This is the first time I've covered the Masters since 2009. The course looks longer and tighter.

What's most striking is No. 11. I'm not sure I can explain how long and intimidating the hole is now. The tees are pushed as far back as they conceivably can be. It's now a 505-yard par-4 that demands a precise tee shot to avoid clipping the new trees guarding the right side of the fairway.

the second shot requires a long or mid-iron over a pond fronting the left side of the green. As Phil Mickelson said, you either have to risk hitting it in the pond, or you have to leave it out to the right, forcing a chip to a green that slopes away, toward the water.

More stuff from my second day at the course:

-No player who ever won the Par-3 tournament has won the Masters in the same year. Asked if he would avoid winning the par-3 tourney, Keegan Bradley said, ``I don't believe in curses. I'm a Red Sox fan."

-Steve Politi of the Newark Star-Ledger noticed on Monday that Arnold Palmer was ordering an Arnold Palmer (half ice tea, half lemonade.) He chased down the waitress who was serving it and asked how Arnold Palmer orders an Arnold Palmer.

The answer: He asked for a ``Mr. Palmer," then winked.

-Last time neither Tiger Woods nor Phil Mickelson finished in the Top 10 at the Masters? 1994.