MASTERS PLEA TO REIN IN BIG-HITTING BRYSON
MASTERS chairman Fred Ridley has called on golf’s governing bodies to take urgent action in the wake of Bryson DeChambeau’s vow to pummel Augusta National into submission today. Ridley listened with obvious dismay to DeChambeau’s daring promise to play the course in a way that it was never intended to be played. ‘We do have the ability to make any number of changes to protect the integrity of the course,’ said Ridley. ‘At the same time, we hope there will not come a day when the Masters will have to be played at 8,000 yards to achieve that objective. ‘The game is at an important crossroads, so we will continue to urge the governing bodies to put forward thoughtful solutions as soon as possible.’ The club have responded in the past to big-hitting demonstrations from the likes of Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods by lengthening the layout to 7,475 yards, but clearly feel that enough is enough. The sport is split down the middle on the best way forward, with the authorities agreeing that something must be done but the best players believing that introducing curbs on how far they hit the ball would diminish its appeal to the fans. A resolution is expected by the end of the year and what happens over the next four days might well prove the turning point. There’s no question that DeChambeau’s bombing exploits generate enormous interest but equally, there’s no way that Ridley and the rest of the green jackets will allow the course to be rendered obsolete. Ridley warned: ‘Our position is to support the governing bodies but if no action is taken, for whatever reason, then we need to look at other options with regard to our course and what we can do to challenge these great golfers.’