Augusta National is perfect, and perfectly frightening

Firm and fast, and with a mischevious wind blowing out of the northwest, Augusta National wreaked havoc on scorecards all day Thursday. And the scary thing is, Masters officials have the course playing exactly the way they want.

By Dave Shedloski, PGATOUR.com Senior Correspondent

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Hootie Johnson has left the building, but the golf course he built up before abdicating the chairman's seat at Augusta National Golf Club sure raised havoc -- and razed confidence -- among contestants in the 71st Masters Tournament.

Johnson, who made way for new club chairman William Payne last fall, initiated the changes that brought Augusta National to its present 7,445 yards. That arduous length, combined with a mischievous northwest wind and terra firma that was terrifyingly firm, proved to be an evil elixir for Thursday's opening round of the Masters.

A mere nine men broke par on a sunny but sinister spring day, and the 3-under-par 69s shot by England's Justin Rose and U.S. Ryder Cup player Brett Wetterich constituted the third-highest first-round score to lead the Masters.

"The golf course has got that feel I haven't seen for years," said two-time champion Tom Watson, 57, who bogeyed the last two holes to flip his age for a 75. "It was firm in the fairways and firm on the greens, and you were going to see a lot of bounce. Add to that that this wind is always the toughest wind to play in, and you had yourself a real good test of golf."

The field scoring average at midday was 76.148. The wind ebbed slightly, yet the final scoring average hardly changed, probably because green speeds increased as the course dried out. The 96 players eventually averaged 76.195 -- the fourth-highest collective score in the opening round since 1982 -- and they made more than twice as many bogeys (464) as birdies (205). Thirty-seven men had at least one score of double bogey or higher on their cards. Rose was the only contestant without a bogey.

The par-5 second hole has never played cumulatively over par, but it did Thursday at 5.010, the second time in as many years but only the fourth time since 1997. The par-5 15th hole, another traditional host to a birdie convention, played at dead level par (5.000). The first hole, Tea Olive, was birdied by only twice, by Retief Goosen and Vijay Singh. Only the 11th played harder in relation to par.

Players noted that the course was significantly different from its condition during the practice round, and that was due almost solely to a northwest breeze that made some of Augusta's most difficult holes even more confounding, while holes playing downwind were trickier than usual.

Nos. 1, 3, 4, 13, 15 and 18 all quartered into the wind. Others like the 14th and 17th that were playing with the wind were no bargain, either, because players found it nearly impossible to stop the ball on the putting surface.

"The fairways were firm, even the rough was pretty firm, everything was firm out there," said Ernie Els, who double-bogeyed the first hole on the way to a 78. "If you mishit a shot today, you really paid the penalty."

"When it gets like this," said Ben Crenshaw, another two-time winner, "you can play solidly and then one little slip can cost you. Your short game has to be there for you, no matter who you are, and you just have to hope you put yourself in a position to minimize any damage."

Damage happened anyway. Good shots were not good enough. "You only had about 100 square feet to hit that good shot," Watson surmised.

"Management will determine the golf course," said Bart Bryant, one of 14 players at even par or better after a 72. "If the conditions stay like this and we get no moisture or they don't water, it will be extremely difficult. There are just no easy holes out there."

Davis Love III, who also grinded out an even-par 72, figured the course counterpunched about as effectively as the club would prefer and the tournament committee can decided how much more grief they want to inflict.

"They can finally do what they want to; they can dial it in right where they want it," Love said. "It's perfect right now."

And perfectly frightening.