The first day of the Masters of Augusta was completed. This Friday morning, at 7.48 local time, the resumption of play horn sounded while the earliest fans, thousands and thousands, with the chair on their shoulder, quickened their pace, without running, of course, to get the best possible situation to spend the day.
The image is really curious. The public crowds against a barrier of volunteers at the foot of the large scoreboard located to the right of hole 1. It’s like the start of a marathon waiting for the gunshot. When the cordon is opened, the diaspora occurs. They are like rivers of lava that scatter across the field after the eruption.
27 players had to finish and the big question was how well they were going to take advantage of the less windy and more favourable conditions to make a result, with the impeccable field offering itself in a tempting way… Yes, yes, tempting. Gentlemen, it was a lure. Crouched under the spectacular Augusta sunrise, with the sun’s rays filtering through the branches of the trees, lulled by the hour and the singing of the birds, a miura awaited.
This morning has been a slaughter. Here is a quick damage report:
– Brian Harman: 47 strokes for the second nine, with a finish that included a triple bogey on the 16th, double bogey on the 17th and another double bogey on the 18th.
– Jordan Spieth: bogey on the 14th, quadruple bogey on the 15th and bogey on the 17th.
– Dustin Johnson: double bogey on the 14th, double bogey on the 15th and bogey on the 18th.
– Patrick Reed: bogey on the 16th, bogey on the 17th and double bogey on the 18th.
– Adam Scott: double bogey on the 15th and bogey on the 18th.
– Tyrrell Hatton: double bogey on the 15th and bogey on the 18th.
– Ludvig Aberg: bogey on the 14th and double bogey on the 15th.
– Tiger Woods: bogey on the 14th and bogey on the 18th.
– Jason Day: double bogey on the 16th and bogey on the 18th.
– Brooks Koepka: bogey on the 14th and bogey on the 16th.
– Tommy Fleetwood: bogey on the 17th and bogey on the 18th.
It was a lure. Augusta this morning has awakened the beast. Tiger Woods has suffered, exceptional from the tee, but tremendously erratic with the irons, hitting a toad on the 14th, imprecise on the 15th and very unadjusted on the 18th. Some might think that the cold could have affected him, but that theory does not square with his handling of the driver. It is true that he has been stretching constantly, trying to be constantly in motion, seeking warmth, especially in his first two holes (14 and 15), but it would be too simple to attribute it only to the cold. Among other things, because yes, it was cool, but nothing dramatic. The wind was also blowing, gusty, but less intense than yesterday.
So, what has happened, why these so bulky results. It is not easy to give a single answer. Yes, the cold will have played its part, also the change in wind direction, which has gone from south to west, of course some greens somewhat different from yesterday afternoon, but probably, above all this, the key has been in the lure. The players thought it was time to press, to take advantage of the situation and Augusta swallowed them. The Masters is not to be sought, it must be found.
Nicolai Hojgaard (-5), Max Homa (-5), Matthieu Pavon (-2), Cameron Young (-2) and Collin Morikawa (-1) were the main survivors of the early morning, they did not fall into the lure that Augusta had laid.
So, after the first 18 holes, DeChambeau (-7) leads the Masters, followed by Scheffler (-6), Homa and Hojgaard (-5), Willett (-4), Davis and Fox (-3), Young, Conners, An, Niemann and Zalatoris (-2).
The second round is already underway. Spectacular day in Augusta. Clear sky, the sun warming and the wind, for now, present, but not in an exaggerated way. The weather report points to it increasing as the hours go by. It looks good.
