first off, i want to point out an observation. i noticed that early on and even during the latter part of the day, many of the players were coming up short on their putts. for example, tiger coming short for eagle on 2, and short for birdie on 4. vijay singh did the same thing on 4 that tiger did. mike weir coming up short on the 18, and many other putts just coming up short. tiger made a comment after the round saying that "the greens were surprisingly slower today." generally, the greens are the fastest on sunday, almost ridiculously fast. was all those putts coming up short because the greens were indeed slower? why is that?
i think the changes that augusta has made have broken in. they moved the tee back on the 9th hole, hoping that players would no longer reach the bottom of the hill. mickelson had like 105 to the hole! so much for lengthening the 9th. the 14th hole was a bear last year, but the players were still within reasonable distance all week long to challenge that green. i think the changes have proven its merit this week. i like seeing players going in these greens with 4 irons. i like the fact that the winning score was in single digits, much like a u.s. open. the players were challenged this week. augusta used to be a 2nd shot, putters course. with the need for a straight driver, this course has become a true gem.
my only concern is the 8th hole. we didn't see anyone even come close to reaching that green in two. i think they should move the tee up again to make that hole the original 550 yards long.
it was a weird finish, but i enjoyed this week watching the course.