Augusta National undergoes 'course correction' on Day 2

A day after yielding the second-lowest first-day scoring average in Masters history, Augusta National showed its teeth on Friday. Some of the difference was the wind, but a big part was a tougher setup.

By Brian Wacker, PGATOUR.COM Site Producer

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- If the story on the first day of the 73rd Masters was how the roars returned to Augusta National because of benign conditions and a noticeably easier course setup, then part of the story in Friday’s second round was how the hallowed layout bit back.

The wind kicked up, and the birdies weren’t as bountiful because of it. A day after playing to the second-lowest opening-day scoring average in tournament history, Augusta National played more than a full stroke harder in Round 2. A day after a first-round Masters record of 38 rounds under par were shot, a more modest 25 sub-par rounds were turned in.

One of those was Anthony Kim’s 7-under 65 that featured 11 birdies, so the Green Jacket gods weren’t entirely angry about the sea of red that swept over the leaderboard in the opening round.

But Gary Player didn’t break 80 on Friday, and Tiger Woods didn’t break par. Neither did Jim Furyk or Hunter Mahan, both of whom opened with 66s only to give a lot of those birdies back with rounds of 74 and 75, respectively.

“The wind today was a lot more difficult,” said Todd Hamilton, who was two strokes higher Friday than his opening 68. “But you can set the golf course up very difficult; if you have no wind, the guys on TOUR are going to play good. You throw in some wind with a tough setup, that’s when you see trying times.”

The first two holes of Amen Corner were classic examples of that. They ranked as the two toughest holes on the course -- the par-3 12th the toughest, the par-4 11th second-toughest for those of you keeping score. Just 14 birdies were made between the two holes, with 11 of them coming on No. 12, which also claimed 26 bogeys, 11 double bogeys and three “others.”

“Yesterday, the pin positions, a lot of them were set in spots where guys could hit shots that didn’t seem like they were very good direction-wise, but with the slope around the hole location, it would funnel down closer,” Hamilton said. “Today, it seemed like most of the flag positions were different. You could be 5 or 10 feet right or left and you catch the slope and it ends up 30 or 35 feet.”

“There were birdie opportunities out there, but it was a good two-club wind and very tough to judge,” added Luke Donald. “The weather can certainly be a big factor here, but they can control how difficult the golf course is with the firmness of the greens.”

Therein lies the key wording: They can control how difficult the golf course is. A day after all sorts of records were broken or tied, the Green Jackets didn’t want this turning into the Bob Hope Classic hosted by Arnold Palmer.

The past two years, Mother Nature -- the one thing the folks who run Augusta National can’t control (as far as we know, anyway) -- played a major part in sucking the life out of this tournament. This year, it played a major part in breathing air into what had become an otherwise suffocating course at times. So did the setup.

Welcome back, Augusta National. It’s good to see you -- and good to know Tournament Chairman Bill Payne won’t feel any pain of criticism. This year, anyway.