It's finally time for the Masters tournament. The weather is probably going to determine how low the scores can be this week. The players are going to see all four seasons over the course of this event. On Thursday for the first round, it was almost 80 degrees with no wind. On Friday and Saturday, it’s going to be in the 50s with lots of rain. I hope the weather improves for Sunday. Very disappointing for an event golf enthusiasts like myself look forward to all year. I will be watching regardless.
At the end of the first round, Viktor Hovland, John Rahm and Brooks Koepka are leading at seven-under par. With the upcoming challenging conditions, thanks to Mother Nature, I think the winner is going to be at 12- to 14-under par. Tiger Woods is playing the tournament as hoped. I expect him to make the cut, but I don’t think he has a chance to win because he is playing so infrequently now. It’s the least confident I’ve ever heard him going into the Masters. I hope he plays well enough to feel it was worth the effort and maybe even enjoys it regardless of his final score. I hope the weather is better on Sunday so we can hear the typical tournament noise coming down the stretch on the back nine. The 13th and 15th, the two par five holes on the back nine, are beautiful to watch on TV when the sun is out. I can only imagine what it would be like to be there.
The Phillies have gotten off to a terrible start in the first six games of the season. The middle inning relief pitching has been terrible! They better stop thinking that just because they made the World Series last year that they can coast with these kinds of performances. This season the National League East is way too good for that kind of thinking. The Phillies are currently tied for last place at 1-5 and they better step up and have a great weekend against a weak Cincinnati Reds team. This would at least help them begin to catch up to the Braves, who are in first place in the division.
An important player for the Phillies prospects this year is Kyle Schwarber. I know he had 46 home runs last year, but he needs to stop trying to hit home runs every time he’s up at the plate. He needs to be ok with hitting singles and doubles with runners on base. He has a crazy uppercut swing which means he’s going to either hit a home run or strike out.
Oh, and not to forget, the crazy March Madness is over. LSU and Connecticut won the women's and men's championships. Connecticut came out of the shadows to dominate all opponents. They won all six games by double digits. This reminds me of their last championship in 2014, when they won the Big East tournament and the championship on the shoulders of Kemba Walker, who was a high NBA draft pick. Unfortunately, he has had significant injuries, which sidetracked his career. In the Final Four, the Florida Atlantic vs. San Diego State game had a buzzer beater ending. Congratulations to San Diego State for making the final.
On the women’s side, LSU won their first women’s basketball National Championship by beating my favorite team, the Iowa Hawkeyes, by 17 points in the final 102-85. Unfortunately the refereeing spoiled what was going to be a great championship game to watch. One good thing for Iowa is the fact that their superstar player, Caitlin Clark, is going to be back for her senior season next year. It should be a fun ride next year as well. In the semifinals, the Hawkeyes were able to beat a very good undefeated South Carolina team.
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A 2002 Cape grad and 2007 UD grad, Lewes resident Sumner Spence is one of the Cape area's biggest sports fans. Although he’s used a wheelchair his entire life, he has lived vicariously through his sports-playing father, brother, and friends, who gave him his love of sports. He hopes to provide new and interesting perspectives on the sports stories and issues of the day. Email Sumner at sumspence@gmail.com.
