The Masters is Losing its Luster

Ever since 1975 when I saw the telecast for the very first time, The Masters has always been, in my mind, the most exciting golf tournament in the world. But no longer. As my man B. B. King would sing, “The Thrill Is Gone".

No, it’s not because the weather of the last two years has helped keep scoring down.

No, it’s not because Tiger Woods did not win.

No, it’s not because Trevor Immelman did win.

And, no, it’s not because Immelman won by a large margin, despite a Homer Simpson moment (Doh!) of hitting his tee shot into the pond fronting the 16th green.

It’s because the very nature of the course has been changed over the past several years. In years gone by there were occasional runaway winners, like Ray Floyd in 1976. But in addition to watching to see if the leader will survive, there was always the possibility of someone shooting a low score to overtake the leader. Two of the most memorable were Gary Player shooting 64 in 1978 and a 46-year-old Jack Nicklaus shooting 65 in 1986. In both cases the veterans were able to overcome the longer-hitting young studs of the day: Tom Watson in ‘78 and Seve Ballesteros & Greg Norman in ‘86, respectively.

Sadly, that magic doesn’t exist in the current state of Augusta National. And it’s our loss.