Don't count out the ball-strikers who aren't bombers

Big hitters will always be favored at the Masters. But Jim Furyk and Steve Stricker are among the players who believe that the ball-striking and short-game skills that Augusta National requires means they also have a good shot to win.

By Dave Shedloski, PGATOUR.com Senior Correspondent

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- When the 71st Masters Tournament begins Thursday, the player who ranks near the top in putting is probably going to win. And the player who is fairly long and hits a lot of fairways is probably going to win. And the guy who hits a lot of greens. And the guy who chips well.

In fact, we're probably talking about the same guy.

"I think the Masters tests your game better than any major, your full game," defending champion Phil Mickelson said. "You have to drive it long, but you have to drive it straight. The fairways are tight with all of the trees that have been added. Your short game has to be extremely on that week.

"Putting touch as well as chipping is difficult around here. Your irons have to be almost perfect with distance control because you have so many elevation changes and so many small sections of the greens to hit to, or else the ball is 80 feet away and you have a tough par."

The list of favorites at the Masters always is going to be drawn primarily from the stable of long hitters now that Augusta National Golf Club has been bulked up to 7,445 yards. And that assessment is only further validated by the fact the Mickelson and Tiger Woods have claimed the Green Jacket four of the last five years, a string Mike Weir managed to break in 2003 with some of the most inspired putting in tournament history.

But Woods and Mickelson did far more than scorch Augusta with raw power. Other parts of their games served them well, particularly ball-striking.

"Augusta National tests all your abilities for ball-striking," Mickelson said. "It tests your ability to hit the ball high as well as hit the ball low, the ability to hit fades, draws, left-to-right, right-to-left. I don't feel as though you can get around this golf course just hitting one shot. You have to be able to maneuver the ball around off the tee and into the greens."

And don't discount experience.

"Once you understand how to play the golf course ? if you look at the history of this event, you start seeing the same guys win this event multiple times," said Woods, who has won it four times, including that historic 12-shot victory in 1997. "I think it's just understanding how to play it, where to miss it, shot selections."

The Augusta National that the 97 players in the field will encounter this week could change significantly over the course of four days. The technical numbers of the layout are these: the fairways are mowed to three-eighths of an inch, the second cut an inch higher and the bentgrass, rollercoaster greens at one-eighth.

During practice rounds, the course has been relatively soft in the fairways and the greens receptive with moderate speeds. But with cooler weather moving in, it is sure to firm up, and the winds might pick up, too. Morning temperatures are expected to plunge into the 30s on the weekend and highs Saturday and Sunday might not reach 60 degrees.

"That will probably put a little more of the tournament in the hands of the long hitters," said two-time winner Tom Watson. "The air gets cold and the ball doesn't go as far and the greens probably won't be as receptive. The greens are right where they want them right now, but weather could play a big factor."

"You know," Jim Furyk, a former U.S. Open champion, pointed out, "there's always a chance for a good player that's not long to win a golf tournament. I'd say the odds are favored for the power hitters, but it's always happened where other guys who are not long hitters have figured out ways to win, and I think it can be done here."

The fact that little rain is in the forecast might provide just enough of an opening for players like Furyk, Weir or moderate drivers like Steve Stricker.

"I think we all want to see the golf course firm and fast," Furyk said. "I think it's a lot more fun that way, and also a lot more challenging."

Added Stricker, back for the first time since 2002: "I'm fine with it (the length of the golf course). There are just certain shots you can't hit and some places you can't be. But, you know, around here you have to have the whole package. Longer always has an advantage, but you've got to do it all."