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Augusta brings out the best
Masters has always showcased the greats' talents
Posted: Sunday April 14, 2002 10:46 PM
Updated: Sunday April 14, 2002 10:57 PM
By DAVID BARRETT
Senior Editor, GOLF MAGAZINE
Through the years, Augusta National has been the stage on which golf's greatest stars have shined their brightest. It's no different for Tiger Woods.
By winning The Masters for the third time in six years, Woods is following in the footsteps of Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, who created many of their most lasting memories on this beautiful layout in the Georgia pines. Palmer won it four times in seven years starting in 1958, with the successor to his throne, Nicklaus, claiming the 1963, '65, and '66 titles on his way to collecting a record six green jackets.
Other greats have had their own mini-eras at Augusta. Sam Snead and Ben Hogan combined to win the four titles from 1951-54. Tom Watson and Seve Ballesteros combined for four of seven from 1977-83. And Nick Faldo won two in a row in 1989-90 before adding a third in 1996.
Now along comes Woods, with back-to-back wins in 2001 and 2002 to go along with his coming-out party in 1997. What is it about Augusta that brings out the best in the best?
"I think this golf course allows you to play creatively," Woods said after he prevailed over a field of faltering contenders on Sunday. "You have to hit different shots and you have to use your imagination around the greens. At the U.S. Open and PGA Championship, that's not normally the case."
The game's heroes have all found their own ways to make Augusta play to their strengths. Hogan's pinpoint precision enabled him to place approach shots in the best positions from which to putt on the dangerous greens. Snead, one of the longest hitters of his day, was able to conquer the par fives. Palmer's aggressive style was better suited to The Masters than the U.S. Open and PGA, where he won only once total, because you have to get into red numbers to win at Augusta -- a string of pars won't do. But you can't carry it too far. If you attack indiscriminately, Augusta will bite back, with a vengeance. That's why Nicklaus won more green jackets than anyone -- he combined power with endless patience and superb course management skills.
Watson and Ballesteros were both long hitters with a silky touch around the greens, skills especially useful at Augusta. Faldo, a medium hitter, didn't have a game as well suited to The Masters as the others. In fact, he wasn't in contention at Augusta all that often, but he was the best in the world in the mid-1980s through mid-1990s at grinding away a major victory, and that's how he won three times.
Now we've come to Woods, who is making a case for being the greatest of them all. He's doing it the Nicklaus way, only better. Call it Nicklaus Squared.
Young Tiger can overpower Augusta like nobody since a young Golden Bear. That's what he did in his first victory, where he finished 12 strokes ahead of the field and made the course look small.
But there's much more to Woods than that. The only thing that matters to him is winning by any means necessary. So if it means laying up on both par fives on the back nine instead of attempting risky shots over water with a three- or four-stroke lead, as he did Sunday, then that's what he'll do. Tiger loves birdies and eagles, but he's not going to throw away a trophy by hunting for them when he doesn't need to.
Not only does he know to lay up on those holes, he knew exactly where to lay up. For example, on the 15th, Woods left himself far enough back -- about 120 yards -- to leave himself a nearly level lie. Vijay Singh, on the other hand, laid up to about 80 yards, leaving a tricky shot from a downslope. He dumped it in the pond, then hit another one in the water, too, for an unsightly nine at a time when he was the last player with a realistic chance of challenging Woods.
On that hole, Woods showed why he is the game's smartest player. That's on top of being the most talented, hardest working, and longest hitting this side of John Daly.
Woods's patience, smarts, and toughness help him in all the majors, of course. But Augusta lets him showcase his other skills, and that's why he's accumulating green jackets at a faster rate than other major trophies. That's just as true, if not more so, since the course was redesigned last summer.
The new and longer Augusta puts a driver in the players' hands more than any other major. With the second cut of rough and additional fairway bunkers in play now, it also forces them to hit the ball straight instead of just swinging for the fences. It favors the long hitter if he can control his game, control his mind, and temper his aggression when necessary. On Sunday, Woods demonstrated -- again -- that he can do all of that.
You can email your comments to David Barrett at: david.barrett@time4.com.
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