Augusta, Ga., Masters 2026

If one intends to slip into the Masters Green Jacket, there are certain copybook styles of playing the Augusta National Golf Club that help.

We all know the most important one. It is how a player handles the pressures of the golf course’s second nine on a Sunday.

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Defending champion Rory McIlroy can probably talk for hours on that. His first major title seemed well within his grasp in 2011 when he had that massive stumble, starting with the hooked tee shot on the par-4 10th hole that fetched him one of only three triple bogeys he has made in 18 starts.

McIlroy’s capitulation was so spectacular that most fans still do not appreciate the stunning quality of Charl Schwartzel’s finish that day. To make four birdies in your last four holes on a Sunday at Augusta National, especially when you are in contention, deserves a Green Jacket.

Another equally important stretch to take care of – this is actually a subset of the back nine – is the Amen Corner. That confounding series of holes, starting from the par-4 11th hole to the ultimate risk-reward par-5 13th. Sandwiching the two holes is the baffling par-3 12th, the Golden Bell.

Probably, there is no better example of how the Amen Corner makes a difference to the fortunes of the Masters than in 2019, when Francesco Molinari, Brooks Koepka, and Tony Finau all hit the water while in contention and opened the path for Tiger Woods’s 15th major win.

A year later, Woods made a 10 on that same hole on Friday, and then recovered to make five birdies in his next six holes.

The front nine of the golf course does not get the respect it deserves. And the statistics from the first round on Thursday highlight that fact again.

The two toughest holes were the 450-yard par-4 seventh (average of 4.418), which can become a beast depending on where the pin is placed, and the 495-yard par-4 fifth hole (average of 4.374), which should wear the crown of being the most difficult hole on the course – both part of the first nine. Also, that par-4 first is not a gentle opening hole either.

It’s just that, with so much drama unfolding on the back nine, we tend to forget how the front nine shapes the leaderboard as we walk up to the 10th hole.

But my observation over the years about the best way to play Augusta National is to play the par-5s well.

Scottie Scheffler has been the best player at the Masters over the past six years. He finished tied 20th in his debut in 2020 and slipped one place the year after. Since then, he has had a win, a tied 10th, a win, and a fourth place.

In these six years, the world No. 1 has made only three bogeys on the par-5 holes. His scoring average for the second hole is 4.29, and his worst par-5 is the 15th, where he is averaging 4.54. In 24 rounds before this year, Scheffler has made four eagles and 46 birdies on the par-5s.

Or take McIlroy’s par-5 record in his 18 starts. He is cumulative 23-under par for the second and eighth holes, 27-under for the 13th, and a remarkable 31-under par for the 15th hole.

Last year, the Northern Irishman uncharacteristically made two double bogeys on the back nine par-5s, but he was still eight-under on them with three eagles.

Compare that to Bryson DeChambeau’s 2025. The big-hitting Texan had once famously remarked that Augusta National was more like a par-67 golf course for him because of his immense length off the tee.

Last year’s Sunday was another example of why he admitted regret in uttering that line. DeChambeau made a crippling double bogey on the 11th hole, and then could not apply any pressure on McIlroy as he did not convert the remaining par-5s on the back nine.

Fred Couples, the 1994 champion who has played the golf course umpteen times and has a great record, summed it up perfectly… “You want to avoid bogeys on the par-4s and make birdies on the par-5s. That would probably put you right up there on the leaderboard after four rounds.”

Joy Chakravarty is the on-ground correspondent for EssentiallySports at the 2026 Masters.