Augusta, Ga. ? The cold rain that soaked Augusta National didn’t just disrupt the Masters. It may have also washed out the chances many players had of beating Tiger Woods.

A soggy, long course and the promise of a numbing 36-hole marathon today leaves the future of this Masters in the hands of a few young, long-hitting players.

Woods was going to be tough enough to beat under any conditions. It might be impossible now for all but a handful of would-be challengers.

“If you’re not under 32 and can hit the ball 280, you’ve got no chance,” Loren Roberts said.

For the record, Roberts is 47, and two years ago he averaged 254 yards off the tee at Augusta National.

The “Boss of the Moss,” putts so well he finished third here three years ago. He’s the kind of player who might have won the Masters before they moved back tees and added yardage to beef up the course.

Now, he’s among a group of players who will tee it up today knowing they have almost no chance on a 7,290-yard course so wet that it will seem like it’s playing closer to 8,000 yards.

“There’s 10 guys who can win it now, you think?” Roberts said.

Maybe not even that.

Woods, of course, is the prohibitive favorite to win his third straight green jacket. Look at the other 92 players in the field, though, and most can be quickly eliminated as serious contenders.

Most of them are proven players like Nick Price, Mike Weir, Justin Leonard or Fred Funk. But none of them hit the ball long and high — the combination Woods and guys like Ernie Els and Davis Love III have.

The fairways will be soft from four days of rain that dumped nearly 4 inches of rain on the course. The rough will be wet and deep because it hasn’t been cut since it started raining.

The combination will prove lethal to most players. Some seem almost to be dreading the thought of trying to compete on an uneven playing field.

“I always look forward to playing the Masters, but playing this long a course under these conditions is no fun time,” Funk said.

Funk was 163rd on the PGA Tour in driving distance last year, but still managed to contend in the final round of the PGA Championship before finishing fourth.

That’s not likely on a water-logged Augusta National

“The problem with me is I can’t hit it as far,” Funk said. “I just have to find some part of my game that is working. Hopefully, it will be the chipping and putting.”

In a Wednesday practice round, Scott Hoch hit what he called a “killer drive” and still needed a 3-wood to reach the par-4 18th hole, which was stretched last year to 465 yards.

Weir also hit a 3-wood, to a hole that a few years ago was a driver and wedge for many players.

“So if all of a sudden a 460 hole is playing like 510, you’re going uphill into the wind on a cold day,” Weir said. “That’s pretty close to 8,000.”

David Toms got in two practice rounds and only made one bogey in each. Still, he found himself gazing wistfully at places the tees used to be.

“I was hoping there would be some common sense and they would move some of the tees up so we can have a fair tournament, bring some more people into it,” Toms said.

The decision to play 36 holes today after rain washed out the opening round could pose as many problems as the muck and mire on the course itself.

It promises to be a long, cold, wet day.

“We’re going to play about 15,000 yards and about 10,000 of it is going to be wet,” Rocco Mediate. “Fitness is a good thing.”

A few players saw the unusual chance to play the first two rounds of a major on the day as something positive.

Start making some birdies, and you never know where momentum might lead you.

“If you’re stroking the ball well it’s a blessing,” Tom Lehman said. “You get on a roll and you can play half the tournament in one day and put yourself in good position.”

Start playing badly, though, and the tournament will be over for some the same day it began.

In the end, there was only one thing certain.

“Let’s face it,” Els said. “Tiger’s going to be there.”