Saturday night is here at The Masters and the final threeball group containing the leaders still has 29 holes to play to complete the 72 holes of regulation play.
Officials are confident that The Masters will not have to extend until Monday to finish, which last happened in 1983, when Spain’s Seve Ballesteros won his second Green Jacket.
Weather forecasting through modern technology seems to be so much more accurate these days, with predictions of temperatures and weather patterns being seemingly calculated to the minute.
Tee times have been moved forward on Friday to get ahead of the storms.
Talk around the range has been about the SubAir system at Augusta.
What is a SubAir system?
It is an underground system that many of the top-end golf clubs around the world have installed, to regulate primarily moisture levels in greens. It can provide aeration and heat control to artificially ‘control’ the growing conditions of grass, despite what the weather is doing above it.
In rainy conditions the SubAir system can also remove water from the playing surface far quicker and get play up and running in fast time.
However, mother nature can be very powerful and despite doing its best, the brochures of SubAir do not claim to be able to control electric storms or prevent falling trees.
I am not sure we will be installing it at my Peter Cowen Golf Academy and range in Rotherham, England.
Brooks Koepka is still in control at the top of the leaderboard and most agree it is arguably a two horse race along with Jon Rahm, but we still have over 40% of the holes to play before a champion is crowned.
Lots can still happen and as the saying goes, especially at Augusta, ‘the tournament does not start until the back-nine on Sunday.’
One final thought for the day.
If the tournament is extended until Monday, I always wonder how all the logistics work? It happened at this year’s HERO Dubai Desert Classic at Emirates Golf Club. In a place like Augusta or Dubai, how do all those officials, players, caddies, managers, hundreds of media and TV crew, volunteers and the rest of the travelling circus and many families of the above, let alone the travelling patrons, all manage to find another night’s accommodation, extend rental car agreements, change flights etc etc. Somehow it all comes together, so hats off to all those who make these things happen.
Speak soon and I cannot wait to watch all the drama of who will be wearing the Green Jacket on Sunday night – hopefully!
— Peter Cowen is a world-renowned golf coach with academies in the UAE and England.
