Why this past weekend in golf mattered — a lot

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 AUGUSTA, Georgia – The famous Masters scoreboard halfway down the first hole at Augusta National has the flags of 20 nations proudly flying above it. It is a nod to the global reach of the tournament that began with just four international players in the inaugural 1934 tournament (a Canadian and three Englishmen) and will this week see 23 different countries represented. That’s right, they now don’t have enough flag poles to even fit the 23 countries whose players will vie for the coveted green jacket, such is the global boon. The Masters has been very active in reaching corners of the globe not traditionally enamored with golf – pushing their amateur championships through Asia and Latin America. Of the 87 players in the field this year, 47 of them are from outside the USA. Of the 23 countries, 12 of them have never won the Masters. Nine of those have never won a major championship. Six of them have never won a PGA TOUR event. It wasn’t until the 25th playing of the Masters that Gary Player broke the American stranglehold on the event. In 1980 at the 44th Masters Seve Ballesteros pushed the winning countries to three and by the turn of the millennium Germany, Scotland, England, Wales and Fiji had joined the party. Mike Weir broke the drought for Canada 15 years ago and Angel Cabrera gave Argentina a thrill in 2009. And it was five years ago that Adam Scott smashed an Australian curse at Augusta National. With eight previous runner-up results by Australians – Greg Norman personally having three heartbreaking losses – the weight of a nation was bearing down on the Aussies every year. When Scott made his famous birdie on the 72nd hole, he instinctively yelled “C’mon Aussieâ€� in celebration – a cry born in years of frustrations for his nation. “It got annoying and frustrating knowing the same questions were going to come every year,â€� Scott once said. “Without fail all of us would be asked when it would happen, how would it happen, what needed to be done. “So to be the guy to finally do it was pretty special.â€� The history for the 12 nations chasing a first green jacket certainly shape the level of pressure. Australia felt it through past failures and a strong history in golf. It is getting to that point for the Irish who will only be represented by Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy this year. McIlroy has single-handedly ensured Northern Ireland is just a Masters away from a career slam. With the personal pressure dwarfing that coming from his nation, he doesn’t yet see it as the Australians did. McIlroy winning would be huge, but it might not shift the global landscape of golf like some other potential winners. And to this point, given their freshness to golf at the highest level, expectations are not yet high. But as every year passes… the want grows. Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama most certainly does feel the intensity from outside. Barely a tournament goes by without him being asked about being the first player from his nation to break through. He smiles when asked and tries to deflect the so-called pressure. But relief will certainly factor in his emotions if and when he does claim major glory. Joining Matsuyama are Yuta Ikeda, Satoshi Kodaira and Yusaka Miyazato all hoping to create history for Japan. But perhaps an even bigger dent would come if Haotong Li, Yuxin Lin or Shubhankar Sharma could prevail. “China or India – that’s almost three billion people combined. That would be massive,â€� Marc Leishman mused. “That could be insane for the future of golf.â€� Lin, the winner of the Asia-Pacific amateur, is just 17. But he has already seen a marked difference in how golf is in his home country. Olympic participation kick-started things, and now there are two players (Zecheng Dou and Xinjun Zhang) playing on the PGA TOUR. A major winner could push things into overdrive and produce an avalanche of talent. “Back when I started, the facilities and stuff were kind of bad. We were hitting like off mats, and it’s really hard to find a property where you can actually hit off grass, so it’s going to be like really expensive,â€� Lin explained. “But nowadays, the China Golf Association, they’re starting to build some practice bases. Wonderful facilities, it’s just easier for the kids right now to practice. “To win would definitely have a major impact on the sport back in my country.â€� For Sharma, who was given a special invite thanks to his impressive form so far in 2018, becoming India’s first major champion would be epic. But he doesn’t see it as a burden – rather an opportunity. “There’s no pressure at all. I think everyone back home is happy I’m competing at this level, and hopefully I’ll keep coming back here for many years to come,â€� Sharma said. “I’m actually very happy that I’m getting a lot of attention. A lot of people back home are following me, and if I can get a good finish this weekend, maybe even win a green jacket, it will be great for the game.â€� COUNTRIES FIGHTING FOR FIRST MASTERS Thailand – Kiradech Aphibarnrat Japan – Yuta Ikeda, Satoshi Kodaira, Hideki Matsuyama, Yusaka Miyazato Korea – Si Woo Kim China – Haotong Li, Yuxin Lin Northern Ireland – Rory McIlroy Italy – Francesco Molinari Sweden – Alex Noren, Henrik Stenson Chile – Joaquin Niemann Belgium – Thomas Pieters India – Shubhankar Sharma Venezuela – Jhonattan Vegas Austria – Bernd Wiesberger

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PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Daniel Berger wasn’t flawless. He just kept avoiding big problems, which almost nobody has managed to do at PGA National this week. RELATED: Full leaderboard | Inside the Field: Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard That’s why he remains the leader of The Honda Classic. Berger started with a three-shot lead and ended with a five-shot advantage, after his round of 1-under 69 moved him 18 holes away from winning a tournament a 15-minute drive from his home. Shane Lowry (67), Chris Kirk (71), Sepp Straka (69) and first-round leader Kurt Kitayama (71) were tied for second at 6 under. Only 13 of the 73 players who made the cut shot below par Saturday. Nobody went low, and unless Berger starts making many mistakes, somebody is going to have to on Sunday in order to deny him a fifth PGA TOUR victory. Lowry had the day’s best round — and that was just 3 under. “I’ve drove the ball in play and I’ve managed to putt pretty good,” Lowry said. “My putting felt pretty average at the start of the week. I found something as the week went on.” He needs to find something more. Or more specifically, hope that Berger misplaces something. “Obviously you want to go out and catch him tomorrow, but I don’t think you can go and catch anyone on this golf course,” Lowry said. “You just need to do your thing and shoot the best score you can and hopefully it will be somewhere near good enough.” Andrew Kozan, Curtis Thompson, Billy Horschel and Kevin Streelman all shot 68s on Saturday, though in all four cases, that simply meant just getting to even par for the week and nowhere near Berger. “It played a lot tougher today,” Kitayama said. There were hints that Berger might come back to the pack, starting from his first tee shot of the day when he pulled the ball into the left rough. The left rough awaited him on No. 4 as well, as did a greenside bunker on No. 7. He saved par each time, and again on No. 10, when he two-putted from 65 feet to keep the card flawless. The only mistake came on the last, his lone bogey of the day. Kirk was the closest for a while, just three shots back as he headed to the par-4 14th. But a trip into the trees led to a double-bogey, and Berger backed off his putt before coolly rolling in a 5-footer to save par yet again. Armed with a five-shot lead, Berger went for it at the par-3 15th, the start of the three-hole stretch known as the “Bear Trap” that typically frowns on aggression. He went at the flag, kept the ball below the wind and watched it settle 7 feet from the hole. The birdie putt was center-cut, getting him to 12 under — six shots ahead of the nearest challengers at that moment. Kozan was perhaps the day’s biggest success story. He waited 12 hours to play four shots, then played 68 more shots in the next three hours or so. Kozan stopped play on the par-5 18th fairway Friday night because of darkness, a wise move since he needed par to make the cut. After five hours of sleep, he was at the course by 5:40 a.m. Saturday to warm up and resumed play at 6:47. He used a couple short irons to get to the green from about 260 yards out, then two-putted for the par that allowed him to make his first PGA Tour cut. That was at 6:59. At 7:35, he teed off in a solo group to begin the third round and at 10:51, he rolled in a 4-footer for birdie to end a third round of 2 under 68. “Nothing to lose,” Kozan said. And quite a bit to gain. Kozan’s biggest check as a pro so far is $29,333 for finishing second last year at the Korn Ferry Tour’s qualifying school. He could top that Sunday; anyone finishing alone in 43rd or better at the Honda is assured at least $30,000, and Kozan was tied for 19th.

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