2017 Masters: Will Mother Nature Help McIlroy Get His Career Grand Slam?
With storms threatening, Rory McIlroy could find inclement weather advancing his Grand Slam bid.
Weather factors into every golf tournament, and the Masters is no exception. Those who have the early tee times on Friday may have the worst of the draw, at least according to David Duval and Notah Begay commenting on Golf Channel during Live at The Masters.
Duval said that the temperatures on Friday morning, low 40s expected, will have a dramatic difference in how the course plays and how the golfers perform. As most golfers know, the ball just does not fly as far when it is cold, so it will be a situation of constant adjustment as the round progresses, Friday in particular.
Fortunately, most of the favorites will not be affected. Unfortunately, those playing between 8 and 10 AM Friday probably will not be happy about it.
That includes former champs Mark O’Meara, Ian Wosonam, Jose Maria Olazabal, Danny Willet, Charl Schwartzel and Vijay Singh; Ryder Cup hero, Ryan Moore; multiple major champ Ernie Els, and reigning British Open champ Henrik Stenson, to name just a few.
Those escaping the ultra-early Friday time include Rory McIlroy at 10:34 alongside Jon Rahm; Justin Thomas at 10:45; Bubba Watson, Jimmy Walker and Dustin Jonson at 10:56.
Those getting the best of it include Ryder Cup captain Jim Furyk at 11:51; Adam Scott at 12:46 with Kevin Kisner; Rickie Fowler at 1:19; Jordan Spieth at 1:41; Phil Mickelson at 1:52 and Justin Rose and Jason Day last off at 2:03. They will definitely have the best of the temperature conditions.
Wind Could Cause Big Problems for Some
Notah Begay felt that the wind would be more of a problem for club selection than the cold.
On Thursday, winds are expected to be 24 MPH from the west, and on Friday 22 MPH from the west-northwest. If they gust all day, then everyone is equally affected. If they are not as strong in the morning or late in the day, certain tee times get an advantage.
No golfers like playing in the wind, and playing in the wind on a golf course as demanding as Augusta National, as it is set up for the Masters, is a recipe for problems, particularly on holes with water. You know what that means. Amen Corner may become Curse Corner. People may need to lay up instead of going for the 13th and 15th in two. Unfortunately, there’s no bail-out at the 12th.
McIlroy Excels in Wet Conditions
What could be an additional deciding factor is rain. One storm system, complete with damaging winds and great downpours of rain, came through Augusta on Monday afternoon, and another is slated to arrive sometime Wednesday.
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One golfer in particular has had remarkable success in wet conditions, so much so, that should it stay wet, or should the dampness last through the first two rounds, he has to be favored. That is Rory McIlroy. His first U.S. Open was at Congressional CC, and McIlroy turned what is typically a difficult track into a dart board. He finished eight shots ahead of the next golfer, who happened to be none other than Jason Day.
Dampness widens fairways for the long hitters, keeping the ball in play more than a dry fairway, which allows the ball to potentially roll into rough. Not that McIlroy missed many shots that week. Regardless, the damp conditions at Congressional made it easier for balls to hit and stop on the greens. It slowed the greens down, too.
If the green surfaces at Congressional were like a damp sponge, Augusta National will be more like a piece of burned toast in terms of how much they will give. Not that the greens at Augusta are burned anything. But for sure they aren’t soft, and they don’t leave big dents like the courses you’ve played right after a rain. Unfortunately, we don’t have a Mohs hardness scale for greens like there is for metals so it’s damp sponge on one end and burned toast on the other.
At the Masters, due to the SubAir system under the greens, the club can control how much moisture remains on the putting surface. They can control the green speeds and receptivity to balls hitting the greens.
If McIlroy is to gain any favor from the weather conditions in his quest for the career grand slam, he needs to hope for a deluge on Wednesday and that the course does not dry out quickly. He could be more favored the wetter the course becomes.
One thing is for sure: we are about to find out if Mother Nature is Irish.
Next: 2017 Masters Power Rankings
Keep an eye on the weather forecast as well as the leaderboard. Mother Nature may play a bigger role this week than she typically does during Masters Week.