Rookies showing little fear

Masters turning into a kid’s game

AUGUSTA, Ga. - Since 1935, only one golfer has won the Masters Tournament in his first appearance.

Fuzzy Zoeller did it in 1979.

The reason? It takes years of experience to unlock Augusta National’s secrets: the best angles into greens, the subtle pull of Rae’s Creek on putts, the places to miss shots and still have a chance to save par, the swirling wind in Amen Corner.

That’s why first-time Masters participants wind up in straitjackets, not green jackets. Usually, they leave the place shaking their heads - often after 36 holes - after struggling with the nuances of the course and the magnitude of the occasion.

At least, that is the conventional wisdom. But professional golf is skewing younger and younger.

The kids are better prepared coming out of college,hit the ball a mile and they don’t quake in their spikes when Tiger Woods walks by, although they won’t have to worry about that this weekend since Woods will miss the tournament after recently undergoing back surgery.

A record 24 first-time Masters participants will tee it up in the first round today, but several already are PGA Tour winners and four are ranked among the top 25 in the world. Each is thinking the same thing: “Why not me?”

“I don’t think it’s out of the question,” said Jimmy Walker, 35, one of the first-timers. “I’m here to play well. I want to win, and I think everybody here wants to do that. So why couldn’t a rookie win again?”

In the not too distant past, a young golfer would show up at Augusta National unprepared for the challenge that awaited him. It was up to him and his caddie to figure out the course.

Now golfers show up with teams. Their practice is choreographed to the minute. They huddle with nurturing advisers. They get positive feedback. No one around them tells them they are too young or too inexperienced to play well.

“These days, kids have a mental coach, a strength coach, a swing coach, maybe a short-game coach,” said Jason Day, a grizzled veteran of 26. “I mean, they have so many people around them that are in place to make sure they are improving and competing.

“These kids are coming out confident. They’re coming out stronger, faster. Their games are a lot tighter, and every year that goes by they are just coming out tougher to compete and play against.”

Young golfers also benefit from having played on national junior tours such as the American Junior Golf Association and then in topnotch college programs. They have access to the best equipment, instruction and courses. They putt on fast greens every day, so the speed of Augusta National’s putting surfaces isn’t a shock to their systems.

They are taught at an early age to hit the ball hard and fear nothing.

“I’ve been watching these young guys, and it’s amazing how far they hit the golf ball and how well they play,” said 83-year-old Arnold Palmer, who won his four Masters titles sans entourage.

Among the first-timers is Jordan Niebrugge, 20, of Mequon, Wis., who won the Western Amateur at The Alotian Club in Roland last summer.

Patrick Reed, 23, already has won three times. He recently ranked himself among the top-five players in the world. He’s actually ranked 23rd but has played in only 43 PGA Tour events.

“It doesn’t matter if you’ve played here once or if you’ve played here 50 times,” Reed said. “When it comes down to it, whoever is playing the best is going to walk away with the trophy.”

Jordan Spieth won the 2013 John Deere Classic two weeks short of his 20th birthday, becoming the first teenage winner of a Tour event since 1931. He made the U.S. Presidents Cup team as one of captain Fred Couples’ picks and has risen to No. 13 in the world ranking.

No one would be shocked if Spieth became the youngest Masters champion in his first try. He’s that good.

“Jordan has a confidence about him where he doesn’t have to tell the world how good he is,” said Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee. “It’s an air. It’s an intangible quality that you can’t quite articulate, but you know that it’s there.”

Other top young players making their Masters debuts this week include 23-year-oldVictor Dubuisson of France, ranked 21st in the world; Harris English, 24, who won a Web.com Tour event as an amateur and has since won twice on the PGA Tour; and Billy Horschel, 27, who once shot a 60 in U.S. Amateur qualifying and won the 2013 Zurich Classic in his 61st start as a pro.

Already this year, Walker and Reed have won twice and Masters rookies Kevin Stadler, Matt Every, Steven Bowditch and Matt Jones have won once.

“It’s been such an unusual year, and when unusual things happen it gives hope, it gives confidence to other players,” said Charlie Rymer of Golf Channel. “You look at a Jimmy Walker or at a Patrick Reed, these guys are playing with a ton of confidence.

“They don’t care if Fuzzy Zoeller was the last first-timer to win here back in 1979. All they know is that the ball is going where they’re looking and it’s going in the hole and that’s what it takes to win golf tournaments.”

No one is discounting the value of experience at Augusta National. All things being equal, the golfer who has been here a few times has an advantage over the rookie because the veteran will have hopefully learned from his mistakes.

And everyone makes mistakes on this course.

“When you come here the first time, you think it’s a good idea to hit a nice little draw left of the bunker on No. 2,” said Sweden’s Henrik Stenson. “Then when you overturn it and it goes in the pine needles and ends up in the creek, you realize that wasn’t the case.”

Masters at a glance

AUGUSTA, Ga. - A quick look at the 78th Masters: WHEN Today-Sunday SITE Augusta National Golf Club.

LENGTH 7,435 yards.

PAR 36-36-72.

PURSE To be determined ($8.1 million in 2013).

FIELD 96 (90 professionals, six amateurs). Cut will be top 50 and ties, and anyone within 10 shots of the lead.

DEFENDING CHAMP Adam Scott.

ARKANSANS COMPETING Ken Duke TV Today-Friday: 2-6:30 p.m., ESPN. Saturday: 2-6 p.m., CBS Sports. Sunday: 1-6 p.m., CBS Sports.

ON THE WEB masters.com

NOTEWORTHY Tiger Woods will not be at the Masters after undergoing back surgery because of a pinched nerve. … Ten players from the top 50 in the world ranking are making their Masters debut. … The Masters is the only major where the winner has never had all four rounds in the 60s.

Sports, Pages 17 on 04/10/2014

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