AUGUSTA, Ga. – With the Augusta National clubhouse a few paces behind him, Jason Day peered down the hill toward a yawning portion of the fairway on the first hole. Just a few hours into the 90th Masters, the verdant green grass had already started to subtly take on a new shade in a handful of patches.

“You start seeing the purple,” Day said. “When you start seeing that tinge of purple, that’s when you know it’s starting to get firm and fast.”

The weather forecast for this week has become an increasing talking point on the grounds in Augusta, due in large part to its simplicity: sunny, hot and with just enough wind to keep players on their toes. A seven-year stretch of rain featured somewhere within Masters week is set to end. Even last year, while the tournament rounds went uninterrupted, Monday’s practice round was a rainy washout to the point where patrons who had tickets for the day were issued make-good tickets to attend this year on Monday. The venue dried out from there, but it never fully baked out after such a soggy starting point.

This time around, Augusta National had been set on broil for three full days before players encountered demanding conditions in the opening round. With nothing but sunshine ahead over the next three days, the field is coming to grips with a reality that packs enough punch to put even the best in the world on their heels. By the time we get to Sunday, this place will be as firm and as fast as the folks in the green jackets want it to be.

“I think this could be the toughest Masters we’ve played in a while,” said Shane Lowry after an opening-round 69. “You look at the forecast, and they can do whatever they want with the golf course this weekend.”

The proof was in the pudding during Thursday’s opener, where a world-class field played to a stroke average of nearly 74.7. Only three holes – Nos. 2, 8 and 13 – played under par for the day. The seemingly innocuous par-4 seventh played to an average of 4.418 while yielding just two birdies all day, making it the hardest hole of the round and inching past what has been its historically highest average for an entire tournament week (4.402 in 1972).

That summation was likely music to the ears of Patrick Reed, who won here in 2018 – the last time we went the entirety of Masters week without any precipitation. He matched Lowry’s 3-under effort in the opening round to sit two shots off the early lead. Conditions were so firm, Reed shared, that he broke his tee while trying to repair a ball mark on the 17th green.

“You know it’s going to get fast, and it’s going to take a lot of patience,” Reed said. “You’re going to have to hit the ball solid and put the ball in the right spots. When you do, be patient and try to minimize errors.”

Despite the challenge, there was the slightest hint of a grin from defending champion Rory McIlroy, who found himself back in the interview room after a 5-under 67 gave him a share of the lead. McIlroy admitted that, by his estimation, his overall play should have yielded a score closer to 2-under. But he’s not planning to donate any of the birdies he found in the opening round, knowing full well just how much the quest will morph and shift over the next 72 hours.

“When the greens do get firm like this, it makes it a much more tactical test,” McIlroy said. “You really have to think about things. As you guys know, I’ve said for the last few years, I’ve started to really relish that type of golf.”

Exacting conditions mean razor-thin margins for error, and that dynamic played out in a big way on Thursday. A matter of feet separated a great shot and potential birdie putt from the makings of a disaster.

Early morning stumbles are commonplace in the opening round, but they were especially exacting among the contingent of 22 first-timers who likely haven’t encountered conditions like this in previous competition. It wasn’t until Jacob Bridgeman chipped in from behind the 18th green to close out a 1-under 71 that one of the debutants got back to the clubhouse in red figures, a testament to how important past experience around Augusta National can prove when things firm up.

But the thin margins took their toll on even the most experienced players in the field. Fred Couples and José María Olazábal, with 78 Masters appearances and three green jackets between them, were each exceeding expectations when they faced short wedge shots on the par-5 15th to potentially set up birdie. But they each found the water from short range – Olazábal once en route to a double bogey, Couples twice on his way to a quad – to derail hours of admirable effort.

“I felt I didn’t mis-hit the shot, to be honest,” Olazabal said. “I think a couple more yards, it would have been perfect. But it’s one of those things. I mean, Augusta is like that. Five feet can make a huge difference.”

Inches here. Feet there. The targets can prove maddeningly small, even in the most idyllic conditions. But things can change quickly around Augusta National, and the savvy vets know that the conditions they faced in the opener won’t bear much resemblance to what they’ll be asked to conquer come Sunday, given that Mother Nature has decided to sit back and watch how things play out from here.

Some will shy away from the challenge. Others will step up to the plate. But one thing seems certain: patrons on-site and fans watching at home are about to be treated to a once-a-decade confluence of circumstances where the best shots will be rewarded – but those just short of that threshold will be repelled without prejudice.

Fun to watch. Less fun to have to navigate, one shot at a time.

“Over the last few years, we’ve had a day every year where it’s been raining or it’s been heavy rains," Lowry said. "It’s kind of helped us a little bit. But I think before the week is out, it’s going to get very, very crusty around here.”