Low numbers, fan excitement return to Augusta National

~ An easier setup upped the volumeat the Masters.

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Masters chairman Billy Payne called it an "important test" for Augusta National to regain its personality as a golf course where it's as much fun to listen as it is to watch.

One can only suspect now that Payne was bluffing.

He knew the answer before Chad Campbell set a Masters record by opening the tournament with five straight birdies, before a record 17 eagles were recorded in the second round, and before a dozen players went to the back nine Sunday thinking they could win.

"I think we have it about right," Payne said on the eve of the Masters.

Masters champion Angel Cabrera putts on the eighth green during Sunday's final round. (ROB CARR ~ Associated Press)

The score required for the three-man playoff won by Angel Cabrera was 12-under 276. That was the lowest score since 2005, the last year before the final installment of changes (meaning extra length).

Not everyone went for the green on the 13th and 15th holes Sunday, but it sure seemed that way. Both holes played to an average of about 4.3, lower than some of the par 4s. But those two holes are what make the back nine special, the chance for someone to make up ground quickly.

The volume was cranked up. The pressure was ramped up.

"There's roars going up all over the place out there, and that's what it's all about, really," Graeme McDowell said after his final round Sunday. "It's supposed to be entertaining for the crowds. That's what these people come to see."

Payne needed some help from Mother Nature, but not that much.

After three practice rounds of bone-dry conditions, the greens were surprisingly soft and receptive in the first round. Had officials kept them firm, there would not have been a record 19 rounds in the 60s.

On the scorecard, Augusta National was 10 yards shorter, with the only official change on the first hole. On the golf course, expanded tee boxes at Nos. 7 and 15, for example, allowed for the tee markers to be moved forward and the holes to be far less frightening.

Augusta National is more than a quarter-mile longer than when Tiger Woods won his first Masters, but the length was necessary. It only needed a few years for players to catch up to the changes and overcome their intimidation. It needed a week of good weather, and for a few small adjustments on the tees and greens.

That made everything about right.

It sounded perfect.

Even for those watching from home, it was hard to ignore the cheers. They could be heard from a nearby hole even as the camera was trained on a player standing over a putt.

One of the more fascinating scenes happened early in the final round, when Cabrera was playing his pitch to the par-5 second hole. Then came a ground-shaking roar as his ball was in flight. Just 40 yards away is the seventh green, where Phil Mickelson deposited an iron a foot away from the cup for another birdie.

It was like that all afternoon.