Cam’s caddie change

Cameron Smith has become a regular feature on the PGA Tour and at the majors, where he appears increasingly comfortable with every appearance. So too has his Kiwi caddie Sam Pinfold, who has guided Smith for a number of years, including for his two Australian PGA Championship wins and victory at the Sony Open earlier this year.

However, sightings of Smith at Augusta so far this week show Pinfold won’t be wearing the white overalls bearing his name. Details of the pair’s arrangement are not clear, but Smith will have fellow Aussie Matthew Tritton on the bag this week as he did at the CJ Cup and ZOZO Championship.

Tritton has plenty of experience, working for Geoff Ogilvy, Matt Kuchar, Peter Lonard, Michael Sim, Robert Allenby and Cameron Tringale throughout his career.

Cameron Smith and new caddie Matt Tritton get in some practice with Adam Scott and Marc Leishman. PHOTO: Rob Carr/Getty Images.

Scott’s seven in golf heaven

Adam Scott’s equipment has been in the news, most notably due to his new driver (Titleist TSi4) and first golf ball change in five years. Scott, like numerous others of late, has opted for a lighter and longer shaft that helped him lead the distance statistics last week in Houston. But the 2013 champion has also added a club once considered a choice only for older golfers.

The Queenslander has been working with a 7-wood in the lead-up to Thursday’s opening round which will likely take the place of his trusty 2-iron utility.

With the course expected to play soft and longer, the move is no doubt in anticipation of longer shots required into the greens this week, where the high flight and soft landing characteristics of a higher-lofted wood could be invaluable.

Similarly to his driver shaft, Scott is not alone in adding a higher-lofted fairway to his bag at Augusta National.

Bryson can’t hit the books

As the most recent men’s major winner and currently the most talked about player in the game, Bryson DeChambeau has rightly grabbed plenty of attention this week.

Whether the bulked-up American will bring Augusta to its knees with his new found power remains to be seen, but reports of the clubs he has used to approach many of the greens during practice rounds suggests it, and a green jacket, are not out of the question.

However, when assessing his chances this week, it is important to remember that the highly detailed green reading books used week-in and week-out on the PGA Tour are not permitted by the green coats of Augusta.

Although a disadvantage for every regular user in the field at the Masters, DeChambeau might be one of the more in-depth users of the detailed maps during every other tournament, adding another challenge when reading the course’s treacherous putting surfaces.

Phoning it in

Stories of the rules and regulations of Augusta National during Masters week are stuff of legend.

No running by patrons, media or anyone for that matter, is one of the most famous.

This week appears to have seen one of the other most oft discussed rules relaxed for the players, with the appearance of mobile phones during practice rounds.

Cell phones, as they are known in the US, are forbidden on the grounds during tournament week, with media leaving theirs in the sprawling and flat out amazing media centre, while patrons are able to check theirs in lockers as they enter to be collected later in the day.

So, too, is it rare to see a player reach for theirs, but videos of swings are being taken this week, so too Instagram stories as Ian Poulter showed last weekend after being one of the first players to arrive having withdrawn from the Houston Open.

Victorian Lukas Michel is going to pay a premium for his Masters debut. PHOTO: Augusta National.

Tournament without borders

Without patrons on the ground for the 84th Masters Tournament due to COVID-19 there was obviously going to be numerous changes to how the event works.

Ticket holders for 2020 were still able to get their fill of Masters merchandise via the online Patron Store, yet the Golf Shop lines that can take hours are not to be seen.

In another change of appearance for this year, with no crowds to keep in place, there will be no ropes to be seen on the course.

The assembled media on site will perhaps be the greatest beneficiaries as they walk unhindered by crowds and get a closer look than ever on the subjects of their stories, podcasts etc. But the look will also change the way the players see the course.

The par-4 11th has been mentioned by some with the rope line and assembled on-lookers missing having a much wider bail-out area of fairway to the right of the green. So, too, the left side of the 18th hole where crowds normally take up a place just back of the fairway bunkers and use the expanse of open land between the final hole, 9th green and 8th fairway to move around the course. During one practice round Bryson DeChambeau took his drive into this area to be left with a unique angle into the heavily sloping green.

“I hit it over the bunker, you can have 110 yards into the green,” DeChambeau said of the final hole.

An expensive trip of a lifetime

Aussie amateur Lukas Michel has been waiting patiently to finally get his chance to tee it up in The Masters this week, but the delayed event may end up costing him a pretty penny.

The Victorian has been in American for a number of months now and played the US Open, where he missed the cut at Winged Foot, but with plans to be home for Christmas, Michel has had three economy tickets cancelled at around $1,000 a pop.

The 2019 US Mid-Amateur champion revealed on Twitter in response to a tweet from his employer and Golf Australia’s own architecture editor Mike Clayton that the only way back to his homeland is likely via a one-way business or first class ticket going for more than $10,000.

Despite the financial setback, it is certain Michel will be lapping up everything the Masters has to offer this week before attempting to return home.