Maniacal Masters? Players bracing themselves for Augusta National at its crustiest

AUGUSTA – With no rain in the forecast and sunny, warm conditions expected through the weekend, the players at the 2026 Masters said they are at the mercy of the tournament officials setting up Augusta National for the final 54 holes.

Defending champion Rory McIlroy and Sam Burns handled the conditions best, sharing the lead on five-under 67 after the opening day on April 9.

“I think this could be the toughest Masters we’ve played in a while,” Ireland’s Shane Lowry said after posting a two-under 70. “You look at the forecast. They can do whatever they want with the golf course this weekend.

“I think over the last few years we’ve had a day every year where it’s been raining or it’s been heavy rains. It’s kind of helped us a little bit, but I think before the week is out, it’s going to get very, very crusty around here.”

Patrick Reed was at four under when he struck what he thought was an excellent seven-wood towards the par-five 15th hole. The ball landed on the green but bounded over it and down into the water 40 yards away.

Regardless of the bad break, he said “bring it on” when asked about the likelihood of an increasingly difficult Augusta National. He is joint-third on three-under 69, alongside Kurt Kitayama and Jason Day.

“They could make this place really, really hard if they wanted to,” he said. “I wouldn’t be surprised. We have the best players in the world here. Why not? Challenge us and make it difficult, because it’s one of these golf courses, though, if you hit quality golf shots, you’re going to get rewarded for it.

“If it’s going to firm up and it’s going to get faster and faster, you’re just going to have to hit quality golf shots and know where you are going to hit the ball.”

“It’s like a Saturday firm I would say for a Thursday, which is not really normal,” added Australian Min Woo Lee.

The par-fives – outside of the aforementioned 15th – were the only holes to play under par on April 9. The par-four seventh hole played the hardest at an average of 4.42 shots. The back nine had four of the six hardest holes in the first round, including the closing two holes tying for the fourth-hardest at 4.33.

The first-round scoring average steadily increased throughout the day and finished at 74.65.

Lowry, Reed and McIlroy, who each took advantage of earlier tee times on April 9, went out in the afternoon on April 10, when conditions are expected to be at their firmest and fastest.

McIlroy said conditions like these are why he switched to a softer golf ball that allows him to generate more spin and stop it quicker on the greens.

“I’ve said for the last few years that I’ve started to really relish that type of golf. I really want to excel at that type of golf,” he said. “When these greens get fast – last year they got really fast and firm on Sunday – but I think you’re going to see that for the next three days.

“There’s still opportunities to shoot really, really good scores,” McIlroy added. “Look at Justin Rose last year on the final day (six under). But it takes a very, very good, solid round of golf to do that.”

Rose, three off the lead after an opening 70, says even fans of severe challenges might have their limits pushed this week. “Every player would say they would like it firm and fast,” he said. “But I think there’s a boundary to that.”

Rose, who lost a play-off to McIlroy at the 2025 Masters, is in a wait-until-Sunday mode.

“I think the lead at this point is irrelevant,” he said. “There’s so much golf ahead that there’s no point in even looking at who is doing what at this moment in time.

“It’s just about executing your strategy, feeling like you can run the clock down, playing as well as you can, and then towards the end you’ve got to figure out if you need to change your strategy. But until the final few holes really it’s just about doing as good as you can do.”

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler was on 70 as well. Rose, Xander Schauffele and Lowry accompany him in tied-sixth.

“I did a good job of staying patient and playing smart. Overall, I’m pretty proud of the effort,” Scheffler said. “I feel like I’m in a good spot.”

He figures Augusta National officials can make the course as difficult as they want.

“We’ll see how much they want to push it in the next few days,” Scheffler said. “So much of this course is wait and see, so we’ll see.” REUTERS, AFP