Augusta Masters: Spieth makes it a no contest

It would require Hoffman to play like Jordan for there to be any possibility of a drama

It’s going to require a collapse by Jordan on the one hand and Hoffman playing like Jordan on the other, for there to be the possibility of drama. A likely result is that Jordan wins, possibly breaking the course record having already matched the low score for two rounds at 130. He would have created a new record had he made the short putt on eighteen. Two desirable results will be  for Tiger to be in the top five to prove the many naysayers wrong and thereby ignite greater interest in golf, and for  Anirban Lahiri, who has made it to the weekend right on the cut line, to finish in the top twenty to assure an invite to next year’s Masters.

Jordan put on show a flawless display of ball striking, distance control, strategic placement of shots to enable easier next shots, and putting; and then in the interview room he was a perfect blend of confidence, self deprecating humour, listening and responding well and honestly to questions, demonstrating clear concern for family and friends, and respecting past and present greats including his Texan mentor, Ben Crenshaw. There is clearly a new untroubled hero in our midst who will be a great role model and ambassador for the game for many years to come. Winners are getting younger and the big challenge to him might well come from a mature 18 year old in the next few years!

Not that anyone is going to lie down and let him walk over them!  Charley Hoffman at -9, Dustin Johnson, Justin Rose and Paul Casey at -7 and Ernie Els and Phil Mickleson at -5 are all fighters, experienced at giving and receiving pressure and each has seen great leads evaporate  (sometimes with help from the leader... Greg Norman/ Rory McIlroy ,and Adam Scott at The Open come to mind). They are full of determination to make a fight of it and, Phil for one, is capable of pulling off miracles because his risk: reward number is the highest among the pros.

Furthermore, the Masters likes having drama on the final nine because, even though the spectators may like a particular player, the drama (the play) is the thing. The choreography for this drama is unmatched even by Broadway shows. An undulating plain about four football fields large, connects 9, 18, 2, 3, 8 and 7, where thousands of spectators in their gaily coloured garb crisscross from hole to hole. Each hole is edged by towering loblolly pines whose fallen pine needles, neatly woven into soft, shifting beds, fatally attract errant drives. Eighteen different flowering trees and bushes adorn each hole after which the individual holes are named. You don't know what myriad means unless you had counted the myriad shades of green that form the backdrop of this show. Thirty different varieties of Azaleas, planted close together and bursting from banks, bends and borders, offer their surprisingly unique hue of colors. And finally shadowy veils are drawn over sun-drenched fairways as drifting clouds play hide and seek with the sun.  This happens every year and is all part of the aura of the Masters and a dramatic finish is just naturally expected.

Therefore, tickets for this show are almost impossible to get. The marketing restricts the number of tickets and badges that are issued which is at complete variance to the practice at any other championship in the world where they try to maximise ticket sales revenue. This induced shortage of a commodity much in demand creates a heavily discouraged but active secondary market in tickets and badges. All badge holders and ticket holders are called “Patrons”, not spectators or fans, and even those who, by long term usage receive badges every year are obliged to apply formally, annually, online and also to abide and comply with increasingly strict conditions with respect to their usage. This supposed “Right” will pass to a surviving spouse but cannot be transferred to the next generation; this creates new patrons families, and so on. This purposeful numbers restriction further adds to the ' atmosphere' around this tournament and strengthens the uniqueness of the brand.

The third round of the tournament may well be shooting for second place.  The cry is “Carpe Diem!”, to seize the day to shoot really low and challenge the leader; however, that is also the leaders cry. The final winner and runner-up will emerge only from the last six flights and the playing conditions for them will be virtually identical. This is different from the first two days when the early morning players typically find the greens faster than the afternoon players as the grass has grown somewhat. Members of the Delhi Golf Club will have noted that players always take care to repair their pitch marks while caddies replace divots (which may also involve dropping a few grass seeds into the divot) and rake bunkers. At the end of the day, after play, and armada of giant lawnmowers (looking like a large scale military tank attack) working in tandem mow the fairways, and specialised green mowers are used to maintain the integrity of the treacherous slopes and the 13-14 speed on the Stimp meter.