Weather matters at The Masters.
Always does.
The skies opened up Monday afternoon and a huge storm wiped out the afternoon. The course was closed at 3 p.m. and didn’t re-open. Tough for the folks with Monday badges.
More storms were predicted for Tuesday, no worries, it’s just practice, right? Heavy rain came Tuesday morning and closed the course. Fortunately by mid-afternoon, the sun came out and groups got back out to work. With practice times cut short, the players who came in last week or the week before are in better shape than anyone who needed to get work in on Monday and Tuesday.
It’s Thursday through Sunday that counts and the forecast looks okay for the first three days. But then what about Sunday, the most important day?
It’s not looking good and hopefully that forecast will change over the next few days.
But what does the rain do to Augusta National?
First, most everyone may know by now that Augusta National has all the technology money can buy. All the greens have Sub-Air systems underneath as well as a network or pipes that can pump hot or cold water underneath the surface. That’s why they are always perfect.
Second, what everyone may not know is that they have Sub-Air systems for the fairways. Correct. They can suck a lot of water out of the golf course.
So even with rain on Monday and Tuesday, things can still be firm by Wednesday, the course closes at noon so attention moves to the Par Three tournament.
If you hear talking heads tell you that a softer course favors the longer hitters, forget it. They probably forgot that things were wet when Mike Weir and Zach Johnson won their Green Jackets. A soft course brings more of the field into the fray.
If it gets rainy on Sunday and they go through a start and stop type of situation, one guy that won’t help is Tiger Woods. The temperatures will be in the 80s on Thursday and Friday, which helps Tiger immensely. But if they ever get into delays, it won’t help him and that back of his.
So yes, keep an eye on the weather.
The wind matters big-time. So does the rain.
Let’s keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best.
