Handicappers Beware: ANGC Now Listed As Muddy

/

The 13th green Tuesday (click to enlarge)The golf course is indeed soft, slow and the turf dense, with more rain coming Tuesday night and more forecast for later in the week. It's going to lead to conditions which erode the local knowledge edge veterans rightfully believe they had, opening the door to inexperience and youthful aggression. Rory has to be licking his chops.

Tiger Woods, opening his media conference.

TIGER WOODS:  The golf course is a little bit wet out there.  Obviously we got some pretty good rains here.  Today I played nine holes with Freddie and Sean, and seven drives and had seven mud balls.  So hopefully it will dry out, but I think the forecast is for more rain.  But the greens are absolutely perfect.  They are quick, there's no doubt, but they are pretty soft and pretty receptive.

Phil Mickelson's comments were shocking in their brutal honesty but certainly accurate. Having sat in on this session, I didn't feel that Phil was deflated, but he also did not dance around the fact that many more players are in the equation due to the soft conditions, a product of a warm spring and recent rains.

It seems that some of the planning I have made may go by the wayside.  As soft as the golf course is, you can fire at a lot of the pins.  The greens are soft.  I don't want to say they are slow, but it's just not the same Augusta.  It's wet around the greens, and there's no fear of the course.  You've got to attack it this week.

Unless something changes, and I know they have SubAir and hopefully they will be able to use it, but unless they change it, it's going to be a birdie‑fest.

Q.  Since you put in so much time preparing, is it disappointing not to see the conditions?

PHIL MICKELSON:  When the subtleties don't come out, the experience of playing here in the past is not as important, because you don't have to fear the greens and you don't have to know where the ball will end up and you don't have to fear certain shots because you can get up‑and‑down from the edges.  Those shots are not as hard.

Therefore, I think there's a very good chance that a young player, inexperienced, fearless player that attacks this golf course can win if you don't need to show it the proper respect.

Augusta National 10th Then And Now

/

I finally got out and strolled the property today, soaking up the back nine. Here's a view of the 10th green not long after Perry Maxwell moved it. Note the "island" in the right greenside bunker.

 

Must See Video: Hogan At Augusta

/

There's no direct link, so just go to the Masters.com video page and look for the black and white video with Ben Hogan (you can also search videos by players, a new handy feature).

Many great things to look for in the video, including Ken Venturi's voiceover, Hogan's overall cooperative spirit and the clubhouse area pre-1950. 

But my favorite bit came at Amen Corner where the creeks are at their rustic zenith and we see remnants on 13 of MacKenzie's old "scab" bunkers.

"Payne used the bully pulpit of the chairman's press conference to lecture Tiger Woods about doing the right thing. It would be good for the club, and the game, if he would follow his own advice."

/

Alan Shipnuck says Augusta National's stance on Woman-American members has an impact on their ability to govern the game, noting they are essentially one of the governing bodies.

Years ago Hootie floated the idea of a throttled back "Masters ball," a way to rein in distance gains since the USGA and the R&A seem incapable of doing the job. Such an experiment could be unilaterally instituted by the Masters and have a massive impact on the sport as well as the multi-billion dollar equipment industry. Given the many ways Augusta National members are shaping golf, at the professional and grassroots level, shouldn't women have a voice, too? This can only happen if they are invited into the club.

The Pond Scrum is back and those subversives Elling and Huggan tackled the topic. Elling first:

Fact is, nobody knows what's happening at Augusta or who gets green-lighted for a green jacket. Last year, I saw former NFL receiver Lynn Swann in a green jacket. He'd recently joined the club.

Huggan: Just as it hangs over the Open Championship like a bad smell, the gender issue is one that will forever haunt the green jackets and the Masters until an emerald twinset is seen strolling the storied grounds. Indeed, just as it is by the Royal & Ancient Golf Club in my part of the world, golf is diminished by the blatant and unashamed misogyny of Augusta National. No rational argument can possibly support a state of affairs that automatically eliminates half the world's population because they don't have penises.

Masters Chairman Billy Payne speaks to the media at 9:30 11 a.m. ET. The over/under on the first gender/membership question is 2.5. Oh yes, there are half questions as much as there are half points in football.

DJ's Agent: "He rested it at Bay Hill, got back to working some last week, and tweaked it last week lifting a jet ski.”

/

Doug Ferguson tracks down Dustin Johnson's agent who was, indeed, on property but free of his phone. Though the WD was clearly planned and information should have been included when the WD was announced.

His agent, David Winkle at Hambric Sports Management, said Johnson first had back pain in January when he withdrew from the Humana Challenge, and played through minor pain the next six weeks.

“His back bothered him from time to time. He kind of played through the pain, but it was never crippling,” Winkle said in a voicemail. “He rested it at Bay Hill, got back to working some last week, and tweaked it last week lifting a jet ski.”

Westwood: "What gender issue? I'm a man."

/

Some fun exchanges between Lee Westwood and the press today in Augusta.

Q.  Did you see what Rory said about you and Chubby, that he was led down the wrong path?
LEE WESTWOOD:  I didn't see it.  What path was that?

And...

Q.  The gender issue thing has come up over here, again?
LEE WESTWOOD:  What gender issue?  I'm a man.  (Nodding, looking down).

Q.  Not you specifically.  Not hanging around the locker room.  Just wondering whether that gets much traction overseas and whether people abroad look at this as a uniquely peculiar American concern or if they understand what it's all about.
LEE WESTWOOD:  It's not something I think about.

Q.  Do you have an opinion?
LEE WESTWOOD:  Not really.

Q.  Not going to go there?
LEE WESTWOOD:  No.  (Laughter.)

Dog Eats Masters Tickets; Finds Them Disagreeable

/

Thanks to reader Tobin for catching an appearance on KJR 950's Mike In The Morning by Russ Berkman, who has tickets to Wednesday's Masters practice rounds. Or had tickets. The link to the interview is not up, so the outcome was not certain, but judging by what his hound did to his Masters tickets, someone slept outside last night.

Tobin reports that the Lords of Augusta reprinted the tickets for Berkman. Nice!

Course Changes Files, 8th and 16th Green Edition

/

David Westin reports on player comments after a few days around Augusta National, including noticeably lusher fairways similar to last year, and tweaks to the 8th and 16th greens that at the very least, might give the final par-3 more than one interesting hole location. Maybe.

On the 16th hole, Mickel­son said there is a bigger plateau on the top right side.

He said he believes the extension of the greens on Nos. 8 and 16 will make them play slightly easier.

“After looking at them, I think that some of the more challenging pin placements on those greens were softened a little bit and made to be not quite as difficult,” he said. “I’m not saying it’s good, bad, indifferent.”

For handicapping purposes the lusher fairways don't mean a reward for any particular player, but simply improve the chances of a better finish like last year. A few more balls may stay up on banks, a few less tight fairway lies might force a lay-up and in general, the extra turf should reward a little more risk-taking. Always a good thing here.