Augusta course lengthened for Masters
Par-72 Augusta National measured 7,270 yards when Tiger Woods clinched his third US Masters title in April this year, but the course has now been extended to 7,290 yards for the 2003 edition.
The tee at the par-four Magnolia hole has been moved back and the fairway bunkers have been extended some 80 yards towards the green, stretching the hole from 435 to 455 yards,
Augusta National chairman Hootie Johnson said.
“This improvement continues our commitment to accuracy off the tee,” Johnson said. “Recently, the fairway bunkers did not come into play. This change should once again make the bunkers an integral part of the hole.”
The carry to the two fairway bunkers is now some 315 yards, and both the fairway and the bunkers have been shifted to the right to increase the dogleg characteristic of the hole, he added.
Augusta’s lengthening for 2003 is likely to meet with a mixed response from some of the game’s top players.
The famous Georgia layout was extended by 285 yards for last year’s tournament, prompting world number one Woods to say that the change had come too soon.
“I don’t think they (the changes) were as necessary right now but I understand where they are coming from,” Woods said during the build-up to this year’s US Masters.
“The guys (the players) are getting longer (with their shots) and they (the Augusta committee) don’t want to see the winning score coming down too low. I won with 16-under (in 2001) and 18-under (in 1997) and they don’t want to see it that low.
“They would much rather see it in single digits.
“They don’t want to see us hitting wedges into a lot of the par-fours where they (the players) used to hit five, six and seven-irons.”
Six-times Masters champion Jack Nicklaus was more vehement in his criticism, arguing that the ultra-long Augusta layout would severely penalise shorter hitters of the golf ball.
But Johnson defended the changes, saying he had heard only praise from players of the new-look layout for 2002.
“Rocco Mediate and Paul Azinger were down here and they could not be more pleased,” he said.
“I think they are considered medium hitters, but they could not be more pleased with the changes. They thought the changes gave them a better chance to win.
“They liked the idea of having their six-iron versus a long hitter’s eight-iron (for a second shot into a par-four hole), as opposed to their eight-iron versus the long player’s pitching wedge.
“I think almost universally, the players have accepted the changes or received them with excitement and pleasure.”
For the 2002 Masters, Augusta was the fifth-longest course in major championship history. It has since been overtaken by 7,360-yard Hazeltine, which hosted last week’s US PGA championship.
After Padraig Harrington’s ankle and neck problems at the United States PGA championship last week, Darren Clarke had an injury tale to tell yesterday.
Clarke lost half the toenail on the big toe of his left foot after dropping a suitcase on it.
‘‘I’ve got to be careful now that it does not get infected,’’ said the Dungannon man, part of the 78-strong field for this week’s NEC world championship in Seattle.
‘‘I was just picking up the case on Sunday to go from Minneapolis to New York for a company day,’’ he added.
‘‘It’s horrible and very painful. I’m hobbling about and I’m going to put antiseptic cream on it.’’
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