Rain and possible impacts on Masters course conditions loom large in Augusta
The 83rd Masters begins to unfold on Thursday, and perhaps the biggest pre-tournament challenge centers on a couple of guys named Thomas.
Will Justin or Billy Joe be foremost in fans’ minds prior to, and perhaps during, the year’s first major championship in men’s golf?
Justin you know. No. 5 in the world rankings, 2017 PGA Championship winner, nine PGA Tour tourney titles, 2017 player of the year, yada, yada, yada.
Billy Joe? Not so much. The older generation perhaps recognizes him by “B.J.” and he gets into the Masters’ conversation by virtue of popularizing what has become the 2019 tournament’s unofficial theme song: “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head.”
Severe weather interrupted Masters’ preparations for the second straight day Tuesday, forcing closure of the Augusta National Golf Club Course for several hours with more rain on the way later in the day. That comes on the heels of Monday afternoon’s 3 p.m. shutdown, and long-range forecasts call for more over the weekend — including 60 percent on Sunday.
“(Rain) obviously changes the golf course,” said Jon Rahm, No. 8 in the world rankings, and the changed golf course changes the tournament.
Augusta National’s bias toward the longest hitters off the tee becomes more pronounced in saturated conditions. Officials can control moisture on the greens with the club’s sub-terrain system, but roll on the fairways will be curtailed.
“With the weather being like this, hopefully being a long hitter will be helpful,” said Justin Thomas, one of the long hitters who said his standard tee ball is 295 yards with another 20 yards in reserve.
But he added a caveat: “As long as I hit fairways.”
Four-time champion Tiger Woods, whose career has been resurrected following back surgeries, pointed out that his superior length created an Augusta advantage early in his career.
“The years I drove it well, longest iron I hit into a par-4 would probably be an 8-iron . . . (and) a lot of sand wedges,” he said.
His formula then — and for all the long hitters now — is setting up for short irons to the greens and, Woods said, “with short irons, it’s easier to be more aggressive and put the ball in better spots and hence I can have better putts.”
British Open champion Francesco Molinari, not one of the longest off the tee, found a silver lining in that “it’s a second-shot golf course. ... so that should suit my strengths and my game.”
Rahm concurred with the value of iron play at Augusta National and said his recently “has been really, really precise and that’s important here.” Throw in improved putting and “driving it really well, in play and hitting it long” and no wonder he will tee off Thursday loaded with confidence.
And Woods, in discussing the par-4 fifth hole that has been stretched to 495 yards, offered a ray of hope to the non-bombing fraternity.
“It’s been raining. It’s soft. The fairways aren’t going to give (up yardage on rolls),” he said. “If that’s the case, I don’t know if we’re going to play (No. 5) at 495 every day. I’m sure (the tee) will be moved up, very similar to what we see on 7, sometimes on 1.”
He pointed out that the course could be played about 7,400 yards “if they want to play on the short side and north of 7,500 if they want to play it on the long side.”
Here’s hoping, the shorter hitters agree, that officials decide on the short side. And perhaps they can find a rallying cry in the lyrics sung by B.J. Thomas: “Crying’s not for me, cause I’m never going stop the rain by complainin’.”
Great golf shots will stop the grumbling, too.
How to Watch 2019 Masters
TV
Thursday, 3 to 7:30 p.m., ESPN
Friday, 3 to 7:30 p.m., ESPN
Saturday, 3 to 7 p.m., CBS
Sunday, 2 to 7 p.m., CBS
Stream
This story was originally published April 9, 2019 at 7:32 PM.