Jordan Spieth hints at the censorship that is happening in the Masters.
The 31-year-old suggested that tournament organizers would like golfers to refrain from talking about challenges coming from mud balls on Saturday.
Spieth, who brought his green jacket home in 2015, earned a respectable master following his third round of 69 on Saturday after cutting numbers.
Despite his Saturday performance being the best of the tournament, he scored 11 shots behind 21st, leader Rory McIlroy, entering the closing round.
Spieth said he believes that mud balls will have strokes.
“My iron play killed me in the last two days, and to be cruelly honest with you, it was mainly a ball that was mud.” Spieth said after the round. “It's so frustrating because you can't talk about them here, you're not going to talk about them.
“The mudball could have a big impact on this tournament, especially if you get a lot of it at 11 and 13, it's just a small part of these two holes.”
The mud that sticks to golf balls can make iron shots unpredictable. It's not breaking the news, but the people responsible for Augusta National are known to be heavily protected against the image of the course.
“Less than usual, but I still had them in those holes. I had them in those holes,” Spieth said. “You definitely need to pay attention to the leader group because you usually have to play far from trouble when it affects randomly or lay up random things.
“Look, it's trimmed into the grain. The ball is digging in every shot. Often you have it on 75% of the drive.”
Other golfers have previously focused on the issue of mud balls at Augusta National, and Spanish golfer Sergio Garcia announced an apology to the Masters in 2009 following his own criticism.
“Even if it's dry, you'll still get a mud ball in the middle of the fairway,” Garcia said. “There are too many guessing games.”
