AUGUSTA NATIONAL INSIDER, PART 2

BULLDOGS DISPLAY CONFIDENCE

Four Georgia Bulldogs teed it up at Augusta National in the first two rounds. Three will play into the weekend.

Bubba Watson, most notably, is the second-round leader at 7 under par. But Russell Henley also is on the leaderboard. His 2-under 70 put him at 1 under for the tournament and in a tie for 10th. Chris Kirk shot 72 to slip into weekend under the cut line at 3 under.

Henley’s game was on full display. He recorded five birdies and barely missed a sixth when he missed 10-foot putt on 18. The highlight of his day was a 55-yard chip-in for birdie on No. 17.

“I was talking to (Adam) Hayes, my caddie, and I said, ‘do we want to be short of this or past it?’” Henley recounted. “He said, ‘to be honest with you, buddy, we want to be right next to it.’ I was like, ‘oh, thanks for being honest with me.’ It was cool.”

Henley’s chip slammed into the cup off the flagstick. He also birdied 16, which followed a somewhat unlucky bogey on the par-5 15th hole.

“When they always talk about the guys 25 and under, they don’t talk about me that much, which is OK,” Henley said. “At the same time, I’m ranked 43 in the world, and I’ve won twice on the tour. I’ve played in a bunch of majors. I haven’t had that much success in them, but I do have that experience.

“Not to say that makes me a favorite for the weekend or anything. I mean, I’m a confident golfer and I’m getting more and more confident out here playing with these guys. It may be somewhat surprising to some people, but I feel like I’m right where I need to be.”

17TH REMAINS TOUGH ENOUGH

Augusta National’s membership said it would wait to see how No. 17 played this year without the Eisenhower tree before it decided how to proceed.

Based on early returns, the hole is not playing markedly different without the 65-foot loblolly pine, which was lost to the ice storm that ravaged Augusta and much of the South in February.

Historically, the Masters field has averaged 4.15 strokes on the 440-yard, par-4 hole known as “Nandina.” That’s 10th-toughest all time, and that was with the pine in play.

In the first two rounds this week, the stroke average on 17 was slightly higher at 4.227. But that probably had more to do with the fast and windy conditions.

“It’s a great hole,” said Matt Kuchar, who parred it both days. “I think it’s a nice improvement.”

The hole averaged 4.22 strokes in 2013 and 4.156 in 2012.

Though the scoring doesn’t necessarily reflect it, many golfers believe it’s easier simply from an aesthetics standpoint. Situated 210 yards from the tee up the left side of the fairway, the tree hasn’t been significant factor for years. It was the toughest hole in the 1951 Masters, but today’s golfers simply blasted their drives over and past it.

Now the golfers have a clear view of a wide, uphill fairway. The hole’s defense remains the tiny, undulating green. Traditionally it’s one of the toughest to hit.