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A view of the par-3 12th hole, part of “Amen Corner,” at Augusta National. (Andrew Redington\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
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Written by Will Gray<\/p>\n
AUGUSTA, Ga. \u2013 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou start seeing the purple,\u201d Day said. \u201cWhen you start seeing that tinge of purple, that\u2019s when you know it\u2019s starting to get firm and fast.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think this could be the toughest Masters we\u2019ve played in a while,\u201d said Shane Lowry after an opening-round 69. \u201cYou look at the forecast, and they can do whatever they want with the golf course this weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n
The proof was in the pudding during Thursday\u2019s opener, where a world-class field played to a stroke average of nearly 74.7. Only three holes \u2013 Nos. 2, 8 and 13 \u2013 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).<\/p>\n
That summation was likely music to the ears of Patrick Reed, who won here in 2018 \u2013 the last time we went the entirety of Masters week without any precipitation. He matched Lowry\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know it\u2019s going to get fast, and it\u2019s going to take a lot of patience,\u201d Reed said. \u201cYou\u2019re 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
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<\/a>. McIlroy admitted that, by his estimation, his overall play should have yielded a score closer to 2-under. But he\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen the greens do get firm like this, it makes it a much more tactical test,\u201d McIlroy said. \u201cYou really have to think about things. As you guys know, I\u2019ve said for the last few years, I\u2019ve started to really relish that type of golf.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Early morning stumbles are commonplace in the opening round, but they were especially exacting among the contingent of 22 first-timers who likely haven\u2019t encountered conditions like this in previous competition. It wasn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n But the thin margins took their toll on even the most experienced players in the field. Fred Couples and Jos\u00e9 Mar\u00eda Olaz\u00e1bal, 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 \u2013 Olaz\u00e1bal once en route to a double bogey, Couples twice on his way to a quad \u2013 to derail hours of admirable effort.<\/p>\n \u201cI felt I didn\u2019t mis-hit the shot, to be honest,\u201d Olazabal said. \u201cI think a couple more yards, it would have been perfect. But it\u2019s one of those things. I mean, Augusta is like that. Five feet can make a huge difference.\u201d<\/p>\n 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\u2019t bear much resemblance to what they\u2019ll be asked to conquer come Sunday, given that Mother Nature has decided to sit back and watch how things play out from here.<\/p>\n 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 \u2013 but those just short of that threshold will be repelled without prejudice.<\/p>\n Fun to watch. Less fun to have to navigate, one shot at a time.<\/p>\n \u201cOver the last few years, we\u2019ve had a day every year where it\u2019s been raining or it\u2019s been heavy rains,” Lowry said. “It\u2019s kind of helped us a little bit. But I think before the week is out, it\u2019s going to get very, very crusty around here.\u201d<\/p>\n *:not(style){overflow:hidden;position:absolute;top:0px;right:0px;bottom:0px;left:0px;display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;width:100%;height:100%;}.css-11jnzpa>img,.css-11jnzpa>video{object-fit:cover;}.css-11jnzpa::before{height:0px;content:””;display:block;padding-bottom:66.66666666666666%;}]]> Apr 9, 2026<\/p>\n How to watch: Round 2 from the Masters<\/a>Latest<\/a>![\"Image](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/masters_htw2.jpg\"\/)
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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"6H AGO 5 Min Read Latest *:not(style){overflow:hidden;position:absolute;top:0px;right:0px;bottom:0px;left:0px;display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;width:100%;height:100%;}.css-g2vo12>img,.css-g2vo12>video{object-fit:cover;}.css-g2vo12::before{height:0px;content:””;display:block;padding-bottom:66.66666666666666%;}@media screen and (min-width: 768px){.css-g2vo12::before{padding-bottom:56.25%;}}]]> A view of the par-3 12th hole,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":575318,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[99],"class_list":{"0":"post-575317","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/575317","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=575317"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/575317\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/575318"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=575317"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=575317"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=575317"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}