GolfWeb staff and wire reports

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- The rough really isn't much shaggier than the fairways at a local municipal. And the par-5s are still mostly reachable for both the long and the daring.

The players say Augusta National is playing tougher, but the scores don't really bear that out.

Halfway through the Masters, Nick Price believes the most notable effect of all the changes may be that the green jacket won't necessarily be won in a putting contest.

"The guys who were the best chippers and the best putters from 30 feet and in always to me seemed to have a distinct advantage on this golf course," Price said. "Now they've brought the ball strikers back into it."

The biggest course changes made in the history of the Masters have been well received by most players. Masters officials should also be pleased that they have made just subtle differences and haven't sent all scores soaring.

Through two rounds, the scoring average is 74.3, about a quarter-shot a round higher than last year and just above the 74.2 average since 1942.

Mostly, the changes have made for some new and different shots from the tees and fairways -- and especially the rough, which takes off the spin needed to control shots into the hard and undulating greens.

"The course is more demanding now than it was before," said leader José Maria Olazábal, who won here in 1994. "The second cut (of rough) doesn't allow you to control the ball."

Norman on the vast 10th fairway.(AP)

That has helped position players like Price and U.S. Open champion Lee Janzen, who may take more pride in their ability to hit fairways and create shots than they do in putting.

It may also explain how a guy who quit the game because he couldn't putt and is now playing with a long putter (Scott McCarron) can be in contention.

"When I heard there was going to be a little rough, I was excited about that," Janzen said.

Janzen, who has never finished in the top 10 in seven previous Masters, shot a 69 Friday to get to 5-under for the tournament, three shots behind Olazabal.

Price was even par for the day and still in the hunt for his first Masters title at 3-under for the tournament.

"They tried to make the course harder the correct way instead of making the greens so firm and so fast where it really played in the hands of the guys who had the greatest short games," Price said.

Price won a British Open and two PGA's playing on courses that demanded great accuracy and shotmaking skills. Before this year, the fairways of Augusta National seemed to stretch forever, with no rough to penalize errant shots.

Price hasn't finished better than 18th since 1993 and missed three of the last six cuts.

"I just always felt this golf course suited a particular type of player's game, someone who hit the ball long and high and someone who was chipping and putting exceptional," Price said. "I didn't fit in that category.''

While the changes made some holes play tougher, others just seemed tougher.

On the 15th hole, David Duval made an eight even after laying up on his second shot. It was one of four "others" and 15 double bogeys recorded there in two days.

"Every year we play 15 it gets tougher and tougher, I don't know why," said Olazábal, who birdied the hole after a delicate little chip that stopped inches from the flagstick. "After the drive every shot on that hole is a scary shot."