Daily Fantasy Golf Weather Report for the Masters
Usually, the impact of weather on sports is minimal, but when it comes to an outdoor sport like golf, wind, rain, heat, humidity, barometric pressure, and more can all affect player performance.
The Masters at Augusta National is tough enough even in calm weather, but wind and rain could make things even more difficult. What all do you need to know?
Let's break it down.
The Forecast
The course has been closed twice this week, Monday and Wednesday, because of weather, specifically heavy rain and lightning.
According to Dark Sky, rain is expected until around 8:00 a.m. EST Thursday morning, right when the first players will tee off. That should lead to slower greens, which could make putting -- usually notoriously difficult -- a bit easier.
Thursday
Temperatures will stick between 55 and 65 during playing hours, and no rain is expected after 8:00 a.m. Players who tee off earlier should have slower conditions in their favor because of the overnight rain.
Winds to the east will be constant, from 15 miles per hour early in the day to 20-plus miles per hour in the afternoon.
Friday
Friday will be clear of rain and will also run warmer than Thursday. Temperatures will be in the mid 40s for the first tee time but climb to the mid 60s by the final tee time of 2:03 p.m. (Brandt Snedeker, Justin Rose, and Jason Day).
Winds will be less severe, peaking at around 18 miles per hour but still hovering above 10 miles per hour for the day.
Saturday
Golfers who make the cut -- the top 50 plus anyone within 10 strokes of the leader after Round 2 -- will be met with some nicer weather on Saturday. The temperatures will range from the mid 40s to the mid 60s.
The radar is clear of rain, and winds should stick around five miles per hour.
Sunday
We could cut and paste Saturday's forecast here, but the winds should be a little stronger but still stick below 10 miles per hour.
Takeaways
With impactful conditions very much in play before the cut, you'd probably benefit from rostering players with a good (or at least some) course history at Augusta. Dealing with the Augusta National is no easy feat in ideal conditions, and the weather will make course familiarity even more important than usual.
With the high winds, you can also bump down players with high drive apex heights if you want. Some big names in the top 30 in that stat are Jon Rahm, Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas, Jason Day, Bubba Watson, Justin Rose, Alex Noren, and Dustin Johnson. Of course, that doesn't account for iron apex, and approach shots tend to matter more here.
