Young vs Old - The Masters 2011

Well into the second round of the 2011 Masters tournament at Augusta National Golf Course, the weather continues to be respectable as the leaders including, McIlroy, Quiros, and Choi are securing their positions for this weekends continuance of play in Augusta. The Veterans, including Fred Couples, age 51 and winner of the Green Jacket in 1992, Jim Furyk a veteran to the Masters at age 40 standing among the leaderboards this year, and Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, both of whom are no stranger to many major victories and especially the Green Jacket taking a combined 7 of the last 14 titles at Augusta National between the two of them. And the "young guns" of this year's tournament looking to capture some attention are that of Rory McIlroy, who yesterday became the youngest player at age 21 to lead after round 1 of the Masters, and Rickie Fowler who is grouped for today's round with McIlroy and hopes to continue advancing towards Rory's lead.

McIlroy, the 21-yr old out of Northern Ireland has been rising in stock throughout the world of golf in the last few years. With his smooth flowing shot as well as his strength he can make long drives off the tee of up to 350yds. His key talent is the balance he has throughout his game, as seen in this years Masters especially, including his ability to drive off the tee, approach the green with excellent accuracy, and knock down his short game even when under pressure at a highly consistent level. Rory also keeps his temper down after making poor or unlucky shots which gives him the ability to stay in control of his game and make the shots he needs to down the stretch even when positioning and circumstances are greatly against him. He now looks to push for his first Major tournament title.

The up-in-coming player out of California at age 22, Rickie Fowler is grouped with the current leader and a player of similar age to him Rory McIlroy. Fowler had a relatively slow start to yesterdays round but is now playing with more confidence, maybe taking from that of McIlroy, and has hit four birdies in a row in today's round and currently stands at 4 below par. A player of unique style he converts that outgoing stature to his game with his ability to drive a great distance off the tee and hit excellent approach shots towards the tough greens of the Augusta National course. His putting and short game has also helped him to gain those four early consecutive birdies of round 2 to keep him in contention with his grouping mate Rory McIlroy, as well as the highly talented rest of the field, and hopes to continue to do so playing into this weekend.

As touched on in my previous article about this years Masters tournament, Tiger Woods continues to struggle while on the golf course with his habit of missed opportunities, bad shots, and off putts. Tiger hasn't had a 1st place title in any of the PGA tournaments for the longest streak since the beginning of his career and he is having trouble, especially with a swing coach change, with his form, swing, and short game which has let him down more times than not in his previous tournaments. Tiger's opportunities are now based on a row of dominoes, because I believe once he gets that major comeback/win and the taste of success once again he'll be back in contention for the tournaments he plays in. As a veteran and Green Jacket champion, he is well behind the likes of McIlroy and Fowler, both well under par, and will need to step up his game on into the weekend catch these young, fresh, players. As he plays his back 9 holes right now he's caught a little momentum with consecutive birdies and now needs to make his move.

Mickelson and Woods, the last fourteen years of the Masters tournament, have combined for seven Green Jackets and are among the elites contending for a fourth for Mickelson or fifth for Woods in 2011. Mickelson, winning his third Jacket last year, is trying to defend his title throughout his first and second round play in Augusta and will try to drive the tough holes in rounds 3 and 4 to complement his exceptional short game in order to do so. He has shown an extraordinary ability, especially in last years play at the Masters, not only to take his horrible shots off the tee and make excellent shots towards the hole, but to make amazing runs to the top of the leaderboards when it really counts. Last weekend Mickelson shot a 63 and 68 in his Saturday and Sunday round of the Shell Houston Open to drive past the field and take home the victory. Mickelson currently stands at -2, and will plan to use the experience he has to repeat the likes of his performance last week and advance to the top to potentially win another Masters title.

An amazing story in Fred Couples, once the recipient of the Green Jacket back in 1992, is now at age 51 and continues his search for another major. The oldest to win the Masters, Jack Niklaus at age 46, would be trumped if Couples goes on to win his second Masters and receive another Green Jacket. Couples started out average shooting 1 under par for his first game but is now getting into the conversation with an excellent second round where he created a little momentum for himself shooting 4 under par at Augusta National for an overall score of -5, tied with the young Rickie Fowler, and only 5 back from the leader Rory McIlroy at -10. With the experience of playing in the Masters, will Freddy be able to pull off the title to the oldest player at 51 against the likes of McIlroy, and Fowler.

This weekends play will be extraordinary as players of all ages, experience, and from all over the world will fight for their first, or perhaps another, Green Jacket. The honor and tradition that this tournament brings is unlike any other in sports, and you can see how players are glad to just be a part of a history that is so special to not only golf but life in general. I will continue to cover the Masters tournament with the conclusion of round 2, the cut and the rounds this weekends, as well as who will win the Masters, take home the title and this year's Green Jacket.