//Is it Time to Re-Think the Masters?
masters golf
SportsNovember 17, 2020

Is it Time to Re-Think the Masters?

The 2020 Masters Golf Tournament saw a record finish by Dustin Johnson at 20 Under Par which is an amazing feat and blew away the previous scoring record by strokes. Johnson took 268 strokes to finish the four days at Augusta. When Jack Nicklaus won in 1972, he took 286 strokes to win the tournament by three. Maybe it’s time to look at the course to accommodate the new style of play.

Consider these numbers for the tournament overall:

  • Runner ups Sungjae Im and Cameron Smith finished with the lowest scores ever shot by a players who didn’t win the Masters.
  • The average score for the week was 71.752, just below the par of 72
  • The Average Drive for the Top 60 Finishers was just over 284 yards
  • The Top 20 Finishers all averaged over 70% Greens in Regulation
  • Augusta Yielded 35 Eagles Last Week

I know golf has evolved and equipment and training has changed dramatically over the past 50 years. But maybe The Masters needs to look at the course and make some adjustments. The Masters is a storied course steeped in tradition. This is not an average tournament. Tradition, pressure and great putting all factor into the winning outcome. But with nine players finishing at 10 under par or better and 33 players finishing under par, maybe it’s time to look at making the course fit the modern game.

Don’t get me wrong, Augusta can reach up and bite even the best

Past 10 Masters Winners/Runner Ups Scores

2010Phil Mickelson272Lee Westwood275
2011Charl Schwartzel274Jason Day276
Adam Scott276
2012Bubba Watson278Louis Oosthuizen278
2013Adam Scott279Ángel Cabrera279
2014Bubba Watson280Jonas Blixt283
Jordan Spieth283
2015Jordan Spieth270Phil Mickelson274
Justin Rose274
2016Danny Willett283Jordan Spieth286
Lee Westwood286
2017Sergio Garcia279Justin Rose279
2018Patrick Reed273Rickie Fowler274
2019Tiger Woods275Dustin Johnson276
Brooks Koepka276
Xander Schauffele276
2021Dustin Johnson268

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