The numbers don't lie. For a player to win the Masters Tournament, he has to have a great week on Augusta National Golf Club's slick and undulating bent grass greens.

It's no coincidence that four of the top five finishers in the 2003 tournament ranked in the top 10 in putting.

The importance of putting is the reason Johnny Miller called the Masters "the Augusta spring putting contest" during his playing days.

In 2003, champion Mike Weir (Stats | Bio) ranked fourth with 104 putts, and he had just one three-putt green in 72 holes. Weir was deadly inside 10 feet when he needed to convert for birdie or save par.

In contrast, Retief Goosen (Stats | Bio) and Rich Beem (Stats | Bio) hit more greens in regulation than anyone (50 of them, or 12 more than Weir), but didn't contend because of their putting. Goosen had 122 putts and tied for 13th in the tournament; Beem had 123 putts and finished 15th.

The reason Craig Stadler (Stats | Bio) finished last in the field was because of poor putting. He needed his putter 128 times, tying for the highest number in the field.

Then there is the case of Tom Weiskopf, a star in the 1960s and 1970s who had four runner-up finishes in the Masters, but never won. In the 1969 Masters, Weiskopf hit 68 greens in regulation, but was a runner-up because he had 11 three-putt greens.

"You can look at all the stats of the guys that win that week and they always say the champion didn't have many three-putts that whole week," said Kenny Perry (Stats | Bio) . "Mike Weir (Stats | Bio) had one, and I'm having six or seven. That to me is proof that it is very much putting. The guy who wins that week is usually in the top three in putting. It's very crucial."

"I just can't see you winning there without putting good," said Larry Mize (Stats | Bio) , the 1987 Masters champion. "The greens are very treacherous."

There will be even more of a premium placed on putting if Augusta National plays hard and fast this year.

The players have yet to play firm and quick greens since the course was lengthened 285 yards for the 2002 Masters (another 20 yards were added for 2003).

Heavy rains early in the week for the 2002 and 2003 tournaments took quickness out of the greens, making them soft and more receptive to the longer iron shots that were required because of the added length of the course and soggy fairways.

"Absolutely, putting is even more important," said Brad Faxon (Stats | Bio) , one of the top putters on the PGA Tour. "The harder they make these courses, the more putting becomes important."

"You're not going to be hitting a lot of greens; balls are going to be rolling off the side on some of them," Weir said. "Putting is key there."

There is a direct correlation between iron play and number of putts at Augusta National.

"One of the keys I think to playing there is iron play," Mize said. "You've got to be very precise with your iron play."

If a player doesn't place his iron shot in the correct quadrant of the green - and not necessarily where the pin is that round - he'll be in for a long day. Just ask Kenny Knox, a former PGA Tour player who holds the tour record for fewest putts in a tournament (93, in his 1989 MCI Classic victory) but struggled in his days at Augusta National Golf Club.

"I think ball position on the green is very important there," said Knox, who played in the Masters five times between 1986-1992, making the cut once. "What makes putting so difficult is when you're out of position. When you hit a shot into the green and you position your ball, it could be 10 feet on the wrong side of the hole instead of 30 feet on the correct side. You have that much more difficult of a putt. You have to position yourself on the greens at Augusta more so than any other golf course you play.

"You've seen guys like Vijay (Singh) and people like that win the Masters that are not necessarily known for their great putting ability, but for their great ball striking," Knox said. "I really think if you watch closely and study, the guys are really trying to position themselves on the green rather than always going for the flag. There are places on those greens where just can't allow your approach shot to end up at."

Masters champions like Singh took advantage of their position on the greens with strong putting that week to win.

That doesn't necessarily mean making long birdie putts all week. In many cases, it's simply two-putting greens from positions where others are three-putting.

"It's all about speed," Knox said. "Traditionally, the lag putters have been the best putters there. Of course, Tom Watson (Stats | Bio) had success there when he was very aggressive, and Arnold Palmer (Stats | Bio) . I think when Arnold was winning the greens were not as fast as they have been the last 15 years.

"The thing about the Augusta greens that I recall are the short putts were so scary because if you didn't hit it dead center and you caught a lip, you could a 30 footer coming back," Knox said. "You had to be so careful from 3 to 4 feet. You had to make sure it just crept in there. If you got too aggressive and caught the high lip, you're gone. They are certainly the most difficult greens I can remember."

Reach David Westin at (706) 724-0851 or david.westin@augustachronicle.com.