USA TODAY International Edition
‘ Here for the torture’ at ’ 21 Masters
AUGUSTA, Ga. – Pain.
That’s what golfers could experience in the 85th playing of the Masters starting Thursday as the field of play among the Georgia Pines is firm, fast and primed to deliver punishment.
“I think every guy who plays professional golf is a little bit of a masochist,” said world No. 6 Xander Schauffele, who has six top- 10 finishes in majors the past three years, including a tie for second in the 2019 Masters. “So, I’m here for the torture.”
It certainly wasn’t threatening when the 2020 Masters was played in the autumn cool of November due to the COVID- 19 pandemic. It was a pleasure, if you will, with soft greens, moist fairways and less penal chipping areas allowing players to shun fear and zero in on targets with heightened aggression.
The result? The scoring was astounding. World No. 1 Dustin Johnson became the first in Masters history to card multiple rounds of 65 or better and shattered the scoring record by becoming the only player to reach and finish at 20 under. Cameron Smith became the first in the Masters chronicles to shoot all four rounds in the 60s – and lost by five. Smith finished in a tie for second with Masters rookie Sungjae Im.
But the season has changed, and the warmth of spring has produced a fiery layout that will demand precision, accuracy and a soft touch on and around the greens. Johnson said if the course remains firm and fast, “you’re definitely going to have to be a little more careful about where you hit the ball.” Fred Couples, winner of the 1992 Masters, said the course could play “as difficult as the course has played in a long, long time.”
It certainly will if Mother Nature cooperates. Augusta National has bathed in sunshine for six consecutive days, but the forecast shows menacing clouds are en route. The chance of rain and/ or thunderstorms stands at 50% for Friday and Saturday. If the storm fronts part or shift away, or if little rain falls, then Augusta National will stand as a hardened, supreme test again.
“When the greens are firm, the precision, the course management, the angles, the leave where the ball is left, all of this stuff becomes incredibly important in your ability to play this course effectively,” three- time Masters champion Phil Mickelson said. “When the greens are soft, it’s irrelevant because you can fly the ball over all the trouble. Angles don’t matter. I plugged a 5- iron last November into the second green.
“The guys are so precise in their ability to fly the golf ball the correct yardage with every club that if you have soft receptive greens, it’s like having a military and then not giving them any weapons, right? It’s defenseless.”
So defenseless that 2020 PGA champ Collin Morikawa saw something in last year’s final round he’d never seen: “Someone that I played with on seven stopped their ball in the middle of that slope, like the middle of the green on the right. I’m like, that’s not possible.”
During a practice round this week, reigning U. S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau saw what Augusta National is all about when the course is on the dry side. “We had a hole location on 17 that was up on the front part of the green about five or six ( paces) on, and if you just got it past the hole, it would roll off the front of the green. Literally it moves a dimple and it’s gone. It’s pretty unique and interesting. I’ve never seen it this fast, this quick, this early, but I certainly love the challenge.”
Four- time major champion Rory McIlroy, who is a Masters triumph from completing the career Grand Slam, said players will have to have their distances dialed in heading to the first tee. “This week’s going to be a huge premium on accuracy, on landing your golf ball on your numbers and being precise with your iron play,” he said. “And the ball is not hitting and stopping. You’re inevitably going to miss a few greens, and scrambling is going to be key, too. It’s certainly a different test than it was a few months ago.”
It didn’t take long for Brooks Koepka to see the difference. In a late afternoon practice round on Sunday, the four- time major champion was already contemplating what the final round could entail. “There was a big bounce on the green on my first approach. I said to Rick ( Elliott, his caddie) on one of the holes, if they’re this firm now, and you got a week, what’s Sunday going to be like?” he said. “They can do anything; they can soften it or make it twice as firm as it is now. They got the capability to do whatever they want with it.”
That was in reference to the SubAir system at Augusta National that allows tournament officials to siphon moisture from the surface of the ground.
“If the membership here and those who are setting up the golf course get the weather they want to get, and get less than 10 under par as a winning score, it will be where it requires a lot more kind of course knowledge where you leave the ball and you have to hit an even more precise shot to get it where you want it to go,” 2015 champ Jordan Spieth said. “I think the firmer the better, the way this golf course plays.”
The way it should play, in other words.
“I think Dustin’s 20- under record will be pretty safe for many years to come,” said world No. 10 Patrick Cantlay. “I expect it to get really firm and fast, and I think that’s when this golf course shines. Everyone loves seeing the chips and putts that seem to trickle out forever and take forever to get to the hole, and that really brings out the great design that the golf course is.”