AUGUSTA, Ga. – The halfway leader of the 76th Masters takes pain medication for his back and is eligible for AARP.
Last week in Houston, he all but pronounced his golf game an ancient relic.
Then Fred Couples, age 52, arrived at the humps and hollows of Augusta National Golf Club and started carving drives and pouring in putts. Fred Couples: 1992 Masters champion and resident sandbagger.
Through 36 holes of a wild Masters, Couples shares the lead at five-under-par 139 after a second-round 67 that featured seven birdies and just two bogeys. Tied with Couples is another laid-back soul, Jason Dufner, last year’s runner up at the PGA Championship.
AUGUSTA, Ga. — When the 6-foot-1 Swede, Henrik Stenson, met the press after his first-round 71 in the 76th Masters, no one wanted to hear about his eagles at the par-5 second or par-5 eighth or his sizzling front-nine 31. Instead, nine of the reporters' 10 questions related to the 8 he made on 18.
An 8? On a hole with no water, no O.B., and two fairway bunkers? How does that happen? Stenson gamely explained.
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Sergio Garcia had an answer for a roomful or golf writers Friday afternoon.
He held up his left hand with the middle finger boldly, proudly saluting the North Star.
The writers laughed loudly. It was funny because Sergio’s gesture, a universal signal for contempt or displeasure, was in this case a legitimate answer to a question about which finger had the infected fingernail that was troubling him. “This one,” Sergio said with a grin, holding up his bandaged digit.
AUGUSTA, GA — The Rory McIlroy Love Train is rolling all over Augusta National. America simply loves Rory. The romance that began with a hug after his Sunday 80 at the Masters last year, and blossomed with his victory at the U.S. Open, is now a full-on love affair.
During Friday’s second round, Rory took thousands of patrons with him on his morning hike around Augusta’s hills and valleys. He shot a three-under-par 69 to get to four under for the tournament. He is poised to be measured for that first green jacket.
“I know I’m playing well,” McIlroy said. “I just wanted to come here and put myself in position to win another major.”
AUGUSTA, Ga. – He peaks for the majors, his college coach says he has a brilliant golfing mind, and he trades texts with Charles Barkley.
Tiger Woods? Nope. Jason Dufner. The wagglin’ 2011 PGA Championship runner-up carded a three-under-par 69 in the first round of the Masters at Augusta National, and he trails leader Lee Westwood by two strokes.
“He’s got the ability to play in the present as good as any golfer I’ve ever had,” said Auburn Director of Golf Mike Griffin, who was Dufner’s college coach and followed him Thursday. “He can forget the bad stuff really easily.”
AUGUSTA, Ga. — As Rory McIlroy stood on the 10th tee during the first round of the 2012 Masters, at least one salient swing thought rushed through his mind.
"Well, I wasn't going left, that's for sure," McIlroy said after posting a one-under 71.
And he didn’t.
Nearly a year removed from the snap hook on the 10th hole that triggered his startling demise in the fourth round of the 2011 Masters, McIlroy blocked his tee shot into the trees on the opposite side of the fairway. From there, he fashioned a nifty punch-out that checked up just short of the green. An up-and-down later, he had his par, a three-shot improvement from the last time he played this par 4 in competition.
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Who knew there were still fax machines in this world of Twitter, Facebook and texting? Luke Donald had a twitchy wait for almost an hour while very powerful adults poured over a smudge on the World No. 1’s scorecard, trying to decipher if a 5 looked like a 3 or the other way around. Had Donald signed for an incorrect score — a birdie 3 at the fifth instead of a bogey 5 after three-putting? Or was it merely a smudge on the chief scorer’s spectacles?
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Welcome to The Day That Wasn't at the Masters.
Thursday was expected to be some sort of great international shootout at Augusta National Golf Club. The course was still soaked from Tuesday night's heavy storms. The greens were still soft and receptive. The wind was down. It was oh-so-obviously going to be an exciting day replete with a buffet of low scores. Perfect scoring conditions were going to turn this Masters opening round, Phil Mickelson predicted Tuesday, into "a birdie-fest."
AUGUSTA, Ga. — The best way to come here is by car. For one thing, your clubs are going to arrive if they’re in the back of your wagon. Changing planes in Atlanta is like an invitation to the room where they store the rental sets.
