Hootie Johnson had to be smiling Sunday.

The chairman of Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters Tournament was roundly criticized coming into the tournament for changes that added 155 yards to the layout.

The Masters could only be won by long hitters, they said.

And it was widely believed that short- and medium-length hitters - such as former champions Jose Maria Olazabal and Mike Weir - couldn't contend on a course that, at 7,445 yards, was the second longest in major championship history.

True, long-hitting Phil Mickelson captured his second green jacket in three years Sunday.

But the little guys had their say, too.

Tim Clark of South Africa finished second, and Olazabal turned in the best score of the week with 6-under-par 66 on Sunday.

Not surprisingly, the short hitters excelled on three of the four tournament days, when conditions were fast and firm. Clark outdueled playing partner Tiger Woods by one shot Sunday.

"I noticed today Tiger hitting a lot of 3-woods. So they have taken driver out of his hand here and there," Clark said. "If it is firm and fast, it's fair for all. If it's wet, then it's going to be tough."

Augusta National lengthened Nos. 1, 4, 7, 11, 15 and 17 before this year's Masters.

The chief complaints were about the seventh, a par 4 that was stretched to 450 yards, and the 505-yard 11th, which added yardage and featured new trees on both sides of the fairway.

Johnson got his wish: Three of the six altered holes were among the four toughest holes for the week. The intent in changing them, he said, was to put longer clubs in the hands of players and make the course play like it did in the era before technology threatened to make the course obsolete.

No. 11 was once again the hardest overall hole, playing to an average of nearly 4.5 shots. It yielded only one birdie in the final round, and that came courtesy of short-hitting Larry Mize.

The 17th hole, which was pushed back 15 yards, came in as the second-hardest overall hole for the tournament. It had ranked as the 10th-hardest hole in Masters history before this year.

No 1, which was lengthened 20 yards, played fourth hardest. Nos. 7 and 4 ranked sixth and seventh most difficult, respectively.

Moving the tee back 30 yards and shifting it to the golfers' left had no effect on the easy par-5 15th. It was again the easiest hole and produced two eagles and 20 birdies in the final round.

At least one of the players who was initially skeptical changed his tune after playing the course the entire week.

"I think they're good. They are better than I thought," said Weir, the 2003 winner who tied for 11th. "I would like to see them shorten the rough just a little more, especially on No. 11 to the right side. Other than that, the changes are great."

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

How the changed holes played

Hole	Cumulative Avg.	Rank (2006)	Rank (all-time)
No. 1	4.248	4	7
No. 4	3.208	7	3
No. 7	4.215	6	13
No. 11	4.474	1	4
No. 15	4.751	18	18
No. 17	4.284	2	10