AUGUSTA, Ga. — Competitors in the 87th Masters Tournament enjoyed a docile Augusta National Golf Club for much of its first two days. The sun was shining. The greens were soft. The breeze was a whisper.
Multiple players said they’ve rarely seen it easier.
Hope they took a 4K mental picture, soaked it all in. Next time they see the iconic course, they’ll just be soaked. And cold.
After two days of temperatures in the 80s and virtually no wind, the players will encounter an angry, vengeful layout when they return Saturday.
Highs barely reaching 50 will feel much colder due to a biting north wind. Heavy rain’s gonna fall. Augusta National will play every inch of its 7,545 yards — and more.
Well struck 8-irons that flew 170 yards and true the first two days will be fortunate to flutter 150 yards on Saturday, fighting through the wind and rain, shedding mud along the way.
As if winning the Masters wasn’t a stiff enough challenge for the dozen or so player / caddie teams who still have a realistic shot at the green jacket, the level of difficulty just cranked all the way up to 11.
Masters 2023 leaderboard: Get the latest news from Augusta
It’s nothing new for the pros hitting the shots and carrying the bags. They deal with weather delays and suspended rounds on the regular. At the Masters alone, this is the fifth consecutive year weather has altered the schedule. Playing more than 18 holes in a day on Tour when conditions insist is part of the gig.
Only, this weekend, golfing immortality is on the line, membership to the game’s most exclusive club. Players want the jacket. Caddies want the flag.
And rarely are they anywhere where conditions shift from summer to winter in 24 hours.
Experience matters. Players and caddies who have seen Augusta National in its many forms have a reference point from which to build their decisions. Part of golf’s beauty and challenge is the elements, the variables that change a course from day to day. It’s common in Scotland and Saturday could feel like Carnoustie.
Collin Morikawa, Viktor Hovland, Patrick Reed and the noted bad weather specialist Shane Lowry of Ireland at least have recent confidence. Each survived a Saturday a year ago in Augusta when ski caps and mittens replaced short sleeves and sunscreen.
Now they just have to corral four-time major champion Brooks Koepka in Death Star mode.
What’s required to succeed? Patience, patience and more patience.
The wet conditions will make it more difficult for players to control their golf ball. The best players in the world hate losing control of their golf ball. Mud on the side of a ball impairs spin and direction. Wetness can make a ball flutter about in the air. Bitter cold affects a player’s touch on and around the greens. Pars are golden. Bogeys aren’t killers. The patient golfer will find birdies on his walk.
These pros play 95 percent of their golf in comfortable weather, sun-soaked spots like Oahu and La Quinta. But when they arrive at the practice facility Saturday, the marriage between hands and club will be on the rocks. Their backswing and putting stroke will be on shaky terms as well.
The best caddies shine in these conditions, stocking the bag with dry towels and hand warmers, mastering an umbrella to keep player, clubs and ball dry, operating like an octopus, keeping their players’ spirits lifted as the temperatures fall.
The physical responsibilities are brutal, accentuated by one of the toughest walks on Tour.
Heavy bags and sore feet.
What happens in between the ears matters more. Caddies have full license tomorrow to practice their honorary doctorate in psychology. They must keep the positivity gauge tilting full, not allowing their pros to turn sour because of a bad swing or inevitable unlucky break. Mental toughness and intestinal fortitude will be tested and exposed before an audience of millions.
It’s not all doom and gloom. The greens will remain receptive. Everybody must play the same course in similar conditions. Eventually everyone thaws out.
It’s golf, just harder.
And come Sunday, Monday or whenever, Scottie Scheffler is putting that jacket on somebody and the flag, if not the whole stick, is going home with a happy man in a white jumpsuit.
Both will be well-earned.
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