Posted 4/14/03 9:57 am ET

Differing opinion

Augusta chairman disagrees with Nicklaus

AUGUSTA, Ga. (Reuters) -- Tournament organizers have said Jack Nicklaus is incorrect in his assessment that shorter hitters of the golf ball will be penalized by the ultra-long layout for this year's Masters.

Nicklaus is a record six-time winner of the Masters and knows the famous course better than most but Augusta National chairman Hootie Johnson believes the golfing great, on this occasion, has got it wrong.

"I disagree with Jack," Johnson told reporters on Wednesday. "The headlines in the paper this morning said that Jack said the changes [in lengthening the course] are going to eliminate half the field.

"Well, I don't believe that. I don't think there will be any more separation in the field than there has been in the past."

Nine of Augusta's holes have been lengthened since last year's Masters and the par-72 course, now playing at 7,270 yards, is the fifth longest layout in major championship history.

Nicklaus on Tuesday claimed that moderate or short hitters would probably be eliminated from the tournament as a result.

"Any time anybody hits the ball further than another person and can do things to a golf course that somebody else can't do -- and they play well -- they are going to have an advantage," he said.

But Johnson refutes this, saying he has heard only praise from players of the new-look course during the build-up to the 66th Masters, which gets under way on Thursday.

"Rocco Mediate and Paul Azinger were down here last week, and they could not be more pleased," he said. "I think they are considered medium hitters, but they could not be more pleased with the changes.

"They thought the changes gave them a better chance to win. They liked the idea of having their 6-iron versus a long hitter's 8-iron [for a second shot into a par-four hole], as opposed to their 8-iron versus the long player's pitching wedge.

"I think almost universally, the players have accepted the changes or received them with excitement and with pleasure. We hear a lot about the length, and that the course now favors the long hitter."

Augusta National has been stretched by 285 yards since Tiger Woods won last year's tournament by two shots from David Duval and Johnson said the main reason for the course-lengthening was to prevent players from hitting easy sand wedges into the par-4s for their second shots.

"It takes us a while to make a decision down here, but the rapid pace of change [in the global game] has kind of speeded up our decision-making process," said Johnson. "Last year, before the tournament, we recognized we had to make some changes to some of the par-4s; we needed to strengthen them.

"During last year's tournament, he [course architect Tom Fazio] and I were down on [par-4 hole] 11, and we saw Phil Mickelson's drive come down there. We thought somebody had chipped out of the woods.

"After he made his shot, I went under the rope and saw he [Mickelson] was just 94 yards from the green. I said to Tom: 'Heck, man, no question about what we are about. We should be more aggressive with what we are doing.'"

Fazio has since overseen the course changes at Augusta and Johnson, by and large, believes the results are exactly what he and his committee had in mind.

"Mr. [Clifford] Roberts [Augusta National co-founder with Bobby Jones] responded to the lady who told him that he had a perfect tournament. He said: 'Thank you very much, but we really never get it right.' And that may be true with the golf course [this year]," said Johnson.

"We had it [the course] like we wanted it on Sunday and Monday. That would be what we would hope to achieve for the rest of the week."

 

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