Until this year, that is. Cool winds and a brutally difficult, fast-running course have made this the meditative Masters. An extraordinarily lowdrama quotient so far, the only noise coming out of the pines has been the muttering of disgruntled players.

Tiger Woods said the way to survive was simply to "plod along", while Brett Wetterich, the joint leader at the end of the second round and a player with a Tin Cup mindset, explained that par was going to be his best friend during this difficult weekend of golf.

Augusta should not be a plod-along kind of golf course, it was not meant to be played defensively, yet it's as if the officials have decided to exact some revenge on Woods 10 years after he brought their famous lay-out to its knees.

"It's as dry as it was in 1999, but they've added 500 yards and a billion trees, " said the world number one. Certainly, this is the first time since the course was lengthened, the fairways narrowed and rough introduced that it has played to its most penal potential.

There has to be a winner later today, however, the Masters itself could end up as the biggest loser if the final round becomes yet another exercise in survival.

Amid the dissent, Padraig Harrington emerged as a voice of support for Augusta as a grinding ground. "It's playing excellent, just spot-on, " he said. Not surprising perhaps after his hugely impressive second round 68 which was only matched by Paul Casey.

Having played himself back into contention following an opening 77, this was probably Harrington refusing to engage in anything negative.

"The course gives you a chance to shoot a good score, so that's the great thing about it, " he added. "If you play very well, you feel like you can shoot a good score, and if you don't play well, you'll shoot a bad score."

However, Harrington's impression of the course was not echoed by Henrik Stenson, one of the pre-tournament favourites. "The unfortunate thing about this place is you can hit some really good shots and get absolutely nothing out of it. It's on the edge of being silly-tough. It's bordering on the ridiculous, if it's not already."

If the truth lies somewhere between Stenson's cordite and Harrington's pragmatism, Lee Westwood wasn't holding back in his analysis. "When the course was shorter, more of us would have had an answer. It's not the type of golf I like to play. I don't really like this place any more, it just asks too many questions there are no answers to."

While not engaging in any criticism, two former champions and eminence grises of Augusta, Tom Watson and Ben Crenshaw, were certainly scratching their heads.

"Greens are the toughest I've seen them, " said Watson. "You try not to get hurt, " offered Crenshaw.

If the unseasonably dry, cool, breezy weather has contributed significantly to the challenge posed by the course, a further clue may be found in the identity of Augusta's new competition committee chairman. Charged with setting up the course for the first time, Fred Ridley has come to the Masters table after a longtime association with the USGA and its blue-chip tournament, the US Open.

And it's as if Ridley cast a cold eye over Augusta with its rich tradition of attacking golf, and decided to wrap it in a US Open shroud. Now, no one is saying that a major championship has to be a soft touch in the name of birdies and eagles, and no one is saying that an atypical US Open doesn't have its cachet, but one par-fest per season is more than enough.

"Most of the roars out there are par putts from 30 or 40 feet, certainly not too many eagles and birdies out there, " explained Woods. "Be aggressive here, on this course? Not in these conditions."

It was no coincidence that the eight-over-par cut mark of 152 was the highest since the tournament record of 154 was set in 1982. If, before the start today, one of the leading players was offered Jack Nicklaus's even-par winning total from 1966, he would surely take it.

The men of the Masters hand out a pair of crystal goblets for every eagle scored during the championship, but this year it appears they are going to be left with quite a bit of expensive cut-glass on their hands.

Amid all the pining from the pines, with the players playing defensively and the galleries barely clearing their throats, he who dares is unlikely to win this Masters.