Will today be "moving day" for Tiger? Will Phil fulfill? Will Kenny Perry prove that experience counts more than RAW POWER? Will there be a "hanging Chad" holding on to the lead? Will Sergio finally break through? AND...WHICH GOLF NUT WILL WIN THE 2009 MASTERS CHALLENGE?

Wasn't yesterday something at the Masters? Coverage started online with the second shot on #11 by Amateur, Drew Kittleson...HE JARRED HIS SHOT FOR AN EAGLE! What a rush for that kid!

Now, this is just my opinion but Tiger doesn't seem to have "it." His putting isn't as sharp as usual and he seems to be having trouble managing his inner-self... which for Tiger is really weird??? At this writing I feel like this Masters now belongs to Kenny Perry. His consistent play, if it holds up under Sunday pressure (and it should) will make the difference.

There were three BIG moves in the Challenge yesterday. John Eichenlaub moved from -6 to -24 to go from 10th place to 1st. Ed Randolph moved from T23 to T4 on the strength of his Team's -17 day. And then, the sad story of Ben Kosiba. Ben went from T2 to MISSED CUT when Greg Norman and Stewart Cink sunk his chances by BOTH missing the cut, when they started the day in pretty solid position.

  Here are the Day #2 Standings for the Golf Nut 2009 Masters Challenge.

2009 Masters Challenge

Team Scores through Day #2

Golf Nut                                       Team Score

T1. John Eichenlaub                          -24

3. Morse Travers                             -20

T4. Ed Randolph                             -18

      Doug Jensen

6. Andy Pratt                                 -17    

7. Jason Goudie                              -15

T8. Skip Kitchen                             -14

     Dave Lucas    

     Jim Stapleton

T11.Leo Gispanski                          -13

      Brian Eichhorn

T13.  Bill Lorenzen                         -12

        Bianca Gilbert

T15. Ron Plett                              -11

      Dan Presta

      Ron Gerrard

T18. Joe Vieira                              -8

       John Parker

       John Cupit

MISSED THE CUT - The following Golf Nuts had two (or more) of their Team miss the cut and therefore can NOT field a complete foursome for their Team.     

Jack Barnes

Joel Mez

Head Nut

Duncan Carmichael

Aileen Pollock

Tom Tedder

Ben Kosiba

Hey Nuts,

What a day at the Masters! It is going to be exciting. Chad Campbell looked unbeatable, breaking Ken Venturi's record for the best start at the Masters with 5 straight bridies! I think the realization that he could set a new course record... AT AUGUSTA NATIONAL... caused his bogey, bogey finish. And what about the guts of Hunter Mahan? The double at #11 would have ended any number of rounds but he bounced back nicely.

Personally, my favorite storyline is Larry Mize. Imagine, shooting -5 in the first round of the Masters at age 50! 

It was no thrill for Phil (Mickelson) with a disappointing +1 but for teenager Rory Mcllroy an even par finish had to be cool. Also Kenny Perry flew under the radar all day long and shot a boring (that's as true as it gets) 68. All canada is toasting Mike Weir for the day he had. AND, Tiger Woods proved to be human... lipping out a short birdie putt on #17 and then air-mailing the green from short yardage on 18 to make bogey and finish 2-under.

Anything can happen this week so hang on and enjoy the ride! 

2009 Masters Challenge

Team Scores through Day #1

Golf Nut                                       Team Score

1. Doug Jensen                                   -14

T2. Andy Pratt                                    -13

      Ben Kosiba

T4. Brian Eichhorn                              -11

      Bert Thibaut

6.    Ron Gerrard                                -10

T7. Tom Tedder                                 -7

     Jason Goudie

     Morse Travers

T10. Bianca Gilbert                              -6

       Bill Lorenzen

       John Eichenlaub

       Dan Presta

T14. Joe Vieira                                   -5

       Jim Stapleton

       Leo Gispanski

T17. Dave Lucas                               -4

       Aileen Pollock

       Duncan Carmichael

       the Head Nut

21. Ron Plett                                  -3

22. John Parker                               -2

T23. Joel Mez                                  -1

       Skip Kitchen

       Ed Randolph

26. John Cupit                                 E

27.Jack Barnes                                +1 

The final entries arrived on my fax and in my inbox this morning, prior to the first tee time at Augusta. With that, the 2009 Masters Challenge is now CLOSED.

Since this was a fairly popular contest, we will be running a 2009 U.S. Open Challenge in June, so check back often.

Final entrants were added to the previous posting.

Good Luck to everyone!

Head Nut #0001

Hello Golf Nuts,

Well, it starts tomorrow! The 2009 Masters will tee off at 8:00 AM, Eastern Time with Arnold Palmer hitting the ceremonial first drive! I sure wish I was there. There are enough cool storylines to keep a writer writing for weeks! Three teenagers will tee up as amateurs! Greg Norman, who played himself in to spot with his magnificent play at the Open Championship, will be chasing a title that has haunted him for a career. Padraig Harrington is looking for his own "Paddy Slam." The #1 player in the world, Tiger Woods, is intent on taking home another green jacket! WOW! And there are so many others! How exciting will it be this weekend?