The changing face of Augusta National is obvious even with a glance at bare numbers. Twenty years ago, José María Olazábal won the first of two Green Jackets on a course measuring 6,925 yards. This weekend's Masters champion will have battled through four rounds at a venue which now stretches to 7,435 yards.
Augusta is hardly alone in being forced to add length in a bid to combat technological advances. Even the Old Course at St Andrews has undergone recent change, amid fear that the top golfers of today can rip it apart. Those who regret such course redesign should divert their angst towards those who let golf ball changes fly out of control a long time ago.
What has been noticeable in recent major tournaments, and again here at the 78th Masters, is the increased willingness of those responsible for course set-up to push towards new limits. The same applied to the second WGC event of this year, played at Doral, where tournament parameters had to be open to question given the number of balls – 318, to be precise – hit into water by a top-class field.
Last year's US Open at Merion was brutally tough. A batch of players were vociferous about the extent of Muirfield's test at the Open Championship.
Pin positions
Yesterday's pin positions did nothing to suggest Masters competitors were to be offered respite. On the first, second and 11th holes, the flags were tucked into the left side. The pin was just four yards inside the right edge of the third, with the hole on the fifth in a place, again on the right, which had never been used before in Masters history.
It proved a recurring, tough theme. On the 10th, the hole location was further right than Mussolini.
“It brings the guys that don’t hit it as far into the mix a little bit more,” explained Rory McIlroy. “It almost becomes like chess.”
In other words, this Major turns into attritional golf for three days. Leading players are so scared to make a mistake and ruin their chances that aggression is a rare commodity.
“You have to be patient,” McIlroy added. “Even par on the front nine is no disaster at all, even one over. You have plenty of chances on the back nine. The winning score at Augusta for the last few years has never been as low as you think it was going to be. Around 10 under, something like that. Never as low as you think because they set it up just right so that any little mistake is going to catch you.”
Statistically, round one proved the most difficult since 2007. That year, Zach Johnson won with a 72-hole aggregate of one-over. This time around, round one’s average score was 74 and a half; only four players broke 70.
There are some specific issues for that, the semi-masochistic streak of the championship committee aside. The swirling breeze which has been present at Augusta over the first two days presents serious challenges. The significance of that wind factor – noticeably at the 12th, for example – has also increased because of the February storm’s thinning impact on trees.
The American Kevin Streelman was afforded the benefit of playing in a two-ball at the front of yesterday's field and took advantage. Streelman's 71 left him at one under par on aggregate and comfortably part of the last 36 holes for what will be the first time.
“I thought the pins yesterday were extremely difficult,” Streelman said. “Today they were maybe just very difficult. The wind feels like it is going to be more prevalent today.
"The wind really does swirl here. You try to work off a compass all day – today was meant to be south-south west but then you have a shot like I had on the ninth where the wind is supposed to be hurting a little, I hit a beautiful six-iron and it flew much further than I thought it would."
Guardian Service
