master coursework um

• HOW TO APPLY FOR A MASTER’S DEGREE

Master's Degree

- application for semester 1, session 2024/2025 is now open..

* Deadline for Coursework / Mix Mode is 30 August 2024 * Application for Research Semester 2, Session 2023/2024 is still open until  31 May 2024

1) Applications must be submitted online through our application portal at https://apply.um.edu.my 2) Choose programme(s). 3) Complete your application - Personal details, academic qualifications, etc. 4) Upload document - Passport, photo, academic transcript, certificate, etc. 5) Pay processing fee via Payment Gateway FPX, Debit/ Credit Card, Flywire. Payment of processing fees: (a) Malaysian applicants: RM50.00 (b) International applicants: RM300.00 6) Submit your application and receive acknowledgement of your application via email. 7) Check the application status on the application portal. 8) Accept the offer on the application portal. APPLY Note : Universiti Malaya will not process any incomplete online application including those without processing fees.

• Faculty of Business and Economics
• [email protected]
• +603 7967 3800

Master of Business Administration

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (MBA)

• The Universiti Malaya (UM), Master of Business Administration (MBA) programme is a rigorous programme that seeks to expose the students to theoretical concepts and analytical and practical tools that will prepare them for the challenges in increasingly dynamic business environment.

• Courses are structured to provide a broad understanding of theories with real world issues beyond the boundaries of textbooks. Through a combination of lectures, case studies, written assignments, group projects, presentations and class discussions, each student is equipped with the necessary knowledge and experience to analyse and evaluate issues for better solutions.

• The pedagogies are aimed at optimising the efficiency of the learning process. Each student is required to complete a minimum of 46 credit hours of learning and research project that cover various business concentrations. On the average, the students would require 1½ to 2½ years of study.

Handbook Master of Business Administration 2019/2020 Postgraduate Handbook (Business and Accounting Field) 2021/2022 Handbook 2022/2023 U MGSB Handbook Sem 1, 2023/2024 (October Intake) UMGSB Handbook Sem 2, 2023/2024 (March Intake)

CAREER OPPORTUNITY

Course structure, entry requirement.

Applicants for the programme should possess:

• A bachelor’s degree in any field with a minimum CGPA of 3.00 out of 4.00 or its equivalent from a recognised university; and 
•  A minimum of three (3) years full-time working experience after completing first degree; and
• A minimum of overall IELTS (Academic) score of Band 6.0 with a score of 6.0 for each components  (Writing, Speaking. Reading and Listening) OR TOEFL score 550 (paper) / 213 (computer) OR PTE score of 55 for the paper-based (Academic) for international application whose first language is not English; and 
• PASS the interview by Faculty

INTAKE SCHEDULE

October and March Intake

NOTE: Before you begin the online application process, pleases ensure that you meet ALL of the entry requirements for your preferred degree. You are required to upload ALL original evidence in the online application. Incomplete applications will not be processed. The Faculty does not issue a conditional offer letter to applicants. The University processing fee is not refundable.  

CONTACT INFORMATION

Marketing, Alumni, and Career Unit (MAC@FBEc) Level 4, Azman Hashim Building, Faculty of Business and Economics, Universiti Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA Tel : +603-7967 3918 Email: [email protected]

Last Update: 21/03/2024

• Faculty of Science
• [email protected]
• 03-79674200

Master of Science in Statistics

Programme Coordinator

Introduction

Programme learning outcomes.

At the end of the program, graduates of this programme are able to:

• Comprehend advanced statistical theories with regards to the statistical and mathematical arguments, proofs and abstract concepts.
• Apply technical and practical skills related to advanced statistics in different fields.
• Perform professional work with good social skills, and behaving responsibly to the community.
• Practise professionally and ethically in one’s profession.
• Work collaboratively, and articulate statistical ideas clearly, accurately, and effectively.
• Solve statistical problems using logical, analytical, and critical thinking.
• Habitually use statistical thinking to understand and manage information.

English Language Entry Requirements

Local applicant must possess MUET Band 4.

International applicant must possess either one of the following:

• MUET Band 4
• IELTS Band 6.0
• PTE Score 42
• TOEFL Score 550 (PBT), 213 (CBT) or 80 (iBT)

Exemption from the English Language requirement (only for international applicants):

• applicant is from a Country where the National Language is the English Language;
• applicant possesses academic qualification from an institution which uses English Language fully as their medium of instruction.

Academic Entry Requirement

• Bachelor’s degree with a CGPA not less than 3.00; or
• Bachelor’s degree with a CGPA between 2.70 to 2.99 and fulfil at least one (1) criteria*; or
• Bachelor's degree with a CGPA of 2.50 to 2.69 and fulfil at least one (1) criteria* (for UM graduate applicant) or two (2) criteria* (for non UM graduate applicant); or
• Bachelor's degree with a CGPA of 2.00 to 2.49 and meets at least one (1) of the following criteria* (for UM graduate applicant) or two (2) criteria* (for non UM graduate applicant); or
• other qualification approved by Senate from time to time

* Criteria:

• graduate of University of Malaya;
• Has at least one (1) year of working experience in the related field;
• has produced publications in the related fields;
• is a scholarship recipient;           
• a government agency staff;
• passed the interview conducted by the Faculty; or
• passed the special assessment by the Faculty.

List of Bachelor’s degrees that are acceptable:

• Bachelor of Science in Statistics
• Bachelor of Science in Applied Statistics
• Bachelor of Science in Mathematics
• Bachelor of Science in Applied Mathematics
• Bachelor of Actuarial Science
• Bachelor of Science in Operations Research
• Bachelor of Science in Data Science
• Bachelor of Science in Economics
• Bachelor of Science in Computer Science

Indicative Fees

Conventional mode: Local candidate: RM 11,800 International candidate: RM 26,500

Remote learning mode: Local candidate: RM 14,576 International candidate: RM 26,202  

Application

Conventional mode: Please visit https://study.um.edu.my/how-to-apply-master-rsquo-s-degree

Remote learning mode: Please visit https://umcced.edu.my/programme/rl/mosis

Last Update: 13/12/2022

• Institute of Mathematical Sciences
• [email protected]

M.Sc. in Statistics Programme (by Coursework)

The Institute currently only offers one M.Sc. programme by coursework, that is, the M.Sc. in Statistics.

• Programme Overview
• Period of Study
• Alumni Testimonials
• General Programme Structure i.  2021/2022 Academic Session Intake ii. 2022/2023 Academic Session Intake
• Programme Handbook i.    2021/2022 Academic Session Intake ii.   2022/2023 Academic Session Intake   iii.  2023/2024 Academic Session Intake  
• Courses Offered in 2023/202 4
• Guidelines for   study
• Lecture and Tutorial Timetable ( Semester II, 2023/202 4 )
• Exam Timetable :  ( Semester I , 2023/202 4 )
• Research Project      
• Important Dates ( Semester II, 2023/202 4 )
• Research Project Related Forms
• Final and Progress Project  Presentation ( Semester I, 2023/202 4)
• List of past projects for SQB7002 Research Projects for Statistics course
• Academic Calendar
• UM (Master's Degree) Regulations 2019 - ( Second Amendement Year 2021 )
• UM (Master's Degree) Rules 2019 - ( Second Amendement Year 2021 )
• Enquiries  :  Associate Prof. Dr. Ng Kok Haur   ( [email protected] )                   

Last Update: 22/03/2024

• Faculty of Arts And Social Sciences
• [email protected]
• +603-79675500

Master of Arts (English Literature)

The Master of Arts (English Literature) programme is aimed at providing quality and in-depth postgraduate education in the field of literary studies. Courses offered in the MA programme by Coursework and Dissertation are comprehensive and range from Medieval Literature through to Cultural Studies. On the whole, the MA programme is designed not only to promote a love for English Literature and Language but also to enhance and increase the scope of research undertaken by staff and students.  Besides the MA by Coursework and Dissertation, candidates can opt to pursue the degree purely by research.

Students applying for the MA programme can choose from the following: 1.  Mixed-mode MA (Coursework and Dissertation) 2.  MA by Research

For the mixed-mode MA, the structure of the course is set out below.

IMPORTANT: upon admission to the mixed mode MA, candidates will be required to take a placement test set by the Department.

Those who fail the test  MUST  take the course Critical Strategies in Literature (AOA7003).

Those who pass will be exempted from taking this course.

CAREER OPPORTUNITY

• Media Writer
• Screenwriter

COURSE STRUCTURE

  ELECTIVE COURSES  

• ALL FIVE compulsory courses
• TWO elective courses as below:
• AOA7026 Critical Strategies in Literary Analysis
• AOA7009 Drama of the Modern Era
• AOA7007 Modernist Literature
• AOA7014 From Book to Screen
• AOA7017 African Literature
• AOA7018 Creative Writing
• AOA7023 Literature for Children and Young Adults
• AOA7024 Global Women’s Literature
• AOA7019 Global Shakespeares
•  Details of courses offered are subject to the Senate’s approval from time to time upon the recommendation of the Faculty. Candidates will be informed of course offerings at the start of each session.
• PART TWO consists of a research project leading to the submission of a dissertation of about 30,000 to a maximum of 40,000 words (35 credit hours).

Our Department offers expertise in a wide variety of literary fields, including Medieval literature, Renaissance literature, 19th century literature, Modernist and Postmodernist literature, Postcolonial literatures (with a strong interest in Malaysian literature), travel literature, ecocriticism, African literature, feminist literature, modern drama, literary theory and more.

You can find out more about the research and supervision interests of our academic staff under the heading “List of Expertise and Research Interests”.

LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT

ENTRY REQUIRMENT

Programme of study by Coursework and Research

• a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent; or

• a professional qualification from a recognised professional body; or

• any other qualification as may be approved by the Senate from time to time.

INTAKE SCHEDULE

Click  here  (Local student)

Click  here  (International student)

Last Update: 13/07/2023

• Faculty of Languages and Linguistics
• [email protected]
• +603-79673177

Master of English Language Studies

General Programme Information

This programme introduces key concepts and issues in the acquisition, use and teaching and learning of English.

Language Requirement

A non-Malaysian applicant whose degree is from a university or institution of higher learning where the medium of instruction for that degree is not the English Language and where the applicant wishes to follow a programme and/or write his dissertation in the English language shall be required :

Career Opportunity

Graduates from this programme can work, for example,

• in the media, advertising and publishing industry (e.g. script-writers, journalists, writers, editors, copywriters, proof-readers);
• in corporate communication;
• in the education industry (e.g. corporate trainers, language teachers, teacher educators, programme/curriculum developers, education managers/administrators at government and private schools and institutions, researchers and lecturers in higher education);
• as English language consultants.

Course Structure

This Master’s programme consists of coursework and a research project. The programme is offered in English. Further information on the programme is as below (according to Admissions sessions)

Admission 2017/2018 session onwards

Admission 2023/2024 session onwards

Entry Requirement

• A bachelor’s degree with a CGPA of not lower than 3.0 or equivalent in the field of English language or linguistics studies, or
• A bachelor’s degree with a CGPA of not lower than 3.0 or equivalent in a non-language related field; and a minimum of one year’s work experience in a field related to studies in language use or linguistics, or
• A bachelor’s degree with a CGPA lower than 3.0 or equivalent; and a minimum of two years’ work experience in a field related to studies in language use or linguistics, or
• Other qualifications approved by the Senate from time to time.

Intake Schedule

• Click  here

Last Update: 02/10/2023

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Master of Computer Science and Information

List of master programmes

• Master of Software Engineering (Software Technology)(Coursework and Dissertation)
• Master of Information Science (Library Science) (Coursework and Dissertation)
• Master of Computer Science (Applied Computing) (Coursework and Dissertation)
• Master of Information Technology Management (Coursework)  *** [currently not offered]
• Master of Data Science (Coursework)
• Master of Library and Information Science (Coursework)
• Master of Computer Science (Research)
• Master of Information Science (Research)

• Faculty of Education
• [email protected]

Master of Professional Counseling

Language Requirement

Entry requirements for International Candidates following courses and/or writing their Thesis/Dissertation in English: i. A score of 5.5 for IELTS (Academic);  or ii. A score of 550 paper-based total (PBT) or a score of 80 for internet-based total (IBT) or 213 for computer-based total (CBT) for TOEFL

Entry Requirement

Intake Schedule

Semester I – September/October Semester II – March/April

Course Structure

The program covers Fifty Seven (57) credit hours which includes Forty Two (42) credit hours for core courses, Three (3) credit hours for elective courses and 12 credit hours for research

Kursus Teras (Wajib) / Core Courses (Compulsory)

Kursus Teras Disiplin (Wajib) / Core Courses (Compulsory)

Kursus Elektif  (Pilih 5)  / Elective Courses (Select 5)

Last Update: 22/08/2023

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2024 Houston Open: Live stream, watch online, TV schedule, channel, tee times, radio, golf coverage

The pga tour travels to the lone star state as some players make final preparations for the first major of the year.

A dramatic Florida swing has come and gone, giving way for the return of the 2024 Houston Open. Not on the PGA Tour schedule in 2023, the Houston Open has found its way back on the calendar and will welcome a number of heavy hitters to Memorial Park Golf Course for the fourth time.

Leading the way is the man who owned the Florida swing: Scottie Scheffler. A winner at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Players Championship in his last two starts, the world No. 1 has eyes on his third straight victory this week. Scheffler was unable to rattle off three in a row in 2022 but hopes to join players like Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods by winning three consecutive starts.

Scheffler has performed well at Memorial Park in his career and is the heavy favorite to claim the title, but Wyndham Clark may have something to say. A runner-up to Scheffler at both Bay Hill and TPC Sawgrass, the reigning U.S. Open champion has entered the conversation of being a top-five player in the world.

Clark eyes his second win of the season after claiming the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. His fellow Americans Tony Finau, Sahith Theegala and Will Zalatoris all hope to enter the winner's circle for the first time in 2024, with Finau being the last man to win at Memorial Park in the Fall of 2022.

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Radio:  1-6 p.m. --  PGA Tour Radio  

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Masters 2024: In search of the greatest Augusta National

O ne of the peculiarities of Augusta National is how little the club’s alterations impact the perception of the golf course. Improvements have taken place nearly every off-season since the inaugural Masters in March 1934, from greenside modifications to major reconfigurations of different holes. Intended to keep the course relevant for the contemporary professional game, many of these changes have gradually mutated the course’s appearance and historical design concepts. Yet despite Augusta National’s evolving character, it continues to be perceived as a monolithic entity. In Golf Digest’s ranking of America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses, Augusta National has slipped outside the top 10 just once since 1966 and has been a fixture in the top three each year since 1985.

The Augusta National of 2024 is like the Augusta National of 2004 to the same degree that the course of 1974 is like the course of 1934, which is to say not very much. Slice into Augusta at any given point on its timeline and the presentation and playability will be unique. It begs the question, was there a moment when the club came the closest to an ideal presentation? Is it possible to pinpoint a time when the symbiosis of shot demands, hole lengths, fealty to the intended strategies, playing conditions and club and ball technology were in perfect harmony? In other words, if we were to enshrine one version of Augusta National in the Golf Course Hall of Fame, which year would it be?

• 100 Greatest
• Best In State

6,700-6,800 yardsAverage winning score: 281 (-7) Lowest winning score: 279 (Ralph Guldahl, 1939; Claude Harmon, 1948)

Many architecture purists would argue for Alister MacKenzie and Bob Jones’ original 1932 idea of an inland course that emulated the shots and strategic concepts of St. Andrews, with wide fairways allowing for preferred but risk-laden lines of attack into steeply contoured greens. As engaging as the founding design might have been, making the case for early Augusta National would be difficult because of the turf conditions of the 1930s.

For decades holes like the par-3 12th were rugged, hard and vulnerable to nature. Photograph courtesy of Getty Images

Augusta National

As with most southern golf courses, Augusta National was planted with Bermuda grass, which goes dormant in the winter. When dormant Bermuda grown on clay soil dries out (Augusta is built on clay), it gets rock hard. When it’s wet—and southeastern winters and early springs are notoriously rainy—it becomes soppy and almost unplayable. Tom Watson recalls Byron Nelson telling him it was common for clover to be growing in the fairways. Even after overseeding greens and fairways with cold-tolerant perennial rye, a practice the club still endeavors each fall to provide a grassy cushion and deep green color, course conditions would have been irregular and at the mercy of Mother Nature in an era of limited underground drainage and primitive fertilizers and herbicides, as well as irrigation.

Nor were Jones and club chairman Clifford Roberts satisfied with the design from a competition perspective: The first major course revision happened almost immediately with the swapping of the nines after the 1934 tournament (the current 10th was originally the first). Before the 1938 and 1939 Masters, architect Perry Maxwell made significant alterations to the seventh, ninth, 10th, 12th and 14th holes, among others. The carousel had begun to turn.

The 1940s were a decade of upheaval. After victories by Jimmy Demaret, Craig Wood and Byron Nelson, the course sat fallow during World War II when the Masters was suspended for three years, grown over and essentially turned to pasture. After the war, the club engaged Robert Trent Jones to oversee another series of alterations, including the creation of the longer, modern 11th hole with an enlarged water feature next to the green and the new par-3 16th cocked 90-degrees from the old and playing across a broad pond.

6,900-7,040 yardsAverage winning score: 281 (-7) Lowest winning score: 271 (Jack Nicklaus 1965; Ray Floyd 1976)

By the early 1950s, Augusta Nation-al had essentially matured into the grounds we recognize now, even down to the blue dye in the ponds, added for the first time in 1951. The decades between then and the late 1970s represent a halcyon period of relative stability when the course consistently measured about 6,950 yards, 250 yards longer than when it opened, putting it in the same weight class as U.S. Open stalwarts like Oakmont, Oakland Hills, Oak Hill, Inverness and Winged Foot. Despite hole-to-hole fluctuations, this yardage remained roughly intact through the end of the 1990s.

Because club and ball technology Augusta national/advanced slowly during this time, Augusta National’s hole lengths and shot demands were in balance with equipment. Driving distances did not change much, and there remained continuity between the types of shots Sam Snead and Ben Hogan hit and those of Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson. Holes like five, 10, 11, 13, 15 and 18 required controlled long irons or woods into the greens, followed by spin control on shorter shots and putting touch on what were considered among golf’s fastest greens, even if they were honey-drip slow by today’s expectations (a USGA study in 1977 determined their Stimpmeter speed was just seven feet, 11 inches compared to an estimated 13 feet or higher now). From 1950 to 1979, the average winning score was 280.6 (-7.4 in relation to par), including record-breaking years of 271 by Nicklaus (1965) and Raymond Floyd (1976), only a stroke lower than 1934 to 1949 (281.7).

HOLE 13 / 1966: Fairway lies during the 1960s usually determined whether players could go for the par 5 in two. Photograph courtesy of Getty Images

Course conditions had improved since the 1930s and ’40s, but many of the same problems persisted. The turf was the best the players competed on each year, but the surfaces were still primitive compared to contemporary standards, and the quality of the fairways continued to be determined by the elements. Warm temperatures in February and March might foster early Bermuda growth that enhanced the ryegrass lies, but in normal or colder years the Bermuda remained stunted, and the rye could be sparse, patchy or muddy. “You didn’t know what they would be from year to year,” Nicklaus told The Augusta Chronicle in 2016. “In 1965, I shot a [then tournament-record] 17 under par. In 1966, I won a playoff after shooting 288. That’s 17 shots higher, and the difference was the fairways.”

The Bermuda-based greens were also hard and difficult to hold with long second shots. Players rarely dominated the par 5s like they do now. “I was always long enough to reach the par 5s, but I couldn’t keep it on the greens,” Floyd told Golf Digest. “I was coming in with 2- and 3-irons, but the greens, because they were Bermuda grass, were too firm. I used a 5-wood in 1976 because I could hit it high and soft, and I ran away with the tournament.”

7,040-6,985 yardsAverage winning score: 279 (-9) Lowest winning score: 270 (Tiger Woods, 1997)

Even if course conditions were ideal for the era, no version of Augusta National could reasonably contend for “best” before 1980, the year the greens were converted to bentgrass. This change, with the use of improved strains of rye overseed in the fairways, moved the course into the current period of agronomy and aesthetics, including manicured bunker edges. During the early ’80s, some of the greens were almost unplayable because the slopes were too severe for the higher speeds of the bentgrass.

“On No. 9 in the final round when I won in 1981,” Watson remembers, “I hit the ball just over the back edge of the green. As soon as I putted it, I started walking and putting my glove back on because I knew it was going to go right off the front of the green.”

HOLE 17 / 1995: MacKenzie and Jones envisioned arranging fairways so that players could maximize angles into greens. Photograph courtesy of Getty Images

As the bent greens matured, they became increasingly grippy as well, so much so that shots routinely began spinning off greens. “You used to play a long iron to 18 and have it bounce a couple of times and stop,” Tommy Aaron said during the 1986 Masters. “Now you hit a 2-iron and it can come right back down the hill at you.”

The faster bentgrass greens required players to modify their games and forced the club to adjust the greens, softening contours on holes like four, six, eight, nine, 14 and 18. “You couldn’t breathe on the ball or it would take off and roll off the green,” Hale Irwin said. “Now you can at least breathe on it.”

The final piece of Augusta National’s maintenance matrix was put into place in the 1990s when Marsh Benson, the director of golf course and grounds, invented a subsurface air-circulation system, now known as SubAir, that aerified the rootzone and could vacuum water from the playing surfaces. The system greatly improved green-to-green consistency—helping fix perennial problem greens like the par-3 12th, located on the lowest, coolest part of the property—and gave Augusta National unparalleled control over the playing surfaces.

Hole 15/1980s: Before pines were added down the right in the late 1990s, the spacious fairway at the par-5 15th allowed players to maneuver for the best angle of attack for long second shots over water. (Getty)

6,985-7,475 yardsAverage winning score: 278 (-11) Lowest winning score: 270 (Jordan Spieth, 2015)

Until the early 2000s, the modifications the club had made over the previous 50 years were primarily about adapting to developing turf and maintenance breakthroughs. By 2002, the alterations became more defensive. Average driving distances on the PGA Tour increased by more than 22 yards between 1980 and 2001. Even more concerning, the average winning score between 1990 and 2001 was 276.3, four strokes lower than the average winning score the previous 40 years (280.6).

The 15th hole is a useful barometer for understanding how the distance gains provoked Augusta National to embark on the most consequential architectural changes since the 1950s. Until 2002, the demands of the second shot to the 15th green, played downhill and over a water hazard, had changed little since Gene Sarazen knocked a 4-wood into the hole for a double eagle in 1935. Players almost always had 220 to 230 yards remaining after good drives, putting them in position to contemplate trying to reach the tabletop green with long irons or woods. During the final round of the 1975 Masters, Nicklaus had about 235 yards to cover the water and chose to hit his 1-iron, which settled 12 feet from the hole. Eleven years later in 1986, Nicklaus played a 4-iron from 200 yards to the flag (the hole measured 20 yards shorter than in 1975) setting up a historic eagle. En route to his 1998 victory, Mark O’Meara played a 3-iron from 220 yards, leading to the first of three birdies over the final four holes.

Tiger Woods reacts on the 15th green during the final round of the Masters at Augusta National on April 14, 2019.

David Cannon

By the mid-2000s, players were driving the ball much longer. After the hole was lengthened to 530 yards in 2006, drives continued to yield approach shots in the 200- to 210-yard range, often just 5- and 6-irons. By the late 2010s longer hitters were looking at second shots well under 200 yards, notably Sergio Garcia’s Sunday 176-yard 8-iron in 2017.

To counteract the driving distances, Augusta National added 520 yards between 1999 and 2006. It has since extended the course an additional 100 yards, bringing the official total to 7,545. More consequentially the club began to place a greater premium on accuracy off the tee by narrowing the holes, initially by adding a “second cut” of rough in 1999. “We felt that we could no longer let them swing from the heels,” said then Masters chairman Hootie Johnson. The second cut did little to affect scoring. “You could argue it wasn’t what Bobby Jones and Alister MacKenzie had in mind,” says Ernie Els, “but it didn’t bother me as much as it bothered some people.”

“I still say the golf course is harder when it was mowed wall to wall because the errant shot went down in creeks and down into the trees and into the pine straw,” says Floyd. “The rough stops the ball going into bad places. You don’t make 8s and 9s after that like you could in the past.”

The efforts to enforce accuracy intensified between 2002 and 2011 when groves of mature pines were planted on holes like seven, 11, 15, 17 and 18 in areas that were formerly fairway. The right-side driving option on 11, for instance, was entirely removed, eliminating an angle into the green that some players preferred. No matter how effective the measures have been in protecting the perceived sanctity of the course, the narrowing was a blow to the founding MacKenzie-Jones-St. Andrews philosophy of Augusta National, where the greens and hole locations were expected to extract punishment for wayward play, not trees and longer grass. “You’ve just got to plod along,” Tiger Woods said in 2008. “It’s playing more of a U.S. Open than it is a Masters.”

7,475-7,545 yardsAverage winning score: 275 (-13) Lowest winning score: 268 (Dustin Johnson, 2020)

We’ve just entered this era, so we’ll keep our assessment brief. Augusta National can direct round-to-round scoring to some degree through hole locations and green firmness, but the club has continued to add yardage. It’s now unlikely anyone but the longest hitters can compete over four rounds. In the 2023 Masters, 31 of 86 participants averaged 300 yards or more off the tee (including those missing the cut), and more than half averaged 295 yards or more. The average driving distances of the top eight finishers from each of the past four Masters are 304.8, 308.5, 300.2 and 304.4 yards, respectively. Also, the last six winners have all been double digits under par, the longest streak in Masters history.

HOLE 10 / 1990s: It all came together from 1995-’98: wide fairways, controlled conditions and length proportional to equipment. Photograph courtesy of Getty Images

Where does that leave the discussion of which Augusta National belongs in the Hall of Fame? The club’s maintenance prowess and ability to control the playing surfaces would bolster an argument that the course has never been better. Conversely, the pure length has put the green jacket out of reach for perhaps half the field, making it improbable that crafty feel players like past champions Ben Crenshaw, Seve Ballesteros, Jose Maria Olazabal or Gary Player could contend. The narrowing of numerous fairways has eliminated an important degree of decision-making that was always critical to scoring well. Crenshaw summed it best in 1986, comparing Augusta’s cerebral calculations to more penal courses like TPC Sawgrass. “At Augusta, it is strategy, strategy, strategy,” he said. “Augusta’s strength is around the greens and the ability to place tee shots according to the pin locations.” Now, on too many holes, the prevailing criteria is to just get the ball in the fairway, exactly Crenshaw’s critique of the TPC.

If not the 2000s, 2010s or now, then when? Any decade like the 1950s that drew out the best from champions like Jimmy Demaret, Sam Snead, Ben Hogan, Cary Middlecoff and Jackie Burke Jr. deserves consideration. From 1960 to 1966, no player won the Masters who wasn’t Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus or Gary Player. The Augusta National of this period demanded an array of shots through the bag, risk-taking and nerve, but inconsistent conditions and the hard Bermuda greens of the era would preclude selection of any iteration of the course before the 1981 tournament.

The 1980s were a fascinating decade, a Golden Age of European talent that saw a variety of skillsets capable of navigating Augusta and its sleeker greens, including Ballesteros, Bernhard Langer, Sandy Lyle, Nick Faldo and, in 1991, Ian Woosnam, along with Watson, Crenshaw, Craig Stadler, Nicklaus and Larry Mize. Turf conditions, however, had not consistently reached the utopian levels they would in the next decade and beyond—there was still ample room for improvement.

That places the debate in the mid-to-late 1990s, after the club had begun installing the SubAir systems (1994) and approaching maintenance nirvana, but before the addition of the “second cut” of rough that looked awkward and deviated from Augusta’s heritage. Our choice for Augusta National’s most ideal version is the course of 1995 to 1998. Before the severe lengthening, any type of player might still contend. Surrounding Tiger Woods’ record-setting 18-under-par victory in 1997 were wins by 43-year-old Crenshaw (1995), a 38-year-old Faldo (1996) and 41-year-old O’Meara (1998). Though driving distances were increasing, the architecture remained an apt foil for the spinny, wound golf balls and smaller metalhead drivers of the time, and players still needed to play long irons and woods into the par 5s (and even some par 4s), illustrated by Faldo’s minutes-long deliberation between his 5-wood and 2-iron for the second shot at 13 after he had tracked down Greg Norman in 1996.

Some say that MacKenzie, who died in 1934, wouldn’t recognize Augusta National if he saw it today. He probably wouldn’t with the altered holes, razored bunker edges, imported groves of pine, Perry Maxwell’s greens and the immaculate turf. But if he were transported to 1998, it’s likely he would appreciate the course for rewarding a spectrum of physical and tactical skills, a course that required bravery, guile and experience as much as power. That, at least, was the Augusta National he believed he and Jones had designed.

MORE: A comprehensive history of every change made to Augusta National Golf Club

Baltimore bridge collapse wasn't first major accident for giant container ship Dali

Propulsion failed on the cargo ship that struck the Francis Key Bridge in Baltimore early Tuesday as it was leaving port, causing it to collapse into the frigid Patapsco River. Its crew warned Maryland officials of a possible collision because they had lost control.

“The vessel notified MD Department of Transportation (MDOT) that they had lost control of the vessel” and a collision with the bridge “was possible,” according to an unclassified Department of Homeland Security report. “The vessel struck the bridge causing a complete collapse.”

An official speaking on condition of anonymity confirmed to USA TODAY that the DHS’ Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is working with federal, state, and local officials “to understand the potential impacts of this morning’s collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.”

Clay Diamond, executive director, American Pilots’ Association, told USA TODAY power issues are not unusual on cargo ships, which are so large they cannot easily course correct.

“It’s likely that virtually every pilot in the country has experienced a power loss of some kind (but) it generally is momentary,” Diamond said. “This was a complete blackout of all the power on the ship, so that’s unusual. Of course this happened at the worst possible location.” 

The ship in Tuesday's crash, Dali, was involved in at least one prior accident when it collided with a shipping pier in Belgium.

That 2016 incident occurred as the Dali was leaving port in Antwerp and struck a loading pier made of stone, causing damage to the ship’s stern, according to VesselFinder.com, a site that tracks ships across the world. An investigation determined a mistake made by the ship’s master and pilot was to blame.

No one was injured in that crash, although the ship required repair and a full inspection before being returned to service. The pier – or berth – was also seriously damaged and had to be closed.

VesselFinder reports that the Dali was chartered by Maersk, the same company chartering it during the Baltimore harbor incident.

The 9-year-old container ship had passed previous inspections during its time at sea, but during one such inspection in June at the Port of San Antonio in Chile, officials discovered a deficiency with its "propulsion and auxiliary machinery (gauges, thermometers, etc)," according to the Tokyo MOU, an intergovernmental maritime authority in the Asia-Pacific region.

The report provided no other information about the deficiency except to note that it was not serious enough to remove the ship from service.

Follow here for live updates: Baltimore's Key Bridge collapses after ship strike; construction crew missing: Live Updates

Why did Dali crash into the Baltimore bridge?

Officials said Tuesday they’re investigating the collision, including whether systems on board lost electricity early Tuesday morning, which could be related to mechanical failure, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to speak publicly.

Accidents at sea, known as marine casualties, are not uncommon, the source told USA TODAY. However, “allisions,” in which a moving object strikes a stationary one with catastrophic results, are far less common. The investigation of the power loss aboard the Dali, a Singapore-flagged vessel, will be a high priority.

In a video posted to social media, lights on the Dali shut off, then turned back on, then shut off again before the ship struck a support pier on the bridge.

Numerous cargo and cruise ships have lost power over the years.

The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea requires all international vessels to have two independent sources of electricity, both of which should be able to maintain the ship's seaworthiness on their own, according to a safety study about power failures on ships , citing the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea.

The Dali's emergency generator was likely responsible for the lights coming back on after the initial blackout, Diamond said.

“There was still some steerage left when they initially lost power,” he said. “We’ve been told the ship never recovered propulsion. The emergency generator is a diesel itself – so if you light off the generator, that’s also going to put off a puff of exhaust.”

Under maritime law, all foreign flagged vessels must be piloted into state ports by a state licensed pilot so the Dali's pilot is licensed by Association of Maryland Pilots .

Diamond described the incident based on information from the Maryland agency that licensed the pilot aboard the ship. His organization represents that group and all other state piloting agencies in the US.

“The pilot was directing navigation of the ship as it happened,” he said. “He asked the captain to get the engines back online. They weren’t able to do that, so the pilot took all the action he could. He tried to steer, to keep the ship in the channel. He also dropped the ship’s anchor to slow the ship and guide the direction.

“Neither one was enough. The ship never did regain its engine power.”

How big is the Dali ship?

The Dali is a 984-foot container vessel built in 2015 by Hyundai Heavy Industries in South Korea. With a cruising speed of about 22 knots – roughly 25 mph. It has traveled the world carrying goods from port to port.

The ship, constructed of high-strength steel, has one engine and one propeller, according to MarineTraffic.com.

The Dali arrived in Baltimore on Sunday from the Port of Norfolk in Virginia. Before that, it had been in New York and came through the Panama Canal.

It remains at the scene of the collapse as authorities investigate.

Who owns and operates the Dali?

It is owned by the Singapore-based Grace Ocean Pte Ltd but managed by Synergy Marine Group, also based in Singapore. It was carrying Maersk customers’ cargo, according to a statement from the shipping company.

“We are deeply concerned by this incident and are closely monitoring the situation,” Maersk said in the statement. 

Synergy, which describes itself as a leading ship manager with more than 600 vessels under its guidance, issued a statement on its website acknowledging the incident and reporting no injuries among its crew and no pollution in the water. There were two pilots on board and 22 crew members in all, according to Synergy, all of them from India.

USA TODAY reached out to Synergy on Tuesday, but the company did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Contributing: Josh Susong

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Masters 2024: Tiger Woods plays round at Augusta National, per reports

Tiger Woods hits a shot during the 2023 Masters.

Erick W. Rasco

We know the Masters is nearly upon us when there are reports of a Tiger Woods sighting at Augusta National Golf Club.

In news first tweeted by TWLegion and expanded upon by Sports Illustrated’s Bob Harig, Woods apparently was at Augusta for a casual round, with Harig reporting that the five-time Masters champ played with AGNC Chairman Fred Ridley and Woods’ good buddy Justin Thomas.

The less-than-casual angle to it is that this probably provides a good indication that Woods is feeling healthy enough to compete in the 88th Masters when it begins on April 11. Woods, 48, competed for the only time this year in the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club in mid-February, but he had to withdraw during the second round due to the flu.

MORE: Tiger Woods faces loss of a valuable tool—his competitive edge

Last year, the Masters was one of only two events Woods played in the PGA Tour season, and he withdrew at Augusta after two rounds because of the pain in his ankle, which was surgical fused soon after that. In 2022, Woods made the cut and finished 47th.

Woods’ defense of his 2019 Masters title was postponed by the COVID-19 pandemic until November 2020, and he tied for 38th in that one.

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