Augusta National delivered on the hype on day one of The Masters.
The course was expected to be playing tough this week, as not a drop of rain has fallen on the course. It’s firm and fast, and the very best players in the world were beaten by it on Thursday.
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Jon Rahm shot six-over, and Bryson DeChambeau shot four-over. Balls were bouncing off the back of greens and rolling on for miles.
Shane Lowry said this is as tough as he can remember playing Augusta National, and it’s only going to get tougher as the course continues to dry out. But have they gone too far with this setup?
Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
Michael Kim says Augusta National had a great set up on day one of The Masters
Michael Kim, who shot a three-over 75 for his opening round, gave an extensive breakdown of the golf course at Augusta National on X.
The PGA Tour winner often goes into detail about his tournament with his “Augusta diaries” series on X, and he explained what makes the course so tough this year:
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“-Man, this course is haaarrddd haha. Personally, what I remember about watching the Masters as a kid are these runs of birdies coming in and the winner taking the trophy with birdies and eagles.
“But the other side is that the margins are so so tiny. The difference between a great shot and a horrible result is so so small.
“-Great ex is 3 today. You had to land a wedge in a 4 yard area to hit that green. I landed it too short and came off the green.
“Zach landed it a little too far and it’s over the green. Similar thing on 15, that green (especially being newer) is so firm, I didn’t hold the green landing the ball a foot past pin high.
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“-The greens are quite firm but I never once thought it was out of control. It was a great set up and a set up with some really difficult pins.
“-Because the margins are so small, those little gusts have a profound effect on the results. A little off and you’re making bogey or double in a heartbeat.”
It’s nice to see a player relishing the challenge even after a difficult round, and he wasn’t the only one to do so.
Patrick Reed urges Augusta National to keep the golf course tough at The Masters
Despite the challenge of the setup, there weren’t really any complaints from any of the players. They all seem to be relishing the challenge, none more than Patrick Reed.
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He shot a three-under 69, and urged Augusta to keep the conditions challenging for the rest of the week.
The 2018 Masters champion was asked how to conquer this course, and he said, “Just got to be patient.
“I mean, try to get as many early as you can the first couple of days, because this
is one of those golf courses that it can change so quickly. With what the weather looks like it’s going to be, hot, you know, really hot, sunny, they could make this place really, really hard if they wanted to.
“I wouldn’t be surprised. We have the best players in the world here. Why not? Challenge us and make it difficult, because it’s one of these golf courses, though, if you hit quality golf shots, you’re going to get rewarded for it.
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“That’s the biggest thing is if it’s going to firm up and it’s going to get faster and faster, you’re just going to have to hit quality golf shots and know where you are going to hit the ball.”
The difficulty of this course doesn’t come with any gimmicks. The rough isn’t ridiculously long like Oakmont last year. Instead it’s clever design and the weather that have created this challenge.
And long may it continue over the weekend!
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