More low scores? Depends on greens

AUGUSTA -- The 75th Masters field may have tied the mark for lowest cut score in tournament history, but plenty of trouble still lurks at Augusta National Golf Club.

Forty-nine players will continue their green jacket quest Saturday. In the end, any players more than a single stroke over par after two rounds packed their bags and went home Friday night.

Waiting for the fortunate 49? Precarious pins, greens that demand precision and the very good chance that continued warm weather will turn the thus-far fast but relatively soft greens into surfaces far less forgiving.

Tiger Woods, owner of the lowest cumulative score in Masters history -- 18-under-par 270 in 1997 -- said the low scores are somewhat due to a more forgiving approach by Augusta National officials toward pin placement. He also said the greens have had more give in the first two rounds than is typical.

“A lot of guys went low. The greens are soft,” Woods said. “They’re quick, yeah, but they’re soft. The ball is holding (on the greens), so if you get the right gust and the right wind at the right time, you can be pretty aggressive.

“We’ll see what they do on the greens. We’ll see if they firm them up or not.”

If the greens do firm up, precision iron play will be at a premium, two-time Masters champion Tom Watson said.

“The greens are huge greens, but they play very small. You play a dozen rounds here, and you understand what you have to do. These greens get really tiny,” Watson said. “You might hit it on the green, but you’ve got a 50-footer, and you’re just hoping for a two-putt, and that doesn’t get it.”

South African Charl Schwartzel, who shot 69-71 in the first two rounds and is tied for 12th at 4 under, had an easy answer when asked about scoring at the Masters.

“All in all,” Schwartzel said, “I would take 71 and run.”

This story was originally published April 9, 2011 at 12:00 AM.