dentonrc.com || Denton Record-Chronicle SPORTS Saturday-Sunday, April 3-4, 2021 19A MASTERS SPRING SWINGS FACTS & FIGURES Tournament: The 85th Masters is nal score at Augusta Na- in his right leg and foot in a car crash THE ROARS Dates: April 8-11 tional wasn’t all that set Dustin in Los Angeles in late February. Jordan Another record set in November Site: Augusta National Golf Club Johnson apart from other Spieth appears to have emerged from were 1,122 birdies for the week with- Length: 7,475 yards Par: 36-36-72 HMasters champions. a three-year funk and was listed as out a single roar. No spectators were Purse: To be determined ($11.5 million in 2020) Field: 88 players (3 amateurs) No one else ever won the Masters among the favorites in Las Vegas. Rory allowed because of the COVID-19 Cut: Top 50 and ties and then didn’t play another tourna- McIlroy remains stuck in neutral and restrictions. Augusta National is al- Defending champion: Dustin Johnson ment the rest of the year. No other announced he was adding a new coach lowing a limited number of fans this Last year: In the rst autumn Masters because Masters champion was able to keep to his stable just three weeks before year, although the club would not say of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dustin Johnson set his green jacket at home for only ve he tries again to win the Masters and how many weekly badges were sold. the scoring record at 20-under 268 for a ve-shot months before it was time to try to complete the career Grand Slam. Minimal roars will be a welcome victory over Sungjae Im and Cameron Smith. So win it again. en again, no one ever And so much feels normal. e sound for the players. e Masters thorough was this victory that no one had a lower played the Masters in November. Masters returns sooner than ever, and is as much about hearing as seeing. score than Johnson in three of his four rounds, Now it’s back to being that annual not a moment too soon. Fans have slowly been introduced including his 68 on Sunday. This truly was a rite of spring, and so much about this “I think it will be back to feeling like at PGA Tour events since February. Masters unlike any other. Along with being held in November, no tickets were sold, the Par 3 Contest Masters that starts April 8 feels normal. a normal Masters,” Johnson said. “I’m Even with a reduced number of spec- was canceled and all four rounds featured a two- Gone are the hues of autumn, majestic denitely looking forward to that.” tators, the Masters still canceled the tee start because of limited daylight. in a dierent way. Augusta National Par 3 Contest for the second straight Tiger tales: Tiger Woods will not be playing the is blazing with pink, red and purple year. Masters as he recovers from a serious leg injury in azaleas, along with the white blooms a single-car crash in Los Angeles. This will be the of dogwood in April. Inside the ropes EXCLUSIVE COMPANY fourth time in the last seven years Woods is not playing the Masters. — yes, there will be ropes this time — DUSTIN Dustin Johnson set another The roars: After not having spectators in is a course that is expected to be play JOHNSON Masters record with his 11 consec- fast, rm and scary like always. utive rounds under par. But that’s November, the Masters sold a limited number of Johnson won by ve shots at badges for this year. The club did not release how not the record he wants. Only three many. 20-under 268. It was the lowest score players have ever won back-to-back Grand Slam, Act VII: Rory McIlroy tries for the in tournament history, one of several at Augusta National, and Johnson seventh time to win the Masters and complete the records that fell in the so conditions would love nothing more than to career Grand Slam. that were inevitable before the rye join Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and The odds: Dustin Johnson is the favorite at 8-1 grass had taken root. Among other Tiger Woods. He won in his second (Westgate Superbook), followed at 12-1 for Jon records that fell in November were 65 tournament of the year at the Saudi Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Thomas. rounds in the 60s for the week, and International, but the month leading Key statistic: Only two players have shot 63 at 187 rounds at par or better. into the Masters has been curious for the Masters, the fewest of the four majors. “DJ, I think, would have won his level of play. Johnson has nished Noteworthy: Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979 was the last whether it was like it was in Novem- outside the top 25 in his last three Masters champion playing for the rst time. Carlos Ortiz, Robert MacIntyre and Will Zalatoris are the ber or April,” Justin omas said. tournaments. only professionals making their Masters debuts. “He played far and away better than Television: Thursday-Friday, 3-7:30 p.m. (ESPN); anyone else.” THE COURSE Saturday, 3-7 p.m. (CBS); Sunday, 2-7 p.m. (CBS). So emotional when it was over, Jon Rahm hit a 4-iron into the par-5 Interactive: www.masters.com. Live video so satised with what he had done, 15th hole that landed just short of the channels from the 4th, 5th and 6th holes, Amen Johnson took his green jacket home hole and wound up 3 feet behind. Any Corner, the 15th hole, 16th hole and a featured to Florida and didn’t show up again other Masters, he gures a shot struck group. Estimated times — Hole Nos. 4,5 and 6 from until January. Asked if he felt short- like that would have bounded over the 9:25 a.m. to 6:45 p.m. Thursday and Friday, and changed from only getting to keep green and into the water on the 16th from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the weekend; Amen Cor- it ve months — only the champion ner (Nos. 11, 12 and 13) from 10:45 a.m. to 6 p.m. hole. at’s one example of how dier- Thursday and Friday, and from 11:45 a.m. to 6 p.m. can take his green jacket o property ent it played in November compared on the weekend; Nos. 15 and 16 from 11:45 a.m. to — Johnson laughed and replied, “It with April. 7 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, and from 12:30 p.m. wouldn’t bother me if I only had it for “I played with Sebastian Munoz on to 6:30 p.m. on the weekend; and featured group a day. It would be OK. I’ve got one. Sunday, and that was his rst Masters. from 9:15 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, And ve months, a year, one month, I pretty much told him, ‘Anything you and from 10:15 a.m. to 7 p.m. on the weekend. one day, it doesn’t really make a dif- learn today, this week, forget about The Masters iPad application will display the video ference to me.” it.’ Because it will never play like this channels and a live digital simulcast of CBS Sports’ Even with such a short turnaround, again, period,” Rahm said. weekend coverage. so much has changed. It still depends on the weather. Tiger Woods was host of the Mas- Jordan Spieth won at 18-under par in ters Club dinner for past champions. 2015. Danny Willett won at 5-under Now it’s a question if he’ll ever play 283 the next year. Both were in April, “It wouldn’t bother me again from shattering so many bones of course. if I only had it for a day.” — Dustin Johnson on whether he feels shortchanged only keeping the green jacket 85th MASTERS PLAYER CAPSULES for ve months. is later attributed to the front lobe of his brain Notable: Will try to become the eighth player overworking. in the last 100 years to have two majors at 24 or DUSTIN JOHNSON Notable: His best result in four appearances RORY McILROY younger. Age: 36, United States at the Masters was a tie for 21st when he was an Age: 31, Northern Ireland Backspin: He is one of about 13 players who World ranking: 1 amateur. World ranking: 11 made their Masters debut in November and are Backspin: DeChambeau and his length get likely to face an entirely dierent test in April. Worldwide victories: 25 another crack at the Masters after the No- Worldwide victories: 26 His pure iron play and a switch to the “saw” grip Majors: Masters (2020), U.S. Open (2016). vember edition ended poorly. He remains the Majors: U.S. Open (2011), British Open (2014), made famous by Mark O’Meara led to another Masters moment: Setting the 72-hole record fascination in golf with his distance, and he has PGA Championship (2012, 2014) win last month in a World Golf Championship. at 268 for a ve-shot victory in 2020. backed it up with another win this year at Bay Masters moment: Losing a four-shot lead in Notable: No one had a lower score than Hill. the nal round in 2011 by closing with an 80. Johnson in three of the four rounds in Novem- Notable: McIlroy now has gone 23 majors since ber.