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AUGUSTA, Ga. – Don’t let the sunshine fool you.
While there will be plenty of rays to soak in, Mother Nature will be downright mean this weekend at the 86th Masters, with those playing inside the gallery ropes suffering the most.
The forecast calls for a mixture of high-octane winds that will whistle through the Georgia Pines, frosty temperatures that will demand extra layers and perhaps ski caps, and a slight chance of a shower or two for rounds three and four.
Not exactly ideal.
But the natural elements aren’t the only obstacle the players will tangle with. The beauty of Augusta National will become a beast as the course will continue to firm up, the greens will continue to harden. And with that, players won’t be thinking birdie as much as they will thinking pars, and they will need to know where to miss to give them the best possible chance to not drop a shot.
The golf ball won’t fly as far either, so players will be trying to hit their numbers with clubs they usually don’t use to hit those numbers. Expect a lot of three-quarter swings, punch shots and an assortment of fades and draws to find the proper trajectory and distance.
The small quadrants that need to be hit to have a makeable birdie putt instead of a 40-foot chip will be tougher to find. Well-struck tee shots will roll into the pine straw or the pearly white bunkers. The five-footers with two feet of break will become harsher if affected by gusts.
All in all, the biting temps and intense wind will combine with an already exacting test to cut into concentration, fade focus and cause a lot of back-and-forth between player and caddie. In other words, it will be two days full of numerous headaches.
“At least there’s no rain,” Webb Simpson said. “But it’s going to be a challenge.”
It will start on Moving Day – where every player will be moving to stay warm. The high is not expected to reach the 60s on Saturday, and with steady winds in the 15 mph range and gusts reaching 30 mph, expect announcers to often summon three words – wind chill factor. CBS sportscaster Jim Nantz might even say, “Stay warm, friends.”
Sunday, the low is expected to fall to 36 and a frost delay is possible. Warmer temperatures (it will reach the 70s) and plenty of sunshine will settle in shortly before noon – a couple hours before the leaders tee off and start dealing with the sweltering intensity of Sunday Masters pressure.
Players who made the cut this year got a taste of what’s to come. In Friday’s second round they were bruised by high winds. The field average was above 74.
“I shot 74. I feel like I shot 86,” 2017 Masters champion Sergio Garcia said. “I don’t know. It just felt like I just came out of 10 rounds with Canelo (Alvarez). So, it was hard. It’s difficult for me to get it going here other than one year.”
Four-time major-champion Rory McIlroy, a green jacket shy of the career Grand Slam, said wind – and chilly temps – play mind games with the players.
“It’s hard to commit to a number and say, OK, it’s 170. It’s really playing 200 or whatever it is and just committing to it because the wind’s so much up and down,” McIlroy said. “So just trying to take the ball out of the air as much as possible. But the greens are getting firm as well, so then it makes it hard to stop it on the green.
“So it’s a tough challenge. Being OK with hitting to 30 feet and taking two putts and making pars, that’s sort of the name of the game out there today.”
It sure looks like that will be the game the next two days. If so, there will be far fewer roars humming through the pines – a welcomed staple at the Masters. With the greens on the unyielding side, players will think twice about going for the green in two on the back-nine par-5s, with danger lurking in front and behind the putting surface at 13 in the form of Rae’s Creek and deep bunkers, and at 15 with ponds guarding both the front and back of the putting surface.
There are plenty of slopes for players to use to get the golf ball close to the hole, but again, if you miss your target, in some cases by only a foot, you could be looking at an impossible chip instead of a sensible birdie putt.
But there is hope. The strongest of the winds dissipated late in the second round, allowing the remaining players on the course to have more of a fighting chance. The fire of the approaching front and all its frigid, windy features could fizzle. The players aren’t expecting that, however, but along with the patrons, they are sure hoping for it. A warm Masters weekend, after all, one that would lead to birdies and eagles and create noise, would be much better than one where the sound is muzzled by ears muffs.
Here’s to fingers crossed.
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