greens are a little slower right now when I go play. But I'm just trying to really learn it. I think there's a lot more to know about that course than other courses, just with how quick the greens get, different pin locations,"
he added.
Overall, the rookies always had minimum chances to wear the green jacket because of the experience required to go low on the course.
However, the thunderstorms that hit the course recently made the conditions worse for the experienced players too.
Therefore, the rookies have now a chance to join the league of the winners on their first attempt in the Masters.
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