AUGUSTA, Ga. — Fred Couples stood on the podium and winced, fascinated about what may have been.
“I mean, I had a good time,” he mentioned. It was clear he meant that. It was additionally clear he was nonetheless fascinated about Augusta National’s fifteenth gap, the place he’d made 9 on Thursday and 6 on Friday, singlehandedly dooming his likelihood on the reduce line.
“I’ve never wedged it into the water there,” he mentioned. “Now it’s water, water, water every time I look at the goddamn thing, and I don’t know why.”
He shook his head.
“What’s a nine? Is that a quad? Quad-double-double, wow.” That was in reference to his deflating Thursday end. When he teed off on 15 he was two underneath par. When he walked off 17 he was six over. “That’s 8-over [on three holes]. I think that’s almost impossible to do, but I did it.”
But he made one thing clear regardless of his disappointment.
“You would have to be an idiot not to love Augusta National,” he mentioned. “There are great courses all over the world, but there are none of them like this.”
THE CRUELEST, COOLEST THING that solely occurs on Friday on the Masters is that this: we truly hear from the golfers who miss the reduce.
In a typical week the golfers who shoot the bottom scores are those who discuss to the media. Those who don’t? They’re typically permitted to trunk-slam in peace. But this week there’s extra media, infrastructure and consequence to a missed reduce, so it’s price listening to about. It’s maybe that a lot crueler that the one week professionals are requested about their missed cuts is the week that lacking the reduce hurts probably the most — however so it goes at considered one of three small podiums simply outdoors Augusta National’s scoring space.
That’s the place, on Friday morning, you would have heard a heartbreaking admission from Andrew Novak, who’d simply bogeyed two of his final three holes to price himself a weekend tee time.
“Yeah, I imply, I used to be form of developing 18 pondering, ‘This could be the last time I ever get to play here,’” Novak said.
Long-term, he said, getting back to this place and earning a spot in this tournament will be motivating. But in real time?
“Yeah, this is my favorite week of the year. This is the best tournament I’ve ever performed in. Just makes it a little bit extra disappointing that I’m not going to have two extra rounds to play in it,” he mentioned.
Tom McKibbin got here via a brief whereas later, having simply signed for a second-round 76 that reduce his first-ever Masters brief. The Northern Irishman admitted that he wasn’t positive what he was feeling, precisely. But he was feeling a lot.
“I don’t know. A bit annoying. Fun. Yeah, it was a bit of everything. Probably a little bit of every emotion,” he mentioned. Mostly he described it as feeling totally different.
“I think it’s probably the first time I’ve come to a place and sort of felt that feel to try to not miss it again,” he mentioned. “It’s definitely the best golf tournament that I’ve ever played.”
Anybody who has ever been to Augusta National can converse to its dreamworld high quality. For one week, you’re on the heart of the sporting world — with limitless rooster sandwiches at your fingertips and an immaculate golf course in each path. It’s a far smaller fraternity who truly will get to play the occasion, and no person’s dream week ends midway via.
“Yeah, I don’t know. I mean, the preparation was unbelievable,” mentioned Min Woo Lee, in disbelief after 78-77. “You would think I would be winning the tournament the way I was [playing] leading up to the event.”
BEFORE THE MAGIC NUMBER WAS DECIDED, these on the bubble hoped they’d executed sufficient.
“I mean, it’s tough to say. Should be fine,” mentioned Danny Willett after posting his two-day complete of 5 over par. “Fingers crossed we get a bit of wind blowing through and we should be all right.”
“It’s not over yet,” mentioned Harry Hall a number of teams later after he, too, posted 5 over. He known as his probabilities 50-50. “Hopefully I’ll be around on the weekend. I’ll stay positive and see how it goes.”
But Willett’s wind by no means arrived. The greens stayed receptive. The reduce settled at 4 over par, sending the 2 of them — plus 35 different gamers — house early.
Like them, Aldrich Potgieter was compelled to maneuver on to the following. It appears inconceivable that there may be one other match in simply a week. But positive sufficient…
“I’ll just enjoy the time with [my family], and then they fly back on Monday back to South Africa, and then we’ll go to RBC,” he mentioned. “Looking forward to an elevated event next week, so we’ll try and get the game ready for that.”
In equity, not all people talked. As the day grew late and the property’s consideration re-routed to the six-shot lead belonging to Rory McIlroy, two professionals noticed their tournaments immediately go up in smoke. Akshay Bhatia wanted par on the final and made double bogey. Bryson DeChambeau wanted bogey and made a horrifying triple. But Bhatia wasn’t requested to talk, and by the point a reporter put in a request for DeChambeau, he was already out of sight, headed at excessive velocity for the car parking zone.
The finish of their tournaments arrived abruptly, and it was solely becoming that their exits did too. But others appeared happier to linger and mirror, even in disappointment.
“Special place to be. I had a lot of fun out there,” mentioned Casey Jarvis. “Obviously a disappointing day, trying hard to make the cut. Unfortunately, that’s golf, but yeah, really happy to be here.”
As for his weekend plans?
“I’ll come watch. I’ll watch Rory. Maybe I’ll learn something, you know.”
Some amateurs have been capable of separate the great from the frustration, even in actual time.
“We chatted a decent amount, and he’s such a nice guy,” mentioned excessive schooler Mason Howell, who performed alongside McIlroy. “Yeah, I mean, that was such a special moment for me to play with my idol. Other than making the cut, that was everything I dreamed it would be.”
“I think it exceeded my expectations. I had a blast,” mentioned Jackson Herrington, who has long-term plans for his return. “I’ll be back and will be getting one of these green jackets on.”
In the short-term?
“Maybe if I’m allowed to come out and practice, I’ll be out here tomorrow,” concluded Herrington. “It’s the best place on earth. I know that.”
Dylan Dethier welcomes your feedback at dylan_dethier@golf.com.
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