– Nothing more graphic than the testimonials. Scattered sentences about how Augusta National was played yesterday:
“I’m happy just to have a tee time for Saturday. I think I could go low on Saturday and get into the red numbers, then I would have a half chance to fight for the tournament.” Rory McIlroy.
“I couldn’t describe how hard it is to play golf with those gusts of wind. I feel like I’ve spent ten hours on the golf course.” Scottie Scheffler.
“It was a challenge to guess whether the wind was coming from the West or the North… It’s been my toughest day in Augusta.” Xander Schauffele.
“It’s just been brutal.” Sepp Straka.
“I was angry and almost felt like I had to miss the cut because of the way I was playing.” Joaquín Niemann.
“You could have three strokes and different clubs in just twenty seconds. Right now I hit this shot with a club, ten seconds ago I would have hit another shot with another club and in ten seconds I would hit another shot with another club…”. Harris English.
“I thought Thursday had been tough until I started playing today. I still don’t know how I made PAR… I was very lucky with some shots, a few lucky bounces. I feel like I could have made eight or nine bogeys on the back nine of the course.” Byeong Hun An.
“I’m exhausted. One of the toughest days I’ve ever had on a golf course.” Ryan Fox.
“It’s been mentally draining. I hit a very solid shot on the 12th and it curved about 50 feet to the left (about fifteen meters) in 145 yards… But as exhausting as it was, it was still fun to be there.” Corey Conners.
Carl Schwartzel, after signing an 81, is asked about any shot he faced that seemed impossible to execute: “I think today I had 81 impossible shots…”.
“On a scale of 1 to 10 of difficulty today I give the course an 11.” José María Olazábal.
– We stick with this gentleman, José María Olazábal, who thirty years after his first victory in the Masters and twenty-five after the second is once again a resounding protagonist. You had to do too many things very well yesterday at Augusta National to sign a 73, especially after carrying the burden of an unfortunate triple bogey on the 12th. This player wastes little time in lamentations. Yesterday he gave a splendid and figurative kick in the backside to so many mourners who populate the golf courses, elite professionals and amateurs of much, little or no importance.
– Tiger is convinced that he can still give himself a chance to win this Masters, coming out today, Saturday, seven strokes behind the leaders. Arrogance? Bravado? Problems with the perception of reality? Call it what the haters like, but if there is a single option for Tiger to win, it certainly goes through the mandatory requirement that he still considers it a reasonable possibility. If he maintains the outstanding level with the driver and improves just a little bit with the irons in his hands… Watch out. On the other hand, the simple fact of seeing him lurking around the top ten would already be fabulous good news. In reality, in his physical conditions and from an earthly approach, it is already to have him there playing this weekend.
– Ludvig Aberg lands in his first Major and, without making noise, as is his custom, appears among the best after 36 holes in the worst conditions remembered in a long time in those parts of Georgia. What a wonder, on the other hand, to see him hitting the ball as he gets on top…
– Cameron Smith has all the chances to become that player who today comes from behind and joins the leaders or leaves them within a stone’s throw for Sunday. The role suits him perfectly, but who wouldn’t like Tommy Fleetwood to play it, also coming out with a cumulative -1, five strokes off the lead? Does anyone know anyone who doesn’t wish Fleetwood a birdie instead of a bogey? The undersigned, nobody. If we have already coined the saying ‘put a Scheffler in your life, it will go better’, the same applies to Fleetwood. Let’s put many Schefflers and Fleetwoods in our lives and our golf.
– Seven Europeans in the top 15 of this tough Masters after 36 holes. Nicolai Hojgaard, Ludvig Aberg, Tommy Fleetwood, Danny Willett, Matthieu Pavon, Sepp Straka and Matt Fitzpatrick. Will all of them, for example, be in the Ryder Cup in 2025? There is too much time to start thinking about it, but it doesn’t hurt to try. If Willett finally overcomes all his physical problems he should be a great candidate, although it has become almost impossible to speculate about the Englishman’s future in the short, medium and long term. As for Pavon… If he’s not earning all the credit in the world, then nobody is. The more pavones we have, the better. There’s time from here to Bethpage for a few more to sprout. The other five were already in Rome in 2023, and nothing leads us to think that they won’t repeat.
– And Rory, what, another year without winning the Masters? Everything points to that being the case. The Grand Slam can and should wait. But there are details of his attitude in the first two rounds and in recent times that allow us to glimpse the possibility of seeing him win a Major this very year. After all, he feels the pressure at Augusta National more than anywhere else, we know that.
