"In this new era of maudlin Masters, the players look so glum and the crowds are so quiet."

Great minds continue to think alike, though in today's installment of the what-have-they-done-to-Augusta, one is much better looking than the other. But neither is a fan of "defensive" golf.

John Huggan chimes in with this on the state of the Masters:

Where once there was excitement and drama, now there is only tedium. Where once the virtues of imagination and flair were rewarded, more prosaic and pedestrian values now prosper to a point where the end result is less interesting to watch and to play. Gone are the strategic angles once available to those good enough and inventive enough to come up with them. Instead, the tournament committee – US Open-style – apparently decides how each player should play each hole.

Given all of the above, it is no wonder that, in this new era of maudlin Masters, the players look so glum and the crowds are so quiet. There is little or nothing to get energised about. Defensive golf and damage control is boring, a fact obvious to everyone except those running the show at Augusta National.

It used to be said that the Masters didn't start until the back nine on Sunday. Nowadays it is a bonus if it gets going at all. Nowadays a leader with any kind of edge knows he can plod along, safe in the knowledge that no-one is going to embark on the sort of charge Jack Nicklaus made when he so memorably won his sixth and last green jacket in 1986.

I mean, the winner this year shot a 75 in the final round and still won by three strokes. A 75!

Meanwhile over at Yahoo, former USC golfer and current LPGA rookie Anna Rawson shares her weekly thoughts and besides being highly entertaining, she takes some time to weigh in on The Masters.