Ian Poulter shared a glimpse of his yardage book for next week’s Masters, focusing on the changes to the fifth hole at Augusta National.
The par-4 Magnolia is now listed at 495 yards, adding 40 yards to what has played as the fifth-most difficult hole during the tournament.
Poulter, whose best finish 13 Masters played is T6 in 2015, wrote on Instagram, “Look at the difference of the back tee for us at @themasters next week.. It’s gone back 45 yards and the fairway bunkers have been brought back to the tee box 45 yards as well.. new flatter area on the left hand side of the green for possible new pin position.”
Molinari: Good signs so far
Francesco Molinari, the reigning British Open champ, was asked how his clutch win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational boosts his confidence before the Masters. No. 7 in the Official World Golf Ranking, Molinari likes what he sees.
“To be honest, luckily, I won enough last year, and it’s been obviously quite recent that I don’t have to chase wins right now,” said Molinari during a news conference previewing the Open. “It was a great bonus, obviously, the Arnold Palmer Invitational as a tournament, I love to have on my CV for the history of the tournament and for what Arnie did for the game.
“The main thing was for my confidence getting into the majors this season just to see that my game was still there and was trending up and improving, like we were saying, and I’ve seen, I will say, good signs so far. Hopefully, I can keep it going for the rest of the spring and the summer.”
ANWA: Historic day
For 72 female golfers, the big day is finally here. The inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur tees off today – at Champions Retreat.
After 36 holes, they’ll move to Augusta National for Friday’s practice round before the top 30 get to compete in Saturday’s final round. The anticipation and excitement has been building for the last 12 months.
“It’s crazy that they’re actually letting us play the course,” Jennifer Kupcho, the top-ranked amateur said Tuesday.
Golf Channel and ANWA’s web site will provide livestream coverage of the tournament.
Chip shots
Andrew Landry shot four rounds in the 60s in last year’s Valero Texas Open, becoming the only player to accomplish the feat. He shot 69-67-67-68 to finish at 17 under and two shots clear of Troy Mullinax and Sean O’Hair. … Arkansas’ Maria Fassi shares with Golfweek how a mistake with her bag caused a few anxious moments before the ANWA.
Contributing: Steve DiMeglio, Beth Ann Nichols
