ZealousGolfer.com

On Tuesday night, Tiger Woods announced a slight detour in his 2008 season: knee surgery.

After his first major championship, which came at the 2008 Masters, Trevor Immelman has enjoyed a new level of fame.

The Associated Press reports, "One day after becoming the Masters champion, Immelman was courtside at Madison Square Garden for the Boston Celtics’ 99-93 victory over the New York Knicks. He was invited to the Celtics’ locker room at halftime by coach Doc Rivers, who wanted his team to shake hands with a champion."

While in New York, the young South African spoke with David Letterman. TGC.com states, "The topic was 'Ways Trevor Immelman’s Life Has Changed Since Winning the Masters.' The list included:
10. I’ve been elevated from 'unknown' to 'obscure.'
6. President Bush called to congratulate me on winning Wimbledon.
5. When my caddy recommends a club I can say, 'Excuse me, how many Masters have you won?'
1. Get to put my arm around Tiger Woods and say, 'Maybe next year.'"

On the 30th annieversary of Gary Player's last Masters victory (and the last time a South African won), Player's fellow countryman took home a green jacket. Immelman was able to survive tough weather on Sunday, and defended the lead from playing partner Brandt Snedeker and a frustrated Tiger Woods.

Following a 16th hole failure (after Immelman left his tee shot on the par 3 in the water, which led to double bogey), Immelman found himself in trouble again on the 17th. With a three stroke lead in jeopardy, Immelman, called "the best bunker player" by Gary Player, was able to get up-and-down for a clutch par.

Possibly the most memorable fortune Immelman had during the 2008 Masters came on Saturday on the final hole of Amen Corner, when Immelman's ball, after backspinning off the green, miraculously stopped on a steep slope heading into water.

2:30 - Brandt Snedeker and Trevor Immelman tee off on Augusta's first hole. Immelman lands his tee shot in the woods; Snedeker slices into the crowd on his approach to the first grren. The chase is on.
2:38 - Snedeker and Immelman both complete Augusta National's first hole; bogey, bogey.
2:44 - Stewart Cink, playing with Tiger Woods, drains a short birdie putt on the second hole for two consecutive birdies. Cink is within four of leaders, Woods is five back.
4:54 - All players have finished the first 9 holes. Trevor Immelman finishes at 10 under par with 9 to play. However, Steve Flesch, one hole ahead, is at 8 under, and Immelman's Sunday partner Brandt Snedeker has struggled to 7 under. In fourth, Tiger finds himself 6 strokes behind the leader with a score of 4 under.
6:54 - Trevor Immelman, on the par 3 16th, loses his five stroke lead over Snedeker in second place after a double bogey. Snedeker also 3 putts for bogey on the 16th, which droped Snedeker from 5 under to 4 under. Almost simultaneously, a frustrated Tiger Woods drained a birdie putt on 18 to take sole possession of second place. With two holes left, Immelman has a three stroke advantage over Tiger, four over Snedeker.
7:10 - After slicing his first shot, and then dumping his approach in a bunker, Immelman finishes the 17th hole with a par. Tiger trails by three, Immelman must only survive the 18th.
7:14 - Immelman stripes his drive down the 18th fairway. No trouble in sight. However, Snedeker must navigate his approach from deep rough.
7:19 - Camera reveals Immelman's drive settled in a deep divot in the center of the fairway.
7:20 - Immelman lands his approach on the center of the 18th green from 150 yards out.
7:25 - Immelman safely rolls his first putt to within 3 feet of the hole.
7:26 - Finishes the 2008 Masters with a par, which places Immelman 3 strokes ahead of Tiger.

With several days of nearly pristine conditions for low scoring, Sunday the 2008 Masters appears to be headed in a different direction.

All times are Eastern.

By now, you have probably seen the leaderboard for the 2008 Masters. Trevor Immelman distanced himself from the field, walking into the clubhouse after a stellar birdie on the 18th at 11 under par for 54 holes.

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Here are the pairings and tee times for Saturday's third round of The Masters. All times listed are Eastern:

While Immelman continued to go low on Thursday at the Masters, history was made for at least one golfer. Fred Couples, who won his green jacket in the 1992 Masters, missed his first cut at the event.

After 23 consecutive cuts made at Augusta National, a 36 hole score of four over par left Couples outside the cut line by one strokes. Couples beat his Thursday score of 76 with a solid Friday 72, but was not able to make it to three over.

As Tiger Woods and Jerry Kelly prepare to tee off, several scores have been posted.

As you most likely have seen, ZealousGolfer.com has taken on a new look. Additionally, ZealousGolfer.com will boast several new features, as well as some new content.

Highlights:

*New RSS Feeds through Feedburner. You may subscribe to ZealousGolfer.com through your current feed manager or even email.
*More simple, professional design. The space has been used more wisely now, and will hopefully enhance your viewing of this website.
*New product review - the Seemore m2 and the Putting Arc are both on the way, so make sure to watch out for their reviews.

Also worth noting, some helpful features that have disappeared will be returning as I continue to change the site. These include:
*Links to past equipment reviews
*Golf course reviews
*Links to major ZealousGolfer.com categories

Enjoy.

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Tee times for the second round of the 2008 Masters Tournament.

All times are Eastern.

8:00 a.m. -- Todd Hamilton, Brian Bateman
8:11 a.m. -- Craig Stadler, Johnson Wagner, Steve Flesch
8:22 a.m. -- Ian Woosnam, Richard Green, Stephen Ames
8:33 a.m. -- Boo Weekley, Trevor Immelman, Sean O'Hair
8:44 a.m. -- Sandy Lyle, John Rollins, J.B. Holmes
8:55 a.m. -- Soren Hansen, Daniel Chopra, Richard Sterne
9:06 a.m. -- Tom Watson, Brandt Snedeker, John Senden
9:17 a.m. -- Tim Clark, David Toms, Niclas Fasth
9:28 a.m. -- Raymond Floyd, a-Drew Weaver, Jonathan Boyd
9:39 a.m. -- Bernhard Langer, Prayad Marksaeng, Woody Austin
9:50 a.m. -- Bubba Watson, Sergio Garcia, Mark Calcavecchia
10:12 a.m. -- Adam Scott, Paul Casey, Retief Goosen
10:23 a.m. -- Vijay Singh, Steve Stricker, Stewart Cink
10:34 a.m. -- Phil Mickelson, Andres Romero, K.J. Choi
10:45 a.m. -- Ernie Els, Shingo Katayama, Jim Furyk
10:56 a.m. -- Aaron Baddeley, Camilo Villegas, Lee Westwood
11:07 a.m. -- Ben Curtis, Shaun Micheel
11:18 a.m. -- Fuzzy Zoeller, Brett Wetterich, Heath Slocum
11:29 a.m. -- Mark O'Meara, a-Trip Kuehne, Ian Poulter
11:40 a.m. -- Larry Mize, Peter Lonard, Hunter Mahan
11:51 a.m. -- Gary Player, Miguel Angel Jimenez, D.J. Trahan
12:02 p.m. -- Justin Leonard, Charles Howell III, Nick Watney
12:24 p.m. -- Scott Verplank, Robert Allenby, Michael Campbell
12:35 p.m. -- Ben Crenshaw, a-Michael Thompson, Nick O'Hern
12:46 p.m. -- Steve Lowery, Robert Karlsson, Nick Dougherty
12:57 p.m. -- Fred Couples, Jerry Kelly, Anders Hansen
1:08 p.m. -- Vaughn Taylor, Martin Kaymer, Arron Oberholser
1:19 p.m. -- Jose Maria Olazabal, Liang Wen-chong, Rory Sabbatini
1:30 p.m. -- Zach Johnson, Luke Donald, Geoff Ogilvy
1:41 p.m. -- Mike Weir, Padraig Harrington, Jeev Milkha Singh
1:52 p.m. -- Tiger Woods, Angel Cabrera, Stuart Appleby
2:03 p.m. -- Justin Rose, Henrik Stenson, Toru Taniguchi

After the first day of play at Augusta National, which began with an opening shot by legend Arnold Palmer (Right), the leaderboard has been left crowded. Despite difficult weather conditions in the morning (which led to a fog delay), two international players have found themselves tied for the lead at four under par: South African Trevor Immelman and Englishman Justin Rose (Left).

Surprsingly, many of the PGA Tour's heavy hitters are looking up at a group of less successful, but extremely talented young leaders. In addition to the four under lead of Rose and Immelman, Brian Bateman, Brandt Snedeker, and Lee Westwood trail by one with rounds of 69.

Defending champion Zach Johnson is within striking distance after the first day of play following a two under 70 to place Johnson in a tie for sixth place. Fellow American Jim Furyk is also tied at two under as he seeks his first green jacket.

Tiger Woods finished a "sluggish" round of 70, which, of course, places Tiger four behind the leaders. However, as Tiger has done in the past, an early deficit often does not continue into the weekend.

Also worth noting, the field's top amateur after the Thursday is American Michael Thomson, who is currently in a tie for 33rd place and in position to play on the weekend at one over par. Fellow amateur Drew Weaver is also on the bubble after a four over par first round, which has placed him in a tie for 65th.

After a heavy fog delay on Thursday at the 2008 Masters, Tiger Woods opened with a slightly slow start.

The four time Masters champions shot even par, 72, which put him four behind the tournament leaders on the opening day of play.

South African Rory Sabbatini claimed the 2008 Masters Par 3 Championship (the first time the event has been televised). Sabbatini, who played the course in 5 under par, will now face the challenge of becoming the first Par 3 Champion to win the actual tournament.

Of course, players enjoyed this event while allowing their children or friends to loop during the day.

Also a highlight of Wednesday's play, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, and Gary Player were together in a dream threesome for Augusta National's Patrons.

While the Masters has long been a media focus within and outside of the realm of golf, ESPN has made an attempt to capture the magic of an untapped event: the Masters' annual Par 3 competition. On Wednesday, ESPN will provide footage of the event beginning at 3:00 PM (EST).

After a long break from the blogosphere, I am ready to begin actively writing for ZealousGolfer.com, once again. Of course, as one of the greatest events in sport is set to be contested this week, I saw no better time to begin writing on golf again.

Welcome back.

---

The first round pairing has been published for the 2008 Masters:

First Round Tee Times - 04/08/200
By Associated Press
AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Tee times for the opening round of the 2008 Masters Tournament.
All times are Eastern.

8:00 a.m. -- Ben Curtis, Shaun Micheel
8:11 a.m. -- Fuzzy Zoeller, Brett Wetterich, Heath Slocum
8:22 a.m. -- Mark O'Meara, a-Trip Kuehne, Ian Poulter
8:33 a.m. -- Larry Mize, Peter Lonard, Hunter Mahan
8:44 a.m. -- Gary Player, Miguel Angel Jimenez, D.J. Trahan
8:55 a.m. -- Justin Leonard, Charles Howell III, Nick Watney
9:06 a.m. -- Scott Verplank, Robert Allenby, Michael Campbell
9:17 a.m. -- Ben Crenshaw, a-Michael Thompson, Nick O'Hern
9:28 a.m. -- Steve Lowery, Robert Karlsson, Nick Dougherty
9:39 a.m. -- Fred Couples, Jerry Kelly, Anders Hansen
9:50 a.m. -- Vaughn Taylor, Martin Kaymer, Arron Oberholser
10:12 a.m. -- Jose Maria Olazabal, Liang Wen-chong, Rory Sabbatini
10:23 a.m. -- Zach Johnson, Luke Donald, Geoff Ogilvy
10:34 a.m. -- Mike Weir, Padraig Harrington, Jeev Milkha Singh
10:45 a.m. -- Tiger Woods, Angel Cabrera, Stuart Appleby
10:56 a.m. -- Justin Rose, Henrik Stenson, Toru Taniguchi
11:07 a.m. -- Todd Hamilton, Brian Bateman
11:18 a.m. -- Craig Stadler, Johnson Wagner, Steve Flesch
11:29 a.m. -- Ian Woosnam, Richard Green, Stephen Ames
11:40 a.m. -- Boo Weekley, Trevor Immelman, Sean O'Hair
11:51 a.m. -- Sandy Lyle, John Rollins, J.B. Holmes
12:02 p.m. -- Soren Hansen, Daniel Chopra, Richard Sterne
12:24 p.m. -- Tom Watson, Brandt Snedeker, John Senden
12:35 p.m. -- Tim Clark, David Toms, Niclas Fasth
12:46 p.m. -- Raymond Floyd, a-Drew Weaver, Jonathan Boyd
12:57 p.m. -- Bernhard Langer, Prayad Marksaeng, Woody Austin
1:08 p.m. -- Bubba Watson, Sergio Garcia, Mark Calcavecchia
1:19 p.m. -- Adam Scott, Paul Casey, Retief Goosen
1:30 p.m. -- Vijay Singh, Steve Stricker, Stewart Cink
1:41 p.m. -- Phil Mickelson, Andres Romero, K.J. Choi
1:52 p.m. -- Ernie Els, Shingo Katayama, Jim Furyk
2:03 p.m. -- Aaron Baddeley, Camilo Villegas, Lee Westwood