Here's your chance to meet the participants in our 2013 Masters Mix contest. This is a contest that we created for added interest as you watch the 79th Masters Tournament in Augusta this week. Each contestant in our field has chosen a player from one of four categories. For full details on how The Mix is player, see the post below. The lowest score from the four players on each "team" will be posted each day and combine for a 72-hole total on the final day. We will have updates following play each day here on the Blog. Hope you enjoy the action in Augusta and here on the Blog!
Sara Beckman (Hagerstown, In) - aka The Blogette. She did not win the Masters Mix 2012, but she did win big in a trivia contest in April of last year. The Blogette took down two challengers when she was in the audience at the Sports Illustrated at the Majors tent just outside the hallowed grounds of Augusta National on Saturday of tournament week. She hopes her luck then hasn't left her now.
Jim Furyk
Justin Rose
Tiger Woods
274 (-14)
Mike Murphy (Greenwood, IN) - This Indiana native, known as "The Big Dude", is a retired sales manager for General Wire and Cable. A big honor came for him this past year, when he caddied for Bo Van Pelt in Zach Johnson's Pro-Am in Iowa. Mike is great friends with Bo's dad. When Murph was asked how he managed carrying the bag, he replied "Hell - I drove it on a cart!".
Graeme McDowell
Zach Johnson
Tiger Woods
275 (-13)
Darlene Wendeln (Indianapolis, IN) - Recently retired, Darlene spent 30 years coaching high school tennis quite successfully. Back in the day, she and the Blogette coached volleyball together. Sadly, there is not enough space to include all of those adventures. She has also coached girls basketball, AND graded English essays while dreaming about the day she could enjoy the fall foliage on the golf course every September. She is a quite a pacer when she is anxious in a game or match, but I don't think that is where the pro basketball team got their name.
Graeme McDowell
Bubba Watson
Matt Kuchar
274 (-14)
John Gunter (Columbia, SC) - John is fresh off of his Pigskin Picks championship win and is looking for his second win in a "major" this week. John made his picks once again using his lucky rabbit's foot.
Jim Furyk
Luke Donald
Tiger Woods
278 (-10)
Rob Catlett (Mullins, SC) - Rob is entering his second season as the PGA golf pro at Dick's Sporting Goods in northeast Columbia. He is a big Gamecock fan (don't hold it against him!) and a fine golfer. He will try to keep his eye on the Masters Mix leaderboard, but he will be busy in Augusata working all week at the Dick's location there. Stop in and see him if you're in town for the tournament and in need of the latest golf equipment to help your game.
Graeme McDowell
Bill Haas
Tiger Woods
277 (-11)
Wes Graves (Augusta, GA) - Wes is still working hard on and off the course. He is hoping his golf game is better this year than last. He plans on winning a few golf amateur tour events to show those boys he is back! he says living in Augusta and smelling the pines and azaleas at Augusta National is like nothing else on earth.
Sergio Garcia
Justin Rose
Dustin Johnsson
281 (-7)
Eric Hughey (Dahlonega, GA) - Eric is the father of 4 boys and now lives in Columbia. He works at Wildewood CC and loves to play a quick round of 18. He is looking forward to this year's Masters and when making his picks, he noted that this contest format is very interesting. He says these (mostly) young guns are the "hot ones" to watch.
Jim Furyk
Bubba Watson
Tiger Woods
280 (-8)
Kiel Ott (Places Unkown) - This loyal blog follower is on our "OK Guy" list because he is a big Notre Dame fan. (See hat below.) Kiel spends most of his time tending bar at the Carolina Ale House in the Vista. He is trying his hand as a rookie in our golf contest. We are about to find out how much he knows about the game.
Zach Johnson
Louis Oosthuizen
Tiger Woods
282 (-6)
Brian Anderson (Columbia, SC) - Here's our man on the phone with Masters headquarters looking for some choice picks. Brian finished last in our Pigskin Picks Bowl contest. He is trying to redeem himself here, although his golf knowledge is limited. This Gamecock fan and football expert thinks he's got the right combination to win this time. As service manager at Mastercraft Northeast, he is first rate in the business of servicing your car. He uses John and The Blogette as references!
Vijay Singh
Bubba Watson
Phil Mickelson
279 (-9)
Taylor Hudson (Augusta, GA) - Taylor pours drinks at the Carolina Ale House in the Vista. He finished T2 in the January Bowl edition of Pigskin Picks. How much does he know about golf? Apparently enough to pick some fan favorites on the links.
Bubba Watson
Jim Furyk
Tiger Woods
280 (-8)
Jim Beckman (Sebring, FL) - Brother Love guzzled that gin and tonic down when the Buckeyes lost in the NCAA basketball tournament. When he said "Wait till next year", we weren't sure if he meant basketball or football season. He is trying to resolve his grief by focusing on the little white ball, and plunging head-first in the golf season and kicking it off with the following choice golfers. Jim is planning a golf trtip to the area at the end of June. He brings his own limes!
Jim Furyk
Zach Johnson
Phil Mickelson
288 (E) - too much gin/not enough tonic?
Chris Johnson (Muncie, IN) - This Kroger meat expert is a regular blog supporter. He and The Blogette are both local Ball State Cardinals fans.....and those are hard to come by! He and fellow manager John Gunter have a little "grudge match" going, but would like to sweep the last two majors by winning both.
Graeme McDowell
Bill Haas
Phil Mickelson
281 (-7)
Bob Abney (Webster, IN) - Shown here wearing his Invitational shirt, Bob is studying his picks online. Back in the day, he was a big-time athlete in small town Webster. He is a golfer who is retired from the sanitation business in Florida. Who retires in reverse and lives in the cold North after working in the land of sunshine? He tied for 2nd in the Pigskin Picks major and is looking for his breakthrough win.
Webb Simpson
Justin Rose
Tiger Woods
276 (-12)
Dave Martin (Effingham, IL) - The Gentleman Pro is back for more. He is on more solid ground in this contest, since golf is his full-time profession. He is practicing on home course Wildewood CC in preparation for Brother Love (see above) and his brother-in-law and their "down and dirty" golf match in June.
Martin Kaymer
Steve Stricker
Tiger Woods
279 (-9)
Justin Mehaffey (Columbia, SC) - This long-time Invitational volunteer spends his working hours tending bar at Tin Roof. In his spare time, he is an entrepreneur, ladies man, occasional fitness buff, and all around player. Justin can talk some talk about most topics. Here he demonstrates his golf knowledge.
Fred Couples
Adam Scott
Ian Poulter
281 (-7)
Josh Scott (Rock Hill, SC) - With one week left in the tax season, Josh will soon be back tending bar at The Tin Roof. If you are looking for a fun adventure, stop in and check out the Justin and Josh show most any night.
Tim Clark
Luke Donald
Rory McIlroy
276 (-12)
Steve Price (West Columbia, SC)- This face should look oh-so-familiar. Steve is the defending champion, and operates Sundance Motors in West Columbia (one of our blog sponsors). He kept 2 players on his team from last year, but dropped Bubba and Phil M and picked up Watney and Johnson. If Bubba can't repeat.....will Steve be able to pull this off?
Fred Couples
Nick Watney
Zach Johnson
276 (-12)
Logan Beckman (Hagerstown, IN) - Logan spent the past week in South Carolina working on his games - basketball, golf and Mickey 2 for his 3DS. He selected most of Pa-Pa's favorites as his picks...wonder how that happened? Perhaps he had just a tiny bit of help. He is a fan of the Carolina Ale House mini-corn dogs/applesauce combo and is hoping that is the winning prize.
Sergio Garcia
Hunter Mahan
Phil Mickelson
280 (-8)
Pete Kleemoff (Lexington, SC) - Better known here on the blog as Big Foot because he can be hard to track, he is a regular participant on the Blog with a few championships under his belt. He is a good golfer who plays out of Ponderosa CC in Batesburg-Leesville area.
Graeme McDowell
Hunter Mahan
Tiger Woods
280 (-8)
Ricky Jackson (West Columbia, SC) - This participant has won a few contests here on the Blog, mostly during football season. He's a big Gamecock fan, and knows the course at Golden Hills well. When not enjoying these hobbies, he specializes in keeping a roof over everybody's head as a roofing contractor.
Jim Furyk
Adam Scott
Tiger Woods
282 (-6)
Robert Peeler (Gafney, SC) - Robert hails from the land of the Giant Peach, but his dreams have taken him far and wide across many golf courses as a pro caddy. Word has it that he has recently been in Brazil in South America checking out the local females and perfecting his samba. No, we're not kidding! He phoned in his picks from somewhere around Rio.
Louis Oosthuizen
Justin Rose
Tiger Woods
275 (-13)
Jamie Mabe (Lexington, SC) - Now that he has graduated from Clemson, he continues to work at Golden Hills CC while waiting for his dream job to come along. He has recently suffered a bit of a health setback, but will be back up and at 'em very soon. We wish him a speedy recovery here at the Blog.
Graeme McDowell
Bubba Watson
Tiger Woods
276 (-12)
Jose Lagos (Honduras) - As a blog sponser, Lagos Embroidery is the official monogrammer of The Invitational. Check his business out on St. Andrews Rd. in the Irmo area. Jose competes on the GolfWeek Amateur Tour nearly every week. Don't let the bright smile or the easy-going personality fool you....he loves to leave the clubhouse as a winner.
Angel Cabrera
Luke Donald
Rory McIlroy
281 (-7)
Bob Showalter (Naples, FL) - Bob picked the "-er" team. His name ends with "-er" and he chose his players with the same name ending. Makes as much sense as thinking too hard about stats. Last year, he finished at the bottom of the list, living up to the nickname we lovingly use in the family to refer to this former Big 10 basketball referee....Bad Call Bob.
Martin Kaymer
Steve Stricker
Ian Poulter
275 (-13)
Daniel Hardy (Lexington, SC) - Daniel is known as the "Wing Man" on the Blog for his personal taste. He is a former Lexington High School standout golfer. Many years later, he is trying to finish up at USC - Aiken and is ready to get out in the real world. This fun-loving guy made his picks with the inspiration of Bob Dylan.
Webb Simpson
Adam Scott
Tiger Woods
276 (-12)
Marcel Sterling (Port Huron, MI) - Marcel is a great friend of the Blog and participates in every contest. He has been trying all winter to figure out why ESPN doesn't broadcast more hockey in the Columbia area. He plays out of Golden Hills and has been known to look for pucks in the pond and brewskies at the 19th hole. "It's all in the stick" is his motto.
Jim Furyk
Zach Johnson
Tiger Woods
275 (-13)
Kenny Wilhelm (West Columbia, SC) - The "Thin Man" only wears the Nike logo, plays Nike clubs and is a huge Tiger fan. When is he he going to break out some Calloway or Titleist gear? Kenny is looking to the East for something special this April. Since 2013 is the Year of the Snake, he might just have a chance.
Ryo Ishikawa
K. J. Choi
Tiger Woods
277 (-11)
Matt Glowacki (Batesburg-Leesville, SC) -Matt is a regular behind the bar at Thirsty Fellow (oh-so-good pizza), and manages all the action down at Gamecock Central. He works hard at his game, and hard at his job. He has a reputation as a very competitive golfer and is hoping these strong choices will help him bring home this title.
Fred Couples
Bill Haas
Rory McIlroy
279 (-9)
John Stackhouse (Columbia, SC) - The Money Man is a Newberry College graduate and was a collegiate basketball player there. John is a colorful character who manages the finances of others by day, and enjoys a relaxing cocktail now and then after 5:00. He is one stylish guy, who volunteers as a coach for the newly-formed summer basketball league for area college players.
Jim Furyk
Bubba Watson
Tiger Woods
277 (-11)
Bill Hahn (Muncie, IN) - Bill is retired from a career as a successful high school basketball coach and teacher. He was associate head coach for the basketball program at Ball State at one time. He is a serious golfer who loves The Masters. He visited us a few years ago when he got a pair of tickets from a former player, and enjoyed the azaleas and the Southern Hospitality he received during his stay.
Graeme McDowell
Zach Johnson
Tiger Woods
279 (-9)
Jason Rader (Richmond, IN) - Jason is finishing his degree in May from Indiana University. This former Marine recently became the proud father of five Siberian Husky puppies. He is getting ready for a bigger day in August when he becomes the father of a bouncing baby boy. He and his wife Brooke will be working on selecting a name for the baby until then. How about any of these names listed below? All are great choices, right?
Sergio Garcia
Bubba Watson
Tiger Woods
280 (-8)
Ronnie Platner (Augusta, GA) - Ronnie is a surveyor, and loves lakeside living. He keeps so busy fishing that it sometimes interferes with his practice schedule on the course. He is a genuine nice-guy who would be a great catch for any lady who enjoys the water and/or the links.
Thomas Bjorn
Charl Schwartzel
Ernie Els
283 (-5)
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