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Posted April 5, 2017, 11:32 pm
BY
Nathan Dominitz
|
nathan.dominitz@savannahnow.com

Montgomerie doesn’t expect rain-shortened practice to affect players in opening round

  • Article Photos
    Montgomerie doesn’t expect rain-shortened practice to affect players in opening round
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    Colin Montgomerie of Scotland watches his chip on the second hole during the 2001 practice rounds.

Most players heading into today’s opening round shouldn’t be affected by the rain-abbreviated practice schedule, predicts World Golf Hall of Fame member Colin Montgomerie, who competed in 15 Masters tournaments.

But, he said his heart goes out to patrons who missed out on experiencing the full Par-3 Contest, which he calls “a little ground of heaven.”

“A real shame, a real pity,” said the Scot about the event that was cut short for the first time in history because of inclement weather.

“The guys are prepped, anyway, so there’s no problem with it, really,” said Montgomerie, a commentator for the Golf Channel. “Who I feel for are the guys who have a Wednesday pass. This is their bucket list. This is their day. They’ve flown over from all over the world to be here. … The Par-3 is a special occasion in the world of golf. (Jack) Nicklaus was going to play with (Gary) Player and (Tom) Watson. It’s a special time. Arnold’s passing, and all the stuff that goes on there.”

While some Masters rookies might have liked “an extra wee bit” more time on the course Wednesday, Montgomerie cautioned that getting rest is a higher priority.

“A lot of the time, you can over-practice, leaving your best shots on the golf course as opposed to actually waiting until Thursday,” Montgomerie said. “It’s terrible if you go out and practice – I hate winning pro-ams and shooting 63, because it’s not going to happen tomorrow.”

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