Augusta National has been the standard of excellence for major championship venues for decades.
As the advancement of golf technology has rendered historic venues like St. Andrews obsolete, Augusta has cleverly made adjustments to give the pros a major test, without sacrificing its identity.
But the golf course has come under severe scrutiny this week because of its setup. The weather forecast suggested this would be the toughest Masters in years, and the firmness of Thursday further enhanced that narrative.
Even Scottie Scheffler was struggling to hold the greens on the back nine of his opening round. But in response, Augusta watered the course to slow it down and make it more playable for the weekend.
While it made the course far easier on Friday, the hope was that it would make for a brilliant spectacle on the weekend, but a few hours into watching Saturday’s play, LIV golfer Lee Westwood had a major complaint.
Lee Westwood critical of Saturday setup at The Masters
At the start of Saturday, the course didn’t firm up as many fans had hoped. Balls were stopping dead on the greens and spinning back, in a way that we are not typically accustomed to at Augusta.
That led to Westwood, twice a runner-up at The Masters, taking to social media to voice his complaints.
The Englishman said, “Still looks a bit too receptive out there for a Saturday at the @TheMasters”.
The scoreboard made the conditions look easier than they actually were, or more specifically, Rory McIlroy’s dominance. Without his 12-under score through two days, the leader would be six-under.
But there were real hopes that the winner this year could be over par, and without an incredible collapse from 20 different players, that isn’t happening.
Why softer greens are great news for Rory McIlroy
McIlroy took the biggest-ever 36-hole lead into Saturday, and he’d have been delighted to hear this news from Westwood. If he wants to hold on to his six-stroke lead, then the softer the better.
If this golf course begins to firm up quickly, you want to be out early rather than late. McIlroy, barring disaster, will be out last on Sunday, so on a quickly hardening golf course, he’d face the biggest challenge.
That would bring McIlroy back towards the field and make for a very interesting end to the tournament.
He wants this course to stay the same for him as it is for everyone else, so for him to hear that it’s still playing soft is great news for the Northern Irishman.
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