The Masters: "Like being tortured by a beautiful woman"

As the Wall Street Journal described it today, "For a golfer, Masters weekend is Christmas morning, so long-awaited you can hardly believe it's finally here." But it was an odd day at the tournament: the azaleas being zapped by cold weather, the putts coming up 10 feet short, and the lack of quality, or even exciting, shots. There were the old standbys--the hushed tones of Jim Nantz, scenes from "historic" Butler Cabin, the "patrons" clapping politely, and all the rest of the hokey decorum that I really love. The Masters always brings out the best in the players but Saturday's play lacked any thrills; it was essentially men grinding away, trying not to let Augusta destroy them. Everyone seemed cold and stunned. The best description of the day came from the loquacious CBS analyst David Feherty who said: "Such a beautiful, beautiful view and really a dream of a place to play golf and on a day like this--[Laughing to himself]--It's just like being tortured by a beautiful woman."