2006 MASTERS: FIRST ROUND RECAP

CBS' HD broadcast lived up to the hype (which might be a first in sports), as Augusta looked stunningly gorgeous on the first day of the Masters. It sounded great as well on the Dolby Digital 5.1, with a good mix of ambient noise and excellent commentary. Of course, the commercials are about 10 times louder than the golf, but I can live with only 4 minutes an hour--couldn't Martha Burke have another flareup so we could go ad-less?

I was just disappointed that it only started at 4 PM. I guess they're afraid of "overexposure", but it's hard to do that when a sporting event is only 4 days a year. My dream is to have a separate HD channel for each hole, and lord knows the technology is already here! It might be hard to have commentary for all 18 holes, but I could do without constant talking anyway. Maybe someday . . .

As for the actual golf, I didn't know Veeger the Ornery Fijian had a round like that in him, let's see if it can keep it up (some Yahoo idiot actually wrote 'Jivay Singh of Fiji' in a photo caption: hey guys, do a little research!). Along with him, all the other big names played well: FIGJAM, Goose, Serge, Woods, Weir. David Love III made the biggest turnaround, after launching a 9 iron into the bushes and triple-bogeying the 12th, he reeled off 4 straight birdies to get back to +2. John Daly also had a rough morning: he ran out of smokes on the 5th hole (you can only carry 13 in your bag).

BIGGEST SURPRISES: Ben Crenshaw in the hunt at -1; Chris DiMarco not at +4.

UGLIEST ATTIRE: We've come to expect the clownish palette of Serge's wardrobe, so his crisply tailored tangerine pants (custom made by Adidas?) weren't unexpected. Even Darren Clarke's lavender hues at least camouflaged him against the flowery backdrop of Augusta. However, Geoff Ogilvy's spotted pink Puma should be made extinct, because it was hard to look directly at.

BEST COMMENT: When mentioning a golfer who did not have a good tournament, he was described as "missing the cut comfortably." That's an incredibly nice way to say he stunk up the course. That's golf for you.

And with that, the Second Round is underway! FIGJAM!


Photos courtesy of AP