Weather the story of Wednesday at Augusta

Yesterday we talked about how the storms affecting Augusta and projected to continue through Thursday and Friday before the weather breaks for the weekend.

Last night a storm with winds at 40mph ripped through Augusta dropping and inch and a half of rain on the course, and after the fog that shrouded the town lifted at 10am this morning the course had to be closed at 3,25 due to more thunder lightning and rain. More rain is in the forecast for tonight, as well as the first two days of the tournament as I mentioned

"I played nine holes with Freddie (Couples) and Sean (O'Hair) and hit seven drives and had seven mud balls," Tiger Woods said after a practice round.

Because of those conditions, Augusta National officials may consider instituting lift, clean and place rules which was one of the shockers from chairman Payne's annual media address today.

"We surely would not want to do that. That would be a decision very difficult to make. However, we are also bright enough to know that weather conditions can have an impact on that, and possibly cause us to change our minds on that issue."

One advantage Augusta National has over other courses is its state-of-the-art SubAir system under its greens. With the flip of a switch, the greens can be as fast and dry as officials want.

However, Phil Mickelson believes the wet conditions will lead to more birdies and therefore bring more players into the mix.

"When the subtleties don't come out, the experience of playing here in the past is not as important, because you don't have to fear the greens," Mickelson said. "You can get up-and-down from the edges. Those shots are not as hard. Unless they change something … it's going to be a birdie-fest."

The Par 3 was reduced to 9 holes and Paddy Harrington and Jonathan Byrd were co winners. Harrington is used to winning the Par 3 Contest. In 2003, he shared the honors with David Toms and in 2004, he won outright. This year and 2003 are the only times in the history of the Par 3 Contest that dual winners have been declared.

During the "skipping " contest at the 16th Martin Kaymer stole the show as he 7 skipped his across the pond and into the hole for an ace !! Last year's par 3 winner Luke Donald skipped the event all together saying the greens on the par 3 are different from the big course.

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles and at www.isr1050.com