Getty Image / Augusta National
The 2024 edition of The Masters is just hours away now, and it is Christmas Eve for golf fans. As he does every year, Augusta National Club Chairman Fred Ridley addressed the media on Wednesday.
There were few surprises in the press conference, which is the case most years. But, he took a shot at the 2020 Masters, which was played in the fall due to the COVID pandemic.
Fred Ridley claims that the tournament needs an asterisk, as the golf course being played that year in the second week of November is not the same as the golf course when the event is traditionally held the second week of April.
That was evident in the scoring back in 2020. Dustin Johnson won the tournament with an incredible score of 268 (-20). He shot 65-70-65-68 in his four rounds, completely tearing up the course. His score of -20 is the lowest in tournament history, beating out Tiger Woods in 1997 and Jordan Spieth in 2015, who both shot 270 (-18)
Augusta National, while definitely challenging, is frequently a gettable golf course for the world’s best players. With four Par 5’s that are all reachable, to some degree, in two, and a few short par 4’s around the golf course that players will have wedge or better into, it’s far from the toughest course guys will play on tour each year.
But, even going down the leaderboard past Dustin Johnson, Fred Ridley has a point about that tournament needing an asterisk. Two other players, Sung-Jae Im and Cameron Smith, finished at -15, an all-time great score at Augusta. Six other players were -10 or better. Clearly, the difference in weather created slower, more favorable conditions for a golf course that relies on being fast to penalize poor shots.
Don’t worry Dustin Johnson, they’re going to let you keep your green jacket. But, that scoring record may be getting an asterisk soon.