In the dim fading light at Augusta National, a couple of groups hustled around the last two holes, trying to finish the round before total darkness. They were hardly no-names: Ernie Els, Jim Furyk, Lee Westwood, Aaron Baddeley among them.

They were scrambling because Thursday’s first round got off to a late start. Heavy morning mist prevented the Masters to start on time, pushing everyone’s tee time back by an hour. As a result, the final few groups were racing the setting sun to the finish, wishing to avoid showing up early Friday morning.

But that tactic proved costly for the final threesomes. Each of the players in the last two groups made at least a bogey on the final two holes. Westwood fell out of the lead with a three-putt bogey on 17 and had to make a knee-knocker 4-footer on 18 for par.

The light you saw on TV was greatly enhanced by the camera lenses. In actuality, when Westwood struck that putt for the last shot of the day, it was near total darkness at Augusta National. When the sun ducks behind the tall Georgia pines ringing the course, it becomes exceptionally difficult to see and renders reading putts a mere guessing game.

The players should’ve made a better decision, playing more deliberately and taking more time, forcing the tournament to suspend play. But the competition committee should’ve ended the day earlier anyway to ensure fair play. Let’s face it, had Tiger Woods been in the penultimate group — as he would be on Friday — there is no way he’d trade a single stroke just to avoid getting up early the next day.

One of my golf writer pals blamed it on Johnson Wagner. If it weren’t for his last-minute inclusion by winning the Shell Houston Open, then there’d be one fewer group.

Good for a laugh. But not on the money. The fault lies with the 20 or so former champions in the field, many of them really have no business being there. They make the field bigger and unwieldy; and a lot of times their slow play forces the rounds to go longer.

But if they have to be there, as Gary Player is playing in a record 51st Masters, then always make them play in the final few groups where they’ll least affect the actual competition. At the end of the day, nobody really cares what Player, Fuzzy Zoeller and Ray Floyd shot.

And if they have to get up early or finish in the dark, hey, they can make that call. Just don’t let these guys decide who wins the tournament. 

Wednesday during Masters week is flat-out the best day in golf, among the days where no shot is struck in anger. 

Back when I covered the Masters, I always looked forward to Wednesday with glee. Yes, there’s the Par-3 Contest, which for the first time is seen on television live. But the highlight of the day was always the Chairman’s press conference. 

The Chairman, in those days, was the irrepressible Hootie Johnson. Embellished by his thick Southern drawl, Hootie always had something to say. There were many battles to be fought, and Hootie backed down from none of them. Whether it’s dis-inviting former champions who were past their prime for competition, or verbal jousting with Martha Burk, Hootie was never lost for words. 

That was in the morning. The afternoon belonged to the Par-3 Contest. Played on Augusta National’s wondrously conceived 9-hole course, Par-3 is where men can freely behave like boys and boys (and girls) are allowed to have the run of the place. While the Masters is arguably the most revered golf tournament that’s always treated with reverence, Par-3 is where you can let your guard down before the real serious stuff starts. 

The Par-3 course was Clifford Roberts’ baby. The co-founder of Augusta National personally designed the course with the help of George Cobb in 1958. Two years later, the first Par-3 Contest was held. Roberts made a point to “close” the big course at 2:30 in the afternoon on Wednesday, compelling everyone to head out to the 9 holes ringed around two lakes. 

For many spectators, who are unable to get the badge to tournament days, this is as good as it gets. You can sit up close to many tee boxes and greens and watch the best pros pull off amazing and tricky shots, with the obligatory skipper balls across the ponds. The players often have their kids, wives and buddies tote the bags, sometimes even let them try a few putts. 

But the serious challengers for the green jacket know there’s one thing you do not mess with: No Par-3 winner has ever won the Masters the same year. It’s such a well-known jinx that some players even intentionally drown a couple of balls on the ninth hole just to avoid the honor. 

Well, now we know who won’t win the Masters in 2008: Rory Sabbatini.

Let’s see, Tiger Woods tees it up at 10:45 on Thursday. By the time you turn on the tele at 4 p.m. for ESPN’s coverage, Woods will be beating balls on the Augusta National range, trying to correct whatever he doesn’t like during his round. And you’ll find out what those “problems” are in the highlights.

But that’s not to say there isn’t anything to watch live. By design, Thursday’s afternoon rounds are populated by Woods’ chief challengers: Phil Mickelson tees off at 1:41 p.m. He’s preceded by 2000 champion Vijay Singh at 1:30 p.m. and followed by Ernie Els at 1:52 p.m. Another formidable group that includes Retief Goosen and Adam Scott, tees off at 1:19 p.m.

On Friday, of course, the tee times are flipped, with Tiger hogging all the live airtime at 1:52 p.m., in the penultimate group. Woods is paired with defending U.S. Open champion Angel Cabrera and Stuart Appleby, who was the 54-hole leader at the Masters last year.

Even though it won’t be on TV live, Woods’ first-round score will be key in his quest to win the year’s first major and his fifth green jacket. Tiger has played in 11 Masters as a professional and he’s NEVER broken 70 in the first round. But 70 is the magic number. The three times he did shoot 70 in the first round (1997, 2001 and 2002), he went on to win the tournament.

While the Masters has relaxed its previously draconian TV policies over the past decade, it still follows a less-is-more concept — to good effect. While weekday coverage has changed hands from USA to ESPN, the live coverage time slot from 4 to 7 p.m. remains the same (with replay from 8 to 11 p.m.). CBS takes over on the weekend, starting at 3:30 p.m. Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday.

But the truly revolutionary change this year, in terms of TV coverage, is the live airing of the Par-3 Contest on Wednesday. For millions of viewers who never stepped inside Augusta National’s gates, this will be their first glimpse at the fabulous 9-hole course. ESPN will have it on live from 3 to 5 p.m.

Augusta National is where golf season begins, every year.

Sure, players tee it up at the Mercedes Championship in the first week of January, and every week since. But truly, the golf season does not start until the Masters. Consider all the stuff that happens before this week mere warmups — the preseason, if you will.

On Thursday, 94 players will compete for the green jacket and the honor of winning the year’s first — and most prestigious — major championship. But in reality, only two players have a legitimate chance of winning the Masters.

The odds-on favorite, of course, is Tiger Woods, winner of four previous Masters and 13 major championships. A victory by Tiger will fuel so much talk about a calendar-year grand slam that it will become the all-consuming golf story for at least the next two months.

Phil Mickelson is the only one who’s capable of putting that scenario to a swift end. While Lefty has been his mercurial self in the first eight tournaments he’s played — with a win and a playoff loss and also a missed cut — his game is the only one good enough to give Woods a serious challenge. With Tiger performing at his optimum level, no one else even has a chance.

But they’ll all show up anyway. And why not. As a professional golfer, getting into the Masters itself is quite a reward in itself.

Just ask Johnson Wagner.