ESPN Analysts Strange, North Offer Insights Into This Week's Masters

AUGUSTA, Ga. – No matter what’s going on in the world – whether it’s the daily shrinking of 401ks, ongoing political division or unrest on multiple global fronts – they all seem to fade into the background whenever Masters week rolls around each spring.

As the first of the golf season’s four majors unfolds, this rite of passage hosted at Augusta National Golf Club hearkens back to an era when life seemed simpler and less complicated. For the next few days, the focus is on crowning the next winner of a green jacket while munching on pimento cheese sandwiches washed down with sweet tea, topped off with peach ice cream sandwiches staged on an idyllic golf course that is nothing short of heavenly.

But this 89^th edition of the Masters Tournament has been forced to take a different path in showcasing the grandeur of Augusta National. Last September, Hurricane Helene carved out a path of destruction as it chewed its way through Georgia before inflicting further havoc in North Carolina.

While little evidence of the storm remains visible inside the gates of this iconic golf club apart from the absence of some trees, there is plenty of carnage left behind from Helene throughout Augusta. Piles of rubble, massive trees sprawled across lawns and ever-present blue tarps on rooftops offer a dose of reality of the recovery still ahead for many of this region’s residents.

The devastation provided an opportunity for the leadership of Augusta National to look beyond their pristine property, and the club has been a key driving force in helping foster recovery for those who will never set foot on the golf course.

The club provided more than $5 million of financial support to the relief fund, and Augusta National played an active role in helping to bring healing to the impacted area.

In a teleconference hosted by ESPN golf analysts Andy North and Curtis Strange last week, the pair of two-time major champions offered their insights on an array of topics leading into this year’s Masters Tournament.

“I have not seen the golf course in person,” said North, who won the U.S. Open in 1978 and 1985. “I’ve seen some pictures, and it looks like there’s a lot of trees that were lost. It’s been thinned out. I would think for those of us who have been there for 30 or 40 years, you’ll definitely see the difference. For people coming back for the first or second time, maybe they won’t see as much.

“The one thing I think Augusta National did a great job after the storm is, they went out in the community and did some great things in the community instead of worrying about what they needed to do around the golf course. That was secondary to getting the town back to where it was functional. So, give them a lot of credit for that.”

With defending champion Scottie Scheffler seeking to win for the third time in four years and Rory McIroy playing well needing only a Masters win to complete a career Grand Slam, Strange felt it a safe bet to focus on those two golfers.

“We always look forward to going back (to Augusta),” said Strange, who won back-to-back U.S. Opens in 1988-89. “Everybody around the world looks forward to watching it on TV. As we always said, it never disappoints.

“I’m looking forward to the Rory-Scottie show. Okay, that’s the end of the conversation. This year, once again, we have Scottie and Rory playing well. Rory seems to be hitting on all cylinders, which is a good thing for the Slam. Then there's Xander (Schauffele) and (Collin) Morikawa, and a few others playing well. It’s hard to get past the first two or three, honestly. But we’ll have to see how it plays out.”

North echoed the sentiments of Strange when it came to choosing favorites to win.

“I’m excited to see what Scottie and Rory do,” North said. “Also, I’m kind of looking forward to the LIV guys. We don’t get a chance to see them. But you’re looking to see what (Bryson) DeChambeau and (Jon) Rahm and (Joaquin) Niemann, the guys who have been playing pretty well, see how they stack up this week.”

With European players on the PGA Tour claiming six wins thus far this season, Strange was asked about the possibility of newcomer Ludvig Åberg’s chances at winning a green jacket in only his second Masters appearance.

“There does take time to learn the golf course, the nuances, and when you first see it, you say, ‘What’s the big deal?’, until you play it,” Strange said. “And the more you play it, you say there is a big deal, there is local knowledge, there is the movement of putts to Rae’s Creek, there are places you do not want to hit it around these greens. So, things like that, that you do learn the more you play it, and you really only learn it by putting it in a terrible position and not doing it again.”

North was also insightful when asked about the chances for DeChambeau to follow up his U.S. Open win last year with a victory in Augusta.

“I think Bryson is always a threat,” North said. “With his length and strength — I think he went through a couple years and played exceptionally well, but he was in kind of a scientist stage. He was experimenting, trying to figure out what the best thing to do, and he gained all the weight, then he lost the weight.

“I think he’s now kind of figured out where he wants to be. He’s almost reinvented himself in some ways. But he definitely has the talent and the game to do really, really well at Augusta. It wouldn’t shock me a bit if he went around there and won by four or five shots. But at the same time, he hasn’t had a great record there over the years, and I think that can change. I think he’s a different person than he was three or four years ago, and I think he really is comfortable in his own skin now, and I don’t think he probably was two or three years ago.”

Having made the annual pilgrimage to Augusta National each spring, Strange shared his favorite place to spend time on the golf course.

“I tell people if they’re going there for the first time to get there as the gates open and then go down and walk 10, 11, 12 and 13 when there’s no people there,” Strange said. “I think it’s like going to the Redwoods in Oregon or Northern California. It’s so quiet. It’s like having a religious experience. It’s so quiet and you hear the birds, and there’s nothing going on down there. Then you come back four hours later, and it’s sheer chaos with the noise echoing through that area. To me, that’s probably my favorite part of the golf course.”

With Tiger Woods absent from the field while recuperating from recent surgery to repair a torn Achilles tendon, Strange was hopeful that the five-time Masters winning will someday make it back to compete.

“You know, these great superstars always talked about they never wanted to be a ceremonial player or something to that effect, like it’s a negative,” Strange said. “I want to see him at Augusta for a long time in the future playing. He’s not going to play the way he wants to, but I think the people would love to see him, much like they saw Jack and Arnie, especially Arnie, for a long time.

“I think we need those people around, to be around the younger generation, to answer questions, to — players learn by example, how to play golf courses. Just be part of the elder statesman society. I hope he gets back to where he can play. But especially here, where he can come back and be comfortable and just be around. The people can’t get enough of him. We can’t get enough of him. It would be sad that he wouldn’t come back here and play in the future, but what the future holds, we have no idea.”

BAYLOR SCHOOL ALUMS IN THE FIELD: With playing commencing Thursday at 7:40 a.m., a pair of former Baylor School golfers will be among this year’s participants. Harris English will tee off at 9:03 paired with former Masters champion Fred Couples and Taylor Pendrith.

Stephan Jaeger, who also played for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and still lives in the Scenic City, will be in the group behind English going off at 9:14 with playing partners Brian Harmon and Corey Conners.

Paul Payne can be emailed at paulpayne6249@gmail.com