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The best – and longest – week of the year has finally reached Thursday. Rejoice golf fans, we’ve made it to the first round of the Masters. It’s shaping up to be an incredible one …

Aligning for an all-timer

AUGUSTA, Ga. – One of Augusta National’s most redeeming qualities, shared by all the best-designed courses in the world, is that it can shine under (almost) any circumstance. A wet golf course is usually a killer of entertainment and strategy, but even in a rain-soaked year, Augusta National still demands a variety of shot shapes, precision and a keen eye around the greens, even if it’s slightly less enjoyable to watch. That outcome happens more often than you’d hope because the weather can’t be controlled.

So I’m making a plea this year: Cherish this Masters.

Outside of a bit of rain last Sunday, Augusta National has spent the last week baking in the sun. Temperatures have stayed temperate but the wind began to kick up Wednesday and will remain up on Thursday. The course is firm and fast, which will demand better strategy and performance from the field. I thought first-timer Chris Gotterup summed the challenge up well.

“It's all about placement,” Gotterup said. “I think putting gets hard here if you're not in the right spot, and I think that comes from tee to green more so than putting and chipping and stuff like that.”

It’s a simple idea that gets overlooked. Whether you putt well is largely dependent on where you’re putting from. The same goes for chipping. You’re likely not going to chip it well if you’ve left yourself short-sided in a bunker, or putt well if your ball is behind the pin on a green that slopes severely back to front. Your fate in those areas is decided off the tee and on approach. It’s particularly pivotal with the severe green complexes at Augusta National, and when it's firm like this, it shrinks the margins of which shots work out and which ones will make bogey a dream. It also increases the volatility. One example: The 13th hole has become a frequent layup since they moved the tee further back. But the conditions will allow players to hit it further down the chute, and goad players into going for the green.

“It brings 7s and 3s into play,” Max Homa said.

And that’s all we want as viewers: consequence. It’s what keeps us on the edge of our seats as the ball is in the air.

Each of the last five Masters champions finished outside the top 10 in Strokes Gained: Putting but finished either first or second in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green. With these conditions that will likely continue. The best tee-to-green players this year are: Rory McIlroy (+1.933), Matt Fitzpatrick (+1.667) and Collin Morikawa (+1.646).

We’ll end with this quote, which should have everyone excited.

“It's going to probably get brown and crusty,” Jordan Spieth said. “Just with the weather coming, it's going to be so nice that I think they're going to let it go a little bit.”

Playing through

• 🤯 Yes, it’s possible for players to have too much information on Augusta National. I wrote about why …
• 📈Sunday’s round gets all the love, but it was a different stretch that won Rory McIlroy the Masters. I dove into the data with my friends from Data Golf …
• 🗣️What have the top players said this week? Well, a lot. We distilled it down to the most insightful …

Golden hour at Augusta

Beggars can’t be choosers, but if there’s a day that you can ever find your way onto Augusta National for the Masters, try your darndest to make it Wednesday.

There’s a few reasons for this: You’re still able to bring in a camera and take a group photo at Amen Corner that you’ll keep forever. You get to see the competitors’ last preparations, and if you stay late enough, you see the few players still trying to find something (like Bryson DeChambeau this go around). There’s the Par 3 Contest, and that’s a fun time, but it also offers the perfect distraction. Which brings us to the real reason you should try and score a Wednesday ticket.

As the masses head across the property in the afternoon to watch Frankie Fleetwood try his hardest and see Gary Player turn back the clock, the real knowers grab a Crow’s Nest from the concessions and head for Amen Corner to get a glimpse of the most serene version of Augusta National that mere mortals will experience. There you’ll find only a dozen or so other patrons hanging by the 12th tee box, watching the grounds crew meticulously re-sodding the tee box. You’ll reach the crosswalk in front of the 15th pond and linger for a while, because there are no longer any volunteers to tell you to keep it moving. You’ll stand at the base of the 18th tee box and try to pick your own line, arguing with your friends without worry of speaking in anyone’s back swing because there’s barely any patrons around, let alone players.

This is Wednesday golden hour at the Masters, and it’s glorious. I did all these things this Wednesday, a quick reprieve from the firehose of content that is the early week of the Masters. It’s as close as you can get to perfection. I hope everyone has a chance to experience it someday.

Parting shots

• ❓Collin Morikawa’s health remains a major question as we start the opening round. He’s hit no more than 50 range balls per day as he continues to work his way back from the back spasms that forced him to withdraw from THE PLAYERS Championship. His speed is down, and his confidence is shaky, as evidenced by referencing Bailey Shoemaker, the woman who made news for slow play during the Augusta National Women’s Amateur due to “mental battles.”
• 🍽️ Tons of praise coming from the former champions about Rory McIlroy's dinner. "It's one of the best, like, dinners that we've had," Spieth said.
• 😂 Augusta National has gotten cheeky with some of the tee times in recent years. One thing they’ve loved to do: Stick one of the longest hitters with one of the shortest. We’ve got that this year with José María Olazábal and Aldrich Potgieter.
• 👏 Hand up, I thought Frankie Fleetwood had no chance of getting it to the ninth green Wednesday during the Par 3 Contest. But distance wasn’t the issue, just aim. It’s coming, Frankie, keep at it!

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