It's Not Just Me Who is Scrutinizing the Masters

This is an article from espn.com. It was originally from April 14th but with the hoopla of the TPC at Sawgrass, ESPN's Bob Harig wrote this article and ESPN has reposted the article this morning. I'd leave the link but the page might not be there after a few days so here's the article exactly as it's printed.

Longer, tougher Augusta National has led to battles of attrition

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Roars have been replaced by moans, birdies by bogeys, thrills by chills. Maybe it is the blustery weather, a big factor in the past two Masters. But something is definitely missing at Augusta National, and perhaps it is as simple as subtraction by addition.

The golf course first made famous by Bobby Jones and where South Africa's Trevor Immelman claimed the green jacket on Sunday is a beast that measures more than 7,400 yards. It has rock-hard greens, extra trees and a "second cut" of rough that at one time did not exist.

And it once again did a pretty good job of beating up the best players in the world.

"You don't shoot low rounds here anymore," Tiger Woods said last week, three days before he would finish runner-up for the second straight year. "You've just got to plod along."

Immelman's 75 matched the highest final round for a winner in tournament history -- yet he still managed to increase his third-round lead by a stroke. Only four Sunday rounds were under par, with just two in the 60s.

Of the top 22 players on the leaderboard after 54 holes, none broke par. The top 15 averaged 75.07 on Sunday, with just three players -- Woods, Phil Mickelson and Stewart Cink -- matching par. Brandt Snedeker, paired with Immelman in the final group, shot 77. The next-to-last group saw Steve Flesch shoot 78 and Paul Casey shoot 79.

Even with decent scoring conditions Saturday, only seven players shot in the 60s. Of the top 16 finishers, only two broke par, none in the top seven.

In the past two Masters, there has been just a single round of 67. Since 2002, there have been just four scores of 65, the past two coming in 2005 -- by Immelman and Woods.

"It's more like playing a U.S. Open than a Masters," Woods said.

"They've taken away a lot of choices," said 1988 Masters champion Sandy Lyle. "Before, there was always a little cherry dangling. For instance, on the first hole it was 265 yards over the bunker, so you looked at the wind at the pin position and decided whether to go for it. If it came off, you got your reward. Now it's 320 yards to carry that bunker, and it's scary.

"So I think they've spoiled the course a little bit and, although it doesn't necessarily play into the hands of long hitters, it means fewer guys can be competitive out here."

The first hole is not the only one that players have questioned. Since the par-4 11th has been stretched to 505 yards with trees added along the right side, it has received plenty of complaints. It played as the most difficult hole this week, averaging 4.306.

The seventh also got plenty of attention. Once a relatively short par-4, it has been stretched in recent years to 450 yards, despite having one of the tiniest greens on the course. For a good part of the tournament this year, tees were moved up because of windy conditions.

"It's too long," two-time Masters champion Ben Crenshaw said of the seventh hole. "Seven is one of the greatest greens I've ever seen, but it just doesn't have to be that long."

I think what has changed the golf course immeasurably is one hole, and it's No. 7," said Mickelson, who won in 2004 and 2006. "… The whole thought process of playing the golf course used to be, 'Get through the first six holes around par, and you can birdie [Nos.] 7, 8 and 9' … you turn at under par and then you shoot under par on the back side and you have a great round.

"Now 7 is one of the two toughest holes on the course. Between 7 and 11 -- those might be the two toughest pars on the course."

Gone, seemingly, are the back-nine charges we saw as recently as 2004, when Mickelson rallied with five birdies on the final seven holes to defeat Ernie Els, who managed only two birdies. Neither made a bogey on the second nine that day.

Ten years ago, Mark O'Meara birdied three of the last four holes to win by a stroke. In 2005, Woods shot a third-round 65, then Chris DiMarco shot a 68 in the final round to tie him and force a playoff.

The past two years, however, have produced battles of attrition. Snedeker's 77 still earned him a tie for third. Flesch's 78 tied him for fifth. Is that what Masters officials want? Or did the weather conditions make it unavoidable?

"They've taken the fun out of it," said former Masters champion Fuzzy Zoeller. "You got going around Amen Corner, you could make a run. Standing up at the clubhouse, you used to hear those roars, and the ground would rattle. You don't hear that any more. It's a different place.

"The fast greens have always been a part of this place. But it's very difficult to get the ball close to the holes for a decent birdie putt. Everybody's playing in that defensive golf mode, trying not to make mistakes."

"People want to hear roars," O'Meara said. "That's what I think is so great about the [British] Open Championship. They don't mess with the course that much. The weather and conditions dictate what the scoring is going to be like."

In some regards, that has been the case at Augusta the past two years. Cold conditions led to high scoring in 2007. A windy day Sunday meant more indecision and soaring scores.

But when conditions were nice on Thursday and Friday, scoring was not considerably easier. Nobody went lower than 68 on Thursday or Friday, and Flesch's 67 came on Saturday.

Billy Payne, the Masters chairman, said in his pretournament news conference that he was pleased with the setup of the course. But he also acknowledged that he keeps close tabs on every hole. And no doubt his ears will tell him that his tournament was not as loud this year.

"There was disaster around every corner," Immelman said.

"The course needed to be changed," Crenshaw said, alluding to the length added in the past decade. "[But] I really don't think it's as interesting to play as it used to be. To be very honest, I don't think it is. But they've had to do a lot of things in defense of the game and the course."

Some would suggest they've gone too far.




This is exactly what we've been talking about. It's not to sound like a broken record but it bothers me because this is a lot of people's, mine included, favorite tournament. Let the US Open be the brutal course that tests the players resolve. Let guys go low at The Masters.

Regardless if it's Phil or Tiger, having the course decide the winner of the tournament instead of the players and their clubs takes all the drama out of the Masters. I don't care if it's Nick Watney and Dean Wilson coming down the back nine as long as they're battling.

Golf fans know good golf when they see it and as long as a few guys are grinding it out to win instead of just trying to not let the course win, the roars and excitement will soon return. If nothing is done, get used to having winners shooting over par and extremely conservative play in the final rounds.