Quotes & reaction from Augusta National

STEVE STRICKER: When the greens are fast? It all comes down to tempo, I believe. It comes down to making a smoother, shorter stroke. You can't really get too aggressive and too hitty with it. You know, I always try to smooth it out and slow it down, especially when greens get lightning fast like these do at times.

STEVE STRICKER: There are a lot of holes that are very intimidating. 12, the par 3 can be very difficult. You know, 11, the second shot at 11 is very difficult. There's just a bunch of holes you have to make sure you're totally committed to the shot and know what you want to do with it before you execute it.

LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, I think that's what experience is all about. You get people that have played well here in the past, and you get repeat winners, because it is a golf course that requires a lot of concentration and focus. You can't let your guard down for a second. You'll get into the spots where you can't be aggressive from on holes that you would normally like to be aggressive and then you have to, you know, use some common sense. So, yeah, I feel like I've been in a lot of those spots and can move on from that. 

DUSTIN JOHNSON: You've got to excel on the par-5s here. 

MARC LEISHMAN: Around here or any golf course you're going to make a few mistakes, you just try and keep the doubles out. 

PHIL MICKELSON: You don't have to be a big hitter to win here. You have to play away from your weaknesses to your strengths, and so if you're not the longest hitter, you've got to play to your strengths, which needs to be wedge play and take advantage of the par 5s; and miss the par 4s in spots where your short game, that you can take advantage of. If your short game isn't sharp, you really need to strike it exceptionally well. I don't know if it's really possible because the penalty for a slight miss-hit is in an area where you have to be on your short game. So anybody, whether you are long or short, if you're on your short game, you have a good chance.

ROSS FISHER: It's just on another level. You know, for one, it's the Masters. It's a major championship. You know, they cut the fairways into you, so it's very important to get good connection on the ball, and that's not even talking about the greens. You know, they're very slopey, very severe, and if you get above some of these holes, they are extremely quick.

RORY McILROY:  I love it.  I mean, it's my favorite tournament of the year.  I think everyone knows that.  I think it's a lot of guys's favorite tournament of the year.  It's the one you're looking forward to the most. I had a chance to win in 2011 and obviously that didn't go too well, but still doesn't change the fact that it's my favorite golf tournament. 

JUSTIN ROSE:  I think there's so much that can happen at this golf course, there's no point getting ahead of yourself.  Until you've gone through Amen Corner, any round of golf, any given day, no scorecard is safe.  And that obviously leads you into Sunday knowing that you're five behind, you still have a chance.  There's eagles, birdies, all sorts of great things can happen here at Augusta. So I think more than any other tournament really, some big swings can happen score wise; therefore, you can't get too far of yourself and you can never give up, either.  Anything can happen here which I think makes it such a special tournament. 

BRANDT SNEDEKER:  It's a crazy week.  I don't care what you say, playing a practice round in front of 50,000 people is taxing and trying to get your work done.  These greens put you on edge, it's an edgy week, everybody kind of handles me with kid gloves this week and gives me a little extra slack because you are on edge and try to keep the distractions to a minimum. 

ADAM SCOTT:  I think the most difficult hole out here is the first hole.  I just think we all get  we build up the nerves before we go to the tee on Thursday or any round, and it's just a difficult golf hole.  I think it demands a lot out of the drive and quite a long second shot up the hill to a very severe green, and I think when you're just trying to gather your thoughts and get composed out there, it asks a lot out of you, so I think the first hole is the most difficult hole out here. 

JASON DAY:  Masters Sunday is always very nerve wracking, so I think patience is a big key.  Being very patient with yourself and staying patient with the bounces and the ups and downs out there, because there's certainly going to be a lot of ups and downs.

PATRICK REED:  I'm very comfortable out here.  I like playing a little draw, so it sets up really well for the golf course as well as I've worked really hard on being able to hit a controlled cut, as well.  So in case you need that  because you do need that on a couple holes out here. Get used to the speeds of the greens because when it comes down to it, it's going to be who putts the best and who positions the golf ball. 

JORDAN SPIETH: You just have so many 40 footers.  There's nothing you can do about it.  And the different influences of certain holes, where the slowest putts on the course are, where the uphill but fast putts are.  I think what I'll probably do is go back and write down which putts I had, what they did, and how the speed was, compared to what I thought.  That way I can start creating almost a greens' book for this course because knowing the slopes doesn't always mean you know the breaks out here. 

RICKIE FOWLER:  It's always fun.  It's Augusta.  There's a lot of variety out here and it's a lot of fun to play this course.  Even when you're not hitting it well, you can get in some positions where you get to hit some fun golf shots and be creative.

BUBBA WATSON: Well, every hole on the back nine is the challenge.  You know, on Saturday night, when you have a chance or whatever tournament it is, you're thinking about, you're trying to get away from it. So for me it's about calming your mind and not thinking about what could happen, what the green jacket means or what the trophy means, and that's the challenge on the back nine when you're close to the lead or leading is getting focused on what you need to do at that moment.

RYAN MOORE: The thing that's so great about it is that there's always bogeys lurking, but if you hit the right shot and play the hole right, you're going to have a reasonable chance at birdie.

LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN:  It's a tough course, isn't it.  So if you're not, if you're not on your game, you're going to be out of here early.  You got to be spot on with your second shots. You might miss one or two on the wrong side and make bogeys. I love this golf course.  I feel if I play well, if I come in playing well, I've got a good chance at winning the event.  And if I don't play well, then obviously I won't be around.

HENRIK STENSON: You've always got to be patient I think when you're playing tournament golf and major championships in particular, and Augusta in particular. It's just the margins for error are so small. 

ZACH JOHNSON: This one, I take the week off, because what I do at home, the golf course there, the superintendent, what he does to the course, the practice area, it's not Augusta, but we make it extreme, and that helps when I get here. It's still not Augusta. I mean, the bottom line is we're talking about this, my caddie and I and another player were saying, you can prepare all you want and you get here and you say, there's nothing like it. There is nothing like it; that's the beauty of it.

PAUL CASEY: It certainly suits my game. I think the fact I've got a high, traditionally a high ball flight; the ability to hit the driver a little bit right to left. I've always felt I'm a good lag putter, whether the stats show it or not, I've always felt comfortable on really fast greens. 

BERNHARD LANGER: I'm probably 40, 50 yards behind some of these big hitters, maybe sometimes only 30, but that's a lot to give up. But there's still other ways of doing it. If you hit it exactly where you want to hit it, you can still shoot under par, and that's what I've been trying to do. 

MATT FITZPATRICK: It's different. I think when I came as an amateur, I didn't have any expectations, mainly it was to make the cut. Here this week I've managed to make the cut but I just think it's different. I think every shot really does count. As an amateur when I played it didn't really matter too much if I missed the cut. It was a great experience for me, and I think I wouldn't have done as well as I did this year without that, if that's what you meant. I think it helps to know the course well.