This Weekend We'll Find Out Just Where The Augusta Gang Stands

The first two days at Augusta National provided quite the study in contrasts. Round one said to the players, go play and if there's nasty weather, the course will still be playable.

Round two said, we don't like those low scores even though most longtime observers said it was the best opening day they could remember.

Both days were directly influenced by the hole locations and tee placements. And even though the wind appeared much worse in round one, the course played nearly a stroke and a half tougher Friday (73.15 to 74.51).

Bob Harig noted the setup in his story:

A relatively simple first-round setup led to 31 scores below par, including 16 players shooting in the 60s. On Friday, the Augusta stroke average went up by more than a shot, and Ian Poulter figured it was no coincidence.

"It was windier yesterday, but the pin locations today were a lot more difficult," said Poulter, who is tied for the lead with fellow Englishman Lee Westwood. "I think the number of scores under par [is] probably a factor in some of those pins being tucked where they were. And so I would have said it was playing a lot tougher than yesterday, for sure."

Rex Hoggard complimented the competition committee for Thursday's restrained approach and the impact it had on the quality of the championship:

Day 1 at the Masters may have been the most eventful in decades, if not ever. Most agreed Thursday’s pins were as kind as Augusta National can offer and there is a good chance the softer side of the Georgia gem didn’t come about by chance.

The best way for a curious public to move beyond the Tiger Show was a leaderboard dotted with legends (Fred Couples and Tom Watson) and headliners (Woods, Phil Mickelson and Lee Westwood) and few places can serve up storylines better than Augusta National.

For a public seeing red, and not the traditional Sunday shade, the best way to change the subject was with some old fashion red on the leaderboard.

When you consider how Mike Davis sets up U.S. Open courses, you sense there is a plan and a goal of providing a different test each day, but not one so radically different as to have such extremes. More importantly, you sense it's laid out in advance with the only changes addressing weather.

At Augusta they give the impression that the committee makes it up as they go, even though I know that's certainly not the case. But it's easy to believe they make decisions based on scoring or their mood and that the next two days could offer us any number of possibilities.

I'm guessing they'll go with their trend of late: tough Saturday and after the boys have been put through misery, Daddy will let them have their fun on Sunday. Why the committee can't just provide a nice blend of hole locations all four days and step back from the picture to allow the players to play, I'll never understand.

So this weekend, with its epic leaderboard and ideal weather forecast should tell us just how the committee views the role of golf course setup. Let's hope they decide it's about the players and not themselves.