The hole at Augusta which Butch Harmon claims is playing harder than ever before this year
· Yahoo Sports
Augusta National’s setup has been highly critiqued throughout the first three days of The Masters.
After Thursday, it looked like the golf course would play tougher than ever, as the greens were running firm and fast all afternoon. But Augusta National watered the golf course before Friday, and it became far easier for the players.
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The start to Saturday was a birdie fest as the chasing pack hunted down Rory McIlroy’s six shot lead. But as they turned the corner to the second nine, Augusta National had enough of being made a fool of.
Players constantly found the water as they neared the 18th hole, from McIlroy, to Young, to Lowry. But there was one hole in particular that Butch Harmon said was harder than he has ever seen.
Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty ImagesButch Harmon said Augusta National’s 15th hole played the hardest he’s ever seen
The 15th hole gave everyone problems on Thursday, and on Saturday it bared its teeth again. Young and Lowry found the water on the par five, and countless players, including Scottie Scheffler, bounced off the back.
Harmon said on Sky Sports commentary, “I think the 15th this year has played the hardest it has ever played. I have never seen so many high numbers on that hole.”
Tiger Woods’ former coach has been around the game long enough to know just how difficult the hole was playing, but it was a surprising comment given how easy Augusta had played earlier in the day.
Unless they water the ground again, expect more of the same down the stretch on Sunday.
Players who fell victim to the 15th hole on Saturday
The 15th green is a difficult task at the best of times, but during round three it was so firm that players did not know what to do with it. Sam Burns, Justin Rose and Scheffler were among those to bounce off the back and face a difficult chip coming back the other way.
All of them, however, managed to save par, but that wasn’t the case for those who hit the water on the front.
Young and Haotong Li both made that error, and both dropped a single shot after terrific recoveries from the drop zone. Luckily for these players, the 15th didn’t put too much of a dent in their scorecards, but it took their best golf to avoid doubles.