While Chamblee says he’s never felt Augusta is a perfect course fit for McIlroy’s game, he stated that the problems, particularly in the first round, seem more mental than physical.
The greens are how Augusta National confuses the best golfers in the game, pushing them outside their comfort zones. Almost every hole forces players to make a binary choice: Option A or Option B.
The par-5 second hole is a dynamic, fascinating test that’s emblematic of the evolved genius of Augusta National’s architecture, where hole location dictates the way the players strategise.
Masters chairman Fred Ridley acknowledged that what Augusta National Golf Club fans will see in April won’t have “quite as many trees as we did a year ago” but that any damage suffered last September when Hurricane Helene rolled through Georgia and the Carolinas won’t be an issue when the Masters is held in less than three months.
Scheffler shot 33 on the inward nine and produced six birdies in the last 11 holes, none of those requiring a putt of longer than 10 feet. That’s how dialled in he was.
This was a week of attrition, and while others were worn down by the course and the wind or the significance of what they were trying to chase, the unassuming superstar was undeterred by his surroundings, in command of his game and of himself. For that, Scheffler earned his second Masters title.
Cameron Smith’s Masters bid got off to a flyer with a stunning eagle, but the Australian fell short of reeling in eventual winner Scottie Scheffler, instead setting for his fifth top-10 result at the Masters in eight career starts.
Australian Golf Digest
