AUGUSTA • The coronavirus pandemic has silenced the Masters’ resonant roars.
It has erased the par-3 contest, drained the colour from the wintering azaleas and brought brisk north winds into play for the first time.
The tournament, which starts today, has been rescheduled from the first Major of the year to the last and stripped down to playing in a “bubble” to safeguard its participants from the coronavirus.
But the usual suspects will be in play, from defending and 15-time Major champion Tiger Woods to US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau, who is planning to “out-drive history” at Augusta.
So too is Dustin Johnson. The world No. 1 has only one Major – the 2016 US Open – but he has finished runner-up in three of the past six Majors.
The reigning PGA Tour Player of the Year and FedExCup winner is entering the 84th Masters with confidence thanks to improved putting and greater consistency in his shotmaking.
“Coming off a great year and a good finish last week (he was second at the Houston Open). Got a lot of confidence in the game,” Johnson said on Tuesday.
“I feel like I’m playing really well. It’s probably the best I’ve played in my career but it’s more consistent, my shot shape, my flight and controlling my distance.”
Johnson has worked on his short game and putting, two crucial aspects for any winner over the undulating greens of Augusta. He believes he is hitting peak form – just like in 2017, when he was the runaway favourite, only to withdraw before the start after hurting his back in a freak fall down a staircase.
“I’ve put in a lot of work on being able to control my distance with wedges, so it’s very consistent right now,” he said. “I’m very pleased with where the game is at.
“I would love to win a lot more Majors. I’d like to get my second one then add on to that. I’ve still got a lot more years, so I’m not really too stressed about it.”
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1ST ROUND TEE TIMES
USA unless stated
1ST TEE (TODAY)
8pm (Singapore time) C.T. Pan (Tpe)
8.44pm Xander Schauffele
8.55pm Jason Day (Aus)
TOMORROW
12.16am Rickie Fowler
12.27am Phil Mickelson
12.49am Justin Thomas, Brooks Koepka
1am Dustin Johnson, Patrick Cantlay, Rory McIlroy (Nir)
1.11am Zach Johnson
1.22am Im Sung-jae (Kor)
10TH TEE (TODAY)
8.11pm Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn)
8.33pm Jon Rahm (Esp), Bryson DeChambeau, Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa)
8.55pm Tiger Woods
9.06pm Jordan Spieth, Ian Poulter (Eng)
9.17pm Kim Si-woo (Kor)
TOMORROW
12.16am An Byeong-hun (Kor)
12.27am Bubba Watson
12.38am Francesco Molinari (Ita)
THE MASTERS
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Having grown up in Columbia, South Carolina, just an hour’s drive away, the American has long dreamt of winning the Masters.
“I keep getting better and keep getting more comfortable the more times I play it,” Johnson added. “I definitely get excited. I can feel it coming down the stretch because I want to win.
“As long as the game stays in good form, I’m hopefully going to be around here on Sunday and have a chance to win.”
Another player in the hunt but also has something to prove to the critics is Rory McIlroy.
While the Northern Irishman is fairly confident of one day winning the Masters and completing the career Grand Slam, he has also been around the block often enough to know that nothing is guaranteed in golf.
He is all too aware that Australian Greg Norman and South Africa’s Ernie Els, among others, never took the final step to a Green Jacket for all the times they contended at Augusta.
Nine years have passed since McIlroy frittered away a four-shot final-round lead at the tournament and he has competed in five Masters since first being afforded the chance to complete the career Grand Slam here. He will get another chance to become the sixth player to complete the modern Grand Slam this weekend, but with his last Major coming in 2014, he can take nothing for granted.
“There are a lot of great people that have played this game that have never won a Green Jacket,” the world No. 5 said on Tuesday.
“It’s not a foregone conclusion, and I know that. I have to go out and earn it.”
McIlroy, however, brushed off suggestions that DeChambeau’s unprecedented power game will bludgeon the field, insisting “there is still a lot of different aspects that you need to master in this game”.
Jon Rahm also knows it is time he adds a first Major to his resume.
The world No. 2 will play alongside sixth-ranked DeChambeau in the first two rounds and has enjoyed a blockbuster year – he clinched the BMW Championship and Memorial, and had a brief stint at the top of the rankings.
Forty years after Seve Ballesteros claimed Spain’s first Masters victory, Rahm wants to follow in his footsteps and bring home a sixth green jacket for his country, particularly as compatriot and 2017 Masters winner Sergio Garcia was earlier this week ruled out due to a positive Covid-19 test.
“There’s such (a) Spanish history of champions here, with three great champions (including Jose Maria Olazabal) and three idols of mine, that I would love to be able to add my name to that list,” he said. “Especially this year, being a little bit sad that Sergio is not going to be able to be part of this. My heart goes out to him.
“You don’t need to play perfect golf to win at Augusta National. You just need to stay true to yourself and just play the best you can with what you have at the moment. I’ve erred about being too aggressive in the past and I’ve made birdies, but I’ve also made some big numbers.”
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What’s different about a November Masters?
NO PATRONS, NO ROARS
The most conspicuous difference will be the quiet, spectator-less grounds throughout the week. This has been the norm in golf and other sports for months, but the Masters has a special relationship with its live audience, whose members are called “patrons”.
An Augusta National course without patrons will look odd, but quantifying a crowd’s impact is a challenge, particularly on the back nine holes where Augusta’s famed roars have provided the soundtrack to the event’s most memorable finishes. But not having to deal with the distractions could also be an advantage.
THE WEATHER
For all the concerns about a frigid Masters, temperatures should approximate April’s. Instead, thunderstorms will likely be a far greater threat than the temperature. Players have said the course appears to be playing longer and that chipping around the greens could be impacted if rain rolls across Augusta.
FEWER AZALEAS, MORE FALL FOLIAGE
The timing of the tournament lends itself to different playing conditions and, for connoisseurs of Augusta National’s flora, a different landscape marked more by dogwoods and maples.
The ropes and grandstands are absent this year, replaced by dark painted lines to keep the handful of people at the course out of play and there are some hints of autumn colour.
Some shots, players like Brooks Koepka have suggested, may be more tempting because they are more visible because of the lack of leaves or, in some spots, fans.
A SPLIT TEE START
With limited daylight in November, the Masters will use a two-tee start for the first two rounds – players will begin on the No. 1 and No. 10 tees in early and late morning waves. The tournament used the rare two-tee start for the final round last year, when it raced to beat afternoon thunderstorms that had been forecast.
NYTIMES