Charley Hoffman prevailed spectacularly over the strong winds that stymied much of the field on Thursday, shooting a seven-under par 65 to take a four-stroke lead in the first round of the Masters.
The first words William McGirt uses to describe his style of play is, “I’m sneaky short.” In golf’s expansive arena of long hitters, this would augur a lifetime of struggle in the game. And mostly, that is what McGirt, a longtime mini-tour grinder, has known.
For the first round of the 2017 Masters the winds are expected to continue to blow north of 30 kilometres per hour for most of the day, leading to the possibility of some high scores. History tells us that likely will end any hopes for a green jacket come Sunday.
On an otherwise dark, damp Wednesday at Augusta National Golf Club, there was a bright side for Masters officials: the forecast offers wind on Thursday and Friday, but little in the way of wet weather for the remainder of the week.
With a soaking rain on Monday and Wednesday, Augusta National Golf Club won’t be playing quite as firm and fast as officials might have hoped when the tournament begins tonight. The change in conditions may prove particularly fateful for one player.
Dustin Johnson, the world’s No.1-ranked player and the favourite entering the week to win the green jacket, is questionable to compete in the Masters after suffering a freak back injury on Wednesday.
Disregard the knee-jerk response to see when Tiger Woods is playing and there’s still much to digest with the release of the groupings the first two days at Augusta National.
The disappointment of last year’s back-nine collapse follows Jordan Spieth at this year’s Masters. But it doesn’t keep him from being a favourite – if not the player to beat.
Australian Golf Digest
