In the first round of the 2026 Masters, Firethorn had a scoring average of 5.121. That made it tougher than three of Augusta’s par-4s and marked the hardest first-round performance for the hole in tournament history. Three players, Fred Couples, Robert MacIntyre, and Danny Willett, each made a quadruple-bogey 9. The last time three 9s were recorded on Firethorn in a single round was back in 1998. Par-5s usually aren’t this punishing, but this one was. Phil Mickelson had seen enough.
“[It’s] taken away so much excitement and intrigue to the back nine. Another example of how longer isn’t always better.”
Mickelson shared those thoughts on X on Friday. NUCLR Golf reposted his comments, which got 18,900 views. The three-time Masters champion withdrew from the 2026 tournament on April 2 to support his family during a health issue, making this just his second absence since 1995. He wasn’t in Augusta this week, but he didn’t need to be to notice the problem.
#DISAPPOINTED — Phil Mickelson has been watching The Masters and says he’s upset that more people aren’t able to go for the green on 13 & 15
“[It’s] taken away so much excitement and intrigue to the back nine. Another example of how longer isn’t always better.”
Do you… pic.twitter.com/0Tx3suT1wt
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) April 10, 2026
Before Augusta extended Firethorn to 550 yards in 2022, eagle rates hovered between ten and fifteen percent. Since then, those numbers have been cut in half. In 2024, not a single eagle was recorded. The following year, only six. Azalea saw its birdie rate fall from thirty-nine percent to as low as twenty-five percent after the 2023 tee moved back to 545 yards. Eagles on the 13th are now below five percent. In the opening round of 2026, just seven players went for the green in two.
Par-5s are central to winning the Masters. The numbers are clear: fourteen of the last sixteen champions were among the top 40 in par-5 scoring that year. Nine of the last ten winners played the par-5s at seven under or better. When Augusta’s back nine offers these scoring chances, the leaderboard changes quickly. When those chances disappear, the tournament loses its usual momentum.
The data shows the shift is already underway. From 2009 to 2018, players posted sub-par scores on Augusta’s par-5s at a rate of 40.3 percent. Between 2019 and 2023, that figure climbed to 44.7 percent as equipment kept advancing.
Augusta responded by lengthening Azalea and Firethorn. Azalea, once the easiest hole, became the most difficult par-5 in 2023 after the tee was moved back. For four years in a row, the back nine has played nearly a full stroke harder than the front.
Mickelson is not the only one to bring up this issue. When Augusta made Firethorn longer before the 2022 tournament, Xander Schauffele said he wished the club had left the hole as it was, saying it was “nice to have holes you can reach” at Augusta. Bubba Watson was even more direct. He pointed out that Augusta wanted “the roars back on Sunday” a few years ago, then asked, “Now you’re takin’ away the roars?” Brooks Koepka also said the new length made the tee shot tougher, and that players would need to “snap-hook” a driver to get around the corner on Azalea. Three different players, but they all see the same problem.
Augusta has been quietly pushing back against equipment advances that made both holes play more like easy par-4s, taking away the challenge of the second shot. The club’s effort to make things tougher makes sense. When top players are hitting mid-irons into a par-5 green every time, the excitement fades. But making the holes longer doesn’t always bring back the drama. Scottie Scheffler sent his second shot over the back of Firethorn’s green in Round 1 and still made par. Couples hit a wedge into the water twice.
The hole is more difficult now. But as Mickelson points out, making a hole harder does not necessarily make it better.
The history of Firethorn and Azalea makes it clear that difficulty and quality are not always aligned.
Phil Mickelson and the Masters moments Augusta’s back nine used to produce
Gene Sarazen’s double eagle on Firethorn in 1935 changed the outcome of the Masters and set a standard for decisive play under pressure. Jack Nicklaus, at 46, made eagle on the same hole in 1986, turning a difficult situation into a winning position. Both moments are remembered not just for the shots, but for how they shifted the tournament.
Phil Mickelson’s eagle on Firethorn in 2010 put him in position to win his third Masters. Jeff Maggert’s double eagle on Azalea in 1994 remains the only albatross on that hole in competition. These are examples of players taking on risk and being rewarded.
These outcomes were by design. Firethorn and Azalea were built to test decision-making under pressure. The hazards force players to choose between caution and aggression. The excitement these holes generate is not a byproduct; it is the intended result of the course’s architecture.
When players make a quadruple bogey on a par-5, it is a different kind of spectacle. It is not the same as the moments when boldness was rewarded. Augusta’s hazards remain, but the course is gradually losing the conditions that encourage players to challenge them.
