AUGUSTA, Ga. — The Masters is not the British Open, and Rae’s Creek is hardly the Firth of Forth. On the coast of Scotland, howling gusts are the standard because, as the saying goes, “Nae wind, nae rain, nae golf.” In the Piedmont of Georgia, the breezes are best when they’re gentle, what with the azaleas to preserve.
Friday at Augusta National Golf Club, though, was a hold-on-to-your-hat, shield-your-eyes-from-the-debris struggle. The second round of the Masters can be a time to go low. Friday’s 25-mph gusts made it a time to seek shelter. Augusta National is supposed to be gorgeous and genteel. On Friday, it was harrowing and harsh.
That’s what this Masters probably will bring as the weekend awaits: as many chills from the temperatures as from thrills.