Masters 2012: Weather Will Play a Huge Role in Historic Tournament

The 2012 Masters is not going to play like a typical trip to Augusta due to heavy rain softening up the challenging greens of this iconic course. 

The course was soaked by 1.5 inches of rain from the first moments of Wednesday until the early morning. The rain subsided as players took the course for the Par 3 Contest, but the dry weather was temporary. The rain picked back up before the golfers were off the course. 

This rain is not expected to leave anytime soon either. Here is Weather.com's latest update on the expected conditions:

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Unfortunately, the timing for an upper-level weather system to pass through the Southeast is not good for the first two rounds. It appears the best chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms will be Thursday into Thursday night. Weather delays are possible. Temperatures will be in the 70s.

On Friday, there may be some lingering showers, particularly during the morning. It will also be breezy. High temperatures will be cooler, only reaching into the 60s. 

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The weather is expected to be sunny and clear over the weekend, but by then it will have already made its mark. 

Impact of the Rain

The first impact to consider is that the rain will likely force play to be suspended. It is always impossible to predict how a golfer will react when their rhythm is disrupted. 

It is not easy to stop mid-round, wait for an undisclosed amount of time and then resume while continuing to play championship-caliber golf. 

The ability to handle these delays will play a huge role in the outcome of this tournament. That is not the biggest factor, though. 

That would belong to how the rain alters the way golfers can attack this course. It essentially makes it a more even playing field. 

The rain will limit distance off the tee, but this will be off-set by the fact that greens will be far easier to hit. The putting surfaces will be soft, which will allow for players to aggressively attack the pin and have the ball safely stick. 

Once on the greens, they will not be facing the treacherous heavy-breaking surfaces that typically come with this tournament. The greens are going to be slow and lack their typically massive breaks. 

And all of this is going to limit the advantage that competitors gain with experience. There is tremendous value in knowing the various breaks of the green and with those breaks being a lot more subtle, they will not be as big of a factor. 

This is truly anyone's tournament now.