The 2006 U.S. Ryder Cup team featured first time players Brett Wetterich, Vaughan Taylor, Zack Johnson and Lucas Glover. When the U.S. team got waxed by the European team, fans and journalists wondered where all the young golfing talent had gone in the United States.
Six months later, all four of those Ryder Cup rookies are making some noise through two rounds of the Masters. Wetterich is the co-leader, Taylor is a stroke back, Johnson is two back and Glover is three back.
Taylor thinks the pressure he and his fellow rookies experienced in the Ryder Cup is helping them this week. He also feels their showing is proof they belonged on the team and that the U.S. fortunes are in good hands. I tend to agree.
Off the course, there's been a funny story floating around that Fuzzy Zoeller and Craig Stadler have been telling. They say an Augusta security guard told them that a Japanese man arrived at the gates of Magnolia Lane on Monday with his clubs on a pull cart. When the guard said he couldn't enter, the man replied, "I play. I play," pointing to his "Practice Round" ticket. The guard had to explain the gentleman that the ticket entitled him to watch the practice rounds, not play.
With the tough conditions, it looks like it will be a wild weekend. I can't wait.