Wind makes play tough for Masters competitors

Augusta National Golf Club’s greens are plenty tricky on a normal day. Throw in a steady wind with gusts up to 25 mph, and you’ll have players seeing green – as in scores above par.

Scores under par were at a premium in Friday’s second round of the Masters. Only four players were able to navigate their way to scores of 1-under 71, and no one shot in the 60s for the first time since 2007.

“With how the greens are, they’re drying out really nicely and they’re very quick,” top-ranked player Jason Day said after shooting 1-over 73. “I mean, there’s not too many times where I’m standing on a golf course and you have to aim a putt for wind, which just tells you how gusty it is in some parts of the golf course.”

The forecast for the weekend isn’t better. Today will begin breezy and cool, with winds at 10-15 mph in the morning. Winds will increase to 12-18 mph in the afternoon with gusts up to 25 mph.

On Sunday, morning frost is likely, but the wind will quiet down to 5-10 mph.

First-timer Kiradech Aphibarnrat, who posted his second-consecutive 72, acknowledged the difficulty of Augusta National.

“If you’ve never been here, you can’t imagine how tough it is,” he said. “The greens with the slope and the wind picking up. Even par is good.”

Danny Willett agreed.

“It was a tricky day,” he said. “When it’s gusting like this at times it felt like it was gusting up to 30, 35 on a few tee shots.”

The wind also challenged Augusta National’s maintenance staffers.

After Day holed his putt for par at the 10th green, a small crew of workers sprang into action. Two employees with backpack blowers blew debris off the green, and another worker picked up any leftovers by hand. A pair of rules officials supervised.

Keeping putting surfaces clear of debris became a priority. In addition to blowers, whipping poles were used to get sand off the greens.

Rory McIlroy, one of the four to break par Friday, said the round was among his best at Augusta.

“I kept my composure, and I played the shots when I needed to,” he said.