Does the Masters Tournament really begin on the back nine Sunday?

Not really, but it makes for a nice slogan.

The Masters has always been contested over 72 holes, and the final nine holes at Augusta National Golf Club have always made for great drama. TV coverage, great finishes and the aura of the Masters have contributed to the long-held belief that the year's first major doesn't actually begin until late Sunday.

An examination of the past 10 Masters, which encompasses the course changes made in 1998 and 2002, shows the winner has averaged 33.8 (almost 2-under par) on his final nine holes.

Of course, Phil Mickelson made five birdies in a back-nine 31 in 2004 to win his first green jacket. Conversely, Tiger Woods struggled to 37 in 2002 thanks to a pair of bogeys and only one birdie.

The common formula that Masters officials put together is for pin locations to start out tough and gradually become easier as the week progresses.

"We try to test them earlier in the week with the pins,'' said Will Nicholson, the chairman of the Masters rules and competition committee. "Then we let the shotmakers take over.''

Exciting finishes have been the standard at the Masters through the years: Gene Sarazen's double eagle in 1935, Arnold Palmer's birdie-birdie finish to win in 1960 and Jack Nicklaus' 30 on the back nine in 1986 are some of the memorable moments.

The 2004 Masters was hailed as one of the most exciting in the tournament's 68-year history. In addition to Mickelson's fireworks, runner-up Ernie Els made a pair of eagles, K.J. Choi holed a fairway shot for eagle on the par-4 11th, and Padraig Harrington and Kirk Triplett made holes-in-one on the 16th in successive groups.

In the 2004 tournament, 30 eagles were made. That was more than the previous two years (14 in 2003 and 13 in 2002) combined.

The course setup was there for the exciting shots to be made, and the players executed.

"It was a function of the course setup,'' Mickelson said. "The officials here set the course up very difficult on Thursday. We didn't see very many scores under par. When I say difficult, the pins are at high spots where the ball funnels away. And they set it up for an exciting finish on Sunday. They had a lot of low pins.''

Some critics charged that the Masters had lost its excitement with changes to more than half the holes since 2002, mostly lengthening them and demanding more accuracy from the tee.

But the attack on par in 2004 proved the Masters can still be exciting. Don't look for any changes in traditional Sunday pin placements today.

"I expect you'll see them pretty close to the same spot,'' Masters Chairman Hootie Johnson said Wednesday. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it.''

Reach John Boyette at (706) 823-3337 or john.boyette@augustachronicle.com.

BRINGING IT HOME

Back-nine scores from the final round of recent champions (*birdies, +bogeys):

Year	Winner	Score	*	+
2004	Phil Mickelson	31	5	0
2003	Mike Weir	34	2	0
2002	Tiger Woods	37	1	2
2001	Tiger Woods	34	3	1
2000	Vijay Singh	35	3	2
Year	Winner	Score	*	+
1999	J.M. Olazabal	33	3	0
1998	Mark O’Meara	34	3	1
1997	Tiger Woods	33	3	0
1996	Nick Faldo	33	3	0
1995	Ben Crenshaw	34	3	1