By Doug Sack

Tiger takes on tougher track

The 2002 Masters, which begins today (Thursday, April 11) on Augusta National in Augusta, Georgia, could be one of the most interesting major championships in years because of what happened to the course after last year’s event: A major rebuild adding 285 yards to Augusta’s length.

Here are the eight holes which have been changed:
• No. 1: Longer to carry the bunker
• No. 7: Tighter than ever
• No. 8: 305 to carry fairway bunker
• No. 9: New trees catch errant drives
• No. 11: It takes a mid-iron to the green
• No. 13: Harder to reach green in two
• No. 14: A 7-iron to the green
• No. 18: Now a stern, final test

Of course, thanks mainly to Sports Illustrated comments in the March 11 issue by former basketball player Charles Barkley who said the changes were racially-motivated to prevent Tiger Woods from winning again, far too many writers have referred to the changes as "Tiger-proofing" Augusta which simply isn’t true and Woods himself isn’t buying Barkley’s comments. "They told me the changes were made to prepare the course for the next generation of golfers coming behind me," said Woods and most objective observers will agree with him.

It’s been proven time and time again lengthening golf courses does NOT penalize the long hitters as much as the short hitters. Tiger and the other big boomers will still reach the par fives in two but little guys like Jeff Sluman will probably have to lay up and wedge in on all of them except possibly the downhill 13th.

Although the extra yardage will make Augusta the fifth-longest course ever played in a major championship, it still won’t make it a nightmare like Carnoustie in 1999 because they still don’t believe in rough in Georgia. If they truly wanted to "Tiger-proof" the course, they would have let the rough grow but there won’t be any more rough this year than any other year. The Litmus Test on the changes will be the 13th. Tiger used to hit driver-wedge to this par five. It’s my guess it will now be a driver-six iron or seven iron for Woods, still an awfully easy approach shot for a par five. The most significant changes will be on two of the par fours, #11, the start of Amen Corner and the finishing hole, #18. Both of these holes had grown too soft over the years. The 11th has always been one of the tougher approach shots at Augusta because of the pond on the left but it wasn’t a tough shot with a short iron. Now it will require a mid-iron to a tough green and that will create bogeys and doubles just before the nerve-wracking swing on #12, arguably the most famous and toughest par three in the world.

The finishing hole at Augusta should be one of the toughest par fours in the world and it was, at one time. The hole was designed to require an accurate tee shot staying out of the bunkers on the left. However, in the last ten years or so when ball and club technology lengthened tee shots, most everyone just blew it over the bunkers and had only a 150 yard short iron left to the elevated green. The hole had become benign but those days are now gone as it will take over a 300 yard drive to clear the bunkers this weekend and we will see more bogeys on 18 this year than we have ever seen before. Hopefully, that particular change will provide some last hole drama on Sunday and a fitting wind-up to golf’s most familiar major championship. To a longtime observer, those new 285 yards of "Tiger-proofing" are much ado about nothing because Augusta almost always comes down to putting. Woods is still the favourite to win because he is still the best pressure putter in the world. Phil Mickelson, David Duval and Davis Love, none of whom have won a green jacket yet, are still the favourites to choke.

And, should Woods falter or play poorly, there are a host of great players like Vijay Singh, Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Jose Maria Olazabal and Sergio Garcia waiting to step up to the haberdasher to be fitted for green jackets. Of course, Woods is the defending champion looking for his third jacket to go with the ones he won in 1997 and 2001 and that might be the storyline of the weekend. Although 12 men have won multiple jackets over the years, only two, Jack Nicklaus in 1965-66 and Nick Faldo in 1989-90 have won them consecutively and successfully defended.

If Tiger becomes the third, that should put an end to mindless speculation about "Tiger-proofing" Augusta National for racist reasons.