Just About Right

Along with Angel Cabrera, the biggest winner this week may have been the Masters itself, which proved it was listening to its critics

The Masters at Augusta National Golf Club

By Ron Sirak

Photo by AP

April 13, 2009

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Among the misconceptions about Augusta National Golf Club, and there are many, is that it never changes. Nothing could be further from the truth. This place evolves with a clearly intelligent design. We saw proof of that Sunday in a highly entertaining finish to a magnificent Masters.

Perhaps Augusta National doesn't change in the way some would like, or according to the time schedule others would impose, but there may be no event in all of sports that adapts as well to climatic convulsions as the Masters. In fact, it seems to anticipate them.

All the proof you need of this compelling example of durability and malleability was splashed across the immaculate fairways on a brilliant Easter Sunday as the men in the green jackets staged one of the best editions in the 75 year history of this tradition-laden tournament. Simply and accurately put: They got it right. That couldn't always be said in recent years.

That the two-hole playoff with Chad Campbell, Kenny Perry and Angel Cabrera was won by Cabrera was almost beside the point. And how often in a major championship can you say that a sudden-death playoff was the second most-exciting thing to happen on Sunday -- if not the third?

But that was pretty much the case. What we had Sunday on an Augusta National course set up to allow scoring but punish poor shots was three distinct tournaments. There was he Tiger-Phil Show; there was Kenny Perry's determined defiance of age before crumbling at the end; and then there was the Cabrera victory in the playoff, giving him a green jacket to go with his 2007 U.S. Open trophy.

Most compelling were Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, which is always interesting theater. Playing in the same twosome seven groups from the end they nearly stole the tournament, and certainly walked off with the bulk of the attention.

At times, it seemed as if the crowds on the holes Cabrera and Perry were playing were more engrossed watching the leader board for changes in the Woods-Mickelson group five holes ahead than they were in watching live golf. The biggest cheers came when a birdie was recorded for Tiger or Lefty.

With Mickelson playing brilliantly -- a 30 on the front nine -- and Woods making some gritty pars as he labored with his B-minus game, they played some of the most entertaining golf in recent majors.

The duo nearly erased a seven-stroke deficit, Woods closing with a 68 to finish four strokes out of the playoff and Mickelson shooting a 67 to be three back. The fact is, after Woods birdied No. 16, he and Lefty were tied one stroke out of the lead.

But both ran out of gas. Woods made bogeys on the last two holes and Mickelson gave a stroke back at the last. Still, anyone who has missed the roars at Augusta National the last few years had a happy reunion with that familiar sound in this final round.

And you get the feeling that is exactly what chairman Billy Payne and his staff had in mind. One of the dominant storylines coming into this Masters was that the renovations to the course since 2002 had taken the fun out of the tournament.

The most asked question, beyond how much will Tiger win by, was where are the roars? Critics said the back nine had been converted from a thrilling risk/reward closing stretch in which eagles flew with the birdies to a brutal U.S. Open-like survival test. The guys in green were listening.

Where are the roars, you ask? Here are your roars, Sparky, tournament organizers seem to say at this Masters. The green jackets shouted this message loud and clear: We can make the course play any way we want it to play. You want rounds in the 60s, we can do that. You want a grueling test, no problem.