Gusty winds make first round at Masters unpredictable

Davis Love III couldn’t believe what he was seeing on a putt from the back of the green at Augusta National Golf Club’s 14th hole during Thursday’s first round.

His putt caught the top of the bank perfectly, and the ball started rolling to the hole.

Then a gust of wind came from the right, and his ball wiggled a fraction of an inch. A gust came from the left, and pushed it again.

The ball straightened out – then died on the edge of the cup, inches away from a birdie.

“You could see it blowing the ball,” Love said.

Love was asked to rate how hard the wind was during the first round, compared to the 19 previous Masters tournaments he has played.

“Certainly in the top-10,” said Love, who shot 1-over 73.

The brisk, gusty winds that swept over the course all day were the product of a line of thunderstorms that moved through the area early Thursday morning. About a half-inch of rain fell on the course but between the Sub-Air system, which siphons moisture from the surface, and the wind, the effect of the rainfall was negligible.

Winds came out of the southwest but on holes guarded by trees, it swirled to the point where it was anyone’s guess where the ball might go. The wind also gave players fits on the higher-elevated greens, such as Nos. 1, 7 and 17.

“I would have signed for 2-under today and not even played the round, knowing the conditions what were coming up,” said defending champion and first-round leader Jordan Spieth, who had a bogey-free 66.

“I’d say it’s the most breeze I think I’ve every played in here at Augusta,” said Justin Rose, who is among five players tied for fourth at 3-under.

The average score of 74.090 was the second-highest first round since club officials began backing off the degree of difficulty in 2009. But it could have been worse and Rose said there were a couple of saving graces.

“The (hole) placements were certainly playable,” he said, noting that the competition committee didn’t give the field rugged spots for the holes, given the forecast. “I think they suited the wind direction. The course was set up very well. If you played well you could make some birdies.”

Rose also said the wind direction was helpful into some greens.

“The downwind holes were your birdie chances because there was some moisture in the greens,” he said.

The most difficult stretch of holes were the first three on the second nine. No. 10 played to an average of 4.303, third-hardest on the course, No. 11 was 4.528, which led the pack in terms of difficulty, and No. 12 was 3.281, fourth among all holes and the toughest among the par-3s.

Paul Casey had an adventure at No. 12. Playing partner Spieth hit an 8-iron into the green when the wind died as he hit. Bryson DeChambeau hit a 9-iron against the wind seconds later, and just did get the ball on the green.

Casey, hitting third, decided to hit a three-quarter 9-iron, and backed off when a gust that he described as “really, really fierce,” kicked up into his face. He then hit his tee shot, and the wind switched when he got the ball in the air, blowing it into the pine needles behind the back bunker.

“Sort of Greg Norman-esque,” Casey said, referring to Norman’s shot in the third round in 1999, when he lost his ball in the pine straw. “Scared me.”

Love said the weather system was a bit unusual, to his experience.

“Usually a storm goes through, blows for a little bit, then the wind goes down,” he said. “It was the same all day, and really gusty at the end.”

There is more of the same coming. The forecast calls for lighter wind of 6-12 mph out of the west-northwest on Friday morning, but increasing to 12-18 mph, with gusts up to 28 mph, in the afternoon. That wind speed is scheduled to be about the same for Saturday, but the wind will lighten and come out of the south-southeast in the final round.