You da Immel-Man!

So a hearty congratulations goes out to Trevor Immelman on winning the Masters this past weekend. He played very good all 4 days and won the whole thing without much drama on Sunday.

Tiger was also consistently mediocre (by his standards), and hovered around the -4 mark for most of the tournament.

All of this begs the question: is this good for golf?

Its a proven fact that when Tiger is in contention for a Major win, the ratings are significantly higher than when he is totally out of it. And as more and more people win Majors who are not named Eldrick, is this good for the PGA?

On one hand, its the opportunity introduce America to another golfer who is obviously very talented. Would we know who Tervor Immelman is had he not won the Masters? Hell no. But click on any sports minded website and you will be able to read a feature about how much he loves his wife, how he is a dedicated family man, how he works hard to be as good as he is, that sort of thing. America will need someone to cheer for that is not Tiger, maybe we will fall in love with one of these guys.

But we have seen guys like Immelman come and go. People felt the same way when Zach Johnson won last year. Another nice guy who really deserved to win the Masters. And people were happy. And ratings were down.

Admittedly, you need someone heavily favored to really cheer for the underdog. While its fun to cheer for Davidson to beat Georgetown, cheering for Davidson to beat North Carolina Charlotte just doesn't carry the same appeal. The problem here being, Tiger isn't the type of heavily favored champ that North Carolina is. People love Tiger and want him to win every time. They enjoy his dominance, his intensity, and random shots of his wife in the crowd. How can we love the scrappy underdog when he is merely a nuisance to our true love?

So while its always nice to see someone like Immelman win every once in a while (no one who watched him give his little boy that hug after 18 could have been angry at how everything ended up), we need Tiger. Beacuse admit it, Sunday wasn't the most exciting finals at all. You need Tiger surging to victory, or dominating every hole he comes across. Tiger means the most casual fan will check in. And he means the excitement level is ratcheted up a few notches.

So let's all hope Tiger is back on his A game when the US Open starts in a couple of months.

A Tradition Unlike Any Other

Saturday night, do yourself a favor and drink yourself silly. You friend offers to buy you a shot, do it. Thinking you may have had enough for the night, buy 2 more (assuming you are not driving).

Why?

Because Sunday is the best day to be hungover ever--Master's Sunday. For me, its the official beginning of spring. Its also a great time to lay on the couch unable to move. The soft smooth voice of Jim Nanz, the serene beauty of Augusta, Tiger's rippling biceps, and one of the oldest and purest championships in all of sports.

As a service to you, dear reader, I will make sure that no matter what happens on Sunday, you will have some cheering interest. Here are a bunch of guys who could potentially win (if Tiger is in a car accident Sunday morning) and why you should cheer for them.

Tiger Woods: Because he is the best golfer to ever pick up a club. And because watching dominance and history happening before our eyes is really cool. Plus, if he wins, we get shots of his wife.

Vijay Singh: Because his name means Victorious Lion. Because he stays hours before and after each round to practice. Because he is viewed by the media as an asshole for no real good reason except he is a foreigner (he is strange to us, we must fear him).

Phil Mickelson: Because he makes skipping the gym, yet being a professional athlete an attainable dream. Because he would have been known as one of the best had he been born 10 years earlier. Because he is right-handed, yet golfs lefty.

Ernie Els: Because he is African, but white (like Charlize Theron!). Because he just announced that his son has Austism and he is going to start raising a ton of money for research. Because his real name is Theodore.

Padraig Harrington: Because he won 2007 Irish Person of the Year. Because his family genes are loaded with "white guy professional athlete" genes (cousins: Joey Harrington of the NFL and Dan Harrington of professional poker).

Steve Stricker: Because he was 2007's Comeback Player of the Year. Because he always seems to be the bridesmaid, but never the bride (lots of second and third place finishes. And he likes to cross dress. No, I just made that second part up.)

Adam Scott: Because he is one of only 3 golfers to be ranked in the top 10 who were born in the 1980s (Go Gen Y!). Because he's Australian Mate!

Justin Rose: The the second of the 3 golfers ranked in the top ten born in the 80s, and the only remaining one who isn't a total douche (the third is Sergio). Because he was born in South Africa but moved to Britain, so his accent is actually a certified aphrodisiac.

K.J. Choi: Because you know Hootie would die if an Asian won on his Good Old Boys golf club. Because before being a golfer, he was a 13 year old competitive lifter, weighing in at 95 lbs, yet squatting 350 lbs, and earned the nickname "Tank".

Rory Sabbatini: Because he called Tiger out as being "beatable" which lead to Tiger beating him in like 248956 straight tournaments which is the equivalent of a mouse biting the tail of a real tiger.

Ian Poulter: Because he hit a hole in one in the first round. Because he routinely wears all pink. Because he has a temper and has been fined for smashing a tee marker and for cursing out a course marshal. Because he is a car collector and owns a badass Ferrari, a Ford GT40 and an Astin Martin.

Luke Donald: Because he actually could win this thing. Because he beat Tiger's NCAA record of a low score in the Championships. Because he met his wife at a bar in Chicago while attending Northwestern (although reason not to cheer for him: he was in a frat and has Polo as a corporate sponsor. No word on how many collars he flips for a Sunday round though).

Jim Furyk: Because he has a "unconventional looping golf swing". Because the only instructor he ever used was his dad (no comment on how the first two reasons are connected). Because his caddy is Fluff, who everyone loves.

So there you go, you can easily find one or two people to cheer for in that group. Me? I will be pulling for Paul Casey. Why? Because he is gonna win this thing (read: finish second to Tiger).