AUGUSTA - Tiger Woods has been the reigning Masters champion for 19 months.
That’s a long time to have the famed green jacket off site. If Woods wins again, he can only keep it for five months. With the coronavirus pandemic wreaking havoc on the sports landscape, there has been an odd time frame between the 2019 and 2021 Masters.
Woods was hoping to keep the green jacket for so long with back-to-back wins. You know, add a sixth Masters championship in 2020 to the fifth he won so dramatically last year.
“It’s not how I wanted to retain the jacket for this long,” Woods said. “Obviously this has been an unprecedented circumstance we’re all dealing with. It’s been incredible to have the jacket and to have it around the house and to share with people, but to have it this long, it’s not the way I want to have it. I wanted to earn it back in April, but obviously we didn’t have that.
"But we had an opportunity to play this week, which, you know, early in the year, we didn’t think we would have this opportunity. We are all very fortunate to be able to compete, and tonight, and, well, this whole day, is awfully special.
“I may never have the opportunity to take the jacket off property again, and so this means a lot to me today.”
No fans might help DeChambeau
Bryson DeChambeau will miss the fans at the Masters but the lack of spectators might give him an advantage on some holes at Augusta National.
DeChambeau has taken golf by storm of late with his dramatically increased length, including his recent win at the U.S. Open.
In preparing for the Masters without fans, DeChambeau plans to hit drives where he would normally not be able to land his golf ball. He cited Nos. 13 and 18.
“But as of this year, it’s going to be different because I’m going to be able to hit it on certain lines where patrons would be, and I feel like that it does provide me a little bit of an advantage in that case to be able to hit into those areas without thinking about it at all,” DeChambeau said Tuesday.
“So you know, that would be the best answer I can give on that because you look at 18, I’m hopefully going to be able to hit it over those bunkers where the patrons would be. Another one would be 13 even. I can hit it through almost into 14 and they would be there, so this is a unique opportunity I think this year.”
To skip or not to skip?
It’s a long-standing fan favorite for players to skip a ball across the pond at the par-3 16th during practice rounds. But what do you do if there are no fans?
Jon Rahm kept the tradition alive on Tuesday despite the empty course – and he made quite a memory. Rahm skipped a ball that hit water four times, jumped up on the green, rolled to the back of the green, took the break to the back-left pin location and – plunk – found the bottom of the cup for a hole-in-one.
“I don’t know if it’s the look that I’ll miss or if it’s the atmosphere, it’s the buzz, it’s the excitement, it’s the anticipation,” Rory McIlroy said of the difference between an April and November Masters. “I was saying ... earlier, Jon Rahm holed his shot on 16 today skipping it over the water. Just imagine the roars that would have created in a normal year. That would have been pretty cool.”
Not everyone, however, is choosing to play to the non-patron crowd.
Justin Thomas played with a group that included Gary Woodland, Rickie Fowler and Jordan Spieth on Sunday.
“It’s definitely for the fans,” Thomas said Tuesday. "Sunday we were going to skip and we had a group of members behind us, and they were on the 15th green, so we didn’t feel the need to hold them up.
“And then yesterday Tiger (Woods) and Freddy (Couples) didn’t really want to and I kind of do whatever they say around this place, so I’m 0 for 2.”
Honorary start
With 7 a.m. tee times to start Round 1 of the Masters on Thursday, that means it’s an early start for honorary starters Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player. They will officially open the 2020 Masters at 6:50 a.m.
Limited stay in Crow’s Nest for Tech’s Ogletree
Andy Ogletree will have a short stay in the Crow’s Nest — but not because the Georgia Tech golfer won’t play well at the Masters.
It’s just another break from tradition due to the coronavirus.
Staying in the Crow’s Nest of the Augusta National club house is one of the perks for the amateurs in the field for the Masters. However, due to the pandemic, only one amateur can stay in the noted on-course accommodations at a time for social distancing. Ogletree, who won the 2019 U.S. Amateur and delayed turning pro to play in the Masters, will stay Wednesday night, on the eve of the tournament following the Amateur dinner.
If there is a chance, Ogletree said he like to stay another night. That will depend on how well he and the other five amateurs in the field play.
Ogletree will be paired with Tiger Woods for the first two rounds.
No need to be perfect to win Masters
Rahm, who is making his fourth Masters appearance, said he got some good advice from Phil Mickelson about what it takes to win this tournament.
"He’s told me many times, you don’t need to play perfect golf to win at Augusta National. After watching many of the Sunday broadcasts that they have been kind enough to post online, you see the leader making mistakes on Sundays. You see everybody making mistakes.
“So it’s something that everybody is going to do. You’re not going to play flawless and go bogey free for 72 holes out here because it nearly impossible. Just understand that you don’t need to hit every shot perfect, and you’re allowed to make some mistakes, and you can still actually get it done and win a tournament without playing perfect.”
Rahm, currently ranked No. 2 in the world, said he is very confident heading into the week, especially after a second-place finish at the Zozo Championship last month.
Weather update
The rain that is expected all week in Augusta will likely start today. Weather forecasts call for a chance of rain starting mid-afternoon with increasing chances of thunderstorms overnight.
Interviews
It’s a big day for pre-tournament interviews on Tuesday with Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau scheduled to speak.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution will continue its full coverage of the Masters. Check back throughout the day for updates to this story and additional news, features and photos.
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