AUGUSTA, Ga. – Annie Spieth pumped both arms into the Georgia air, as the beaded string attached to the end of her mask flew upward. On the left corner, two words appeared from the dangling chain: GOOD VIBES.
“Let’s go!” Annie exclaimed as her husband chipped in for birdie on No. 10. “Oh my gosh!”
Just like that, the weekend roars had returned to Augusta National.
It began with Jordan Spieth at 10, and then quickly transferred three groups ahead where Xander Schauffele and Hideki Matsuyama obliterated Augusta’s second nine.
The twosome combined to shoot 9-under par on the final nine holes, including a pair of eagles at No. 15.
“That’s an eagle roar,” said Mike Williford, a patron from Atlanta who listened from the 13th fairway. “It’s starting to feel like Augusta again.”
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Moments later, a second roar rose from the 15th green, sending echoes from the Sarazen Bridge to Amen Corner.
“God I’ve missed this,” Williford said. “There’s nothing like this place.”
As the roars bounced between the loblollies, so did the groans – especially at No. 13. Justin Thomas laid up with his second shot before his third disappeared into Rae’s Creek, sending a gasp through the gallery.
“No, no, no,” said Williford, as Thomas’ ball was swept away by the creek’s current. “You can’t leave it short. Anywhere but short.”
Thomas compounded the miscue by three-putting the 13th green, as a second groan engulfed the gallery.
“Hear that?” Williford asked rhetorically. “That’s the one you’re afraid of. That’s the one at Augusta that few players can recover from.”