Tiger Woods' back-nine misfire leaves Masters
wide open
By Jack Saylor / Knight Ridder Newspapers
AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Tiger Woods has seemingly misplaced his mastery
of Augusta National's back nine, and the result is a wide-open
weekend at the Masters.
Woods labored to a par 72 in the second round on another wind-swept
day Friday and finds himself four shots behind at the halfway
mark of his title defense.
David Duval made six birdies in the last 11 holes for a 68,
tying first-round leader Fred Couples for the 36-hole lead at
five-under-par 139.
Couples shot two-under 70. They enjoy a two-shot lead over
Scott Hoch, who bogeyed two of the last three holes to shoot 71
for 141.
"I didn't make too many mistakes," said Duval, 27.
"I played real well and putted real well.
"The wind seemed to be a little calmer, but it was still
pretty strong."
Which means the gusts were a relative zephyr-like 25 m.p.h.
compared to the 40-m.p.h. gales of Thursday.
But the wind remained a trouble-maker. Woods made four bogeys,
hit only 10 greens and had to sink a 12-foot putt to save the
par round at the 18th green.
For the first 36 holes, Woods is four over par on the back
nine, which he played a whopping 16 under during his lap-the-field
victory a year ago.
Woods' 71-72 pegs him at one-under 143 along with Phil Mickelson,
who made an eagle and four birdies in his 69; Jay Haas (71), Paul
Azinger (72) and Jose Maria Olazabal (73).
The stern conditions had the leader board looking almost as
devoid of subpar scores as it typically does Sunday afternoon
at the U.S. Open.
Mickelson, the tall left-hander who seemed destined to be a
Masters champion after his third-place finish two years ago, rekindled
that flame by following his opening 74 with his three-under round,
which threatened to be even better.
That was before Mickelson, who missed the cut a year ago, started
giving strokes back on the back nine.
An eagle at the par-five second, where Mickelson followed a
drive and five-iron by chipping in from 30 feet, triggered a front-nine
32.
But after playing Augusta National's first three par-fives
four under par, Mickelson slipped at the 500-yard 15th, nemesis
of so much of the field this year.
He hit his chip shot into the water and had to sink a six-foot
putt to salvage bogey. He compounded the error by over-clubbing
at the 170-yard 16th and three-putted, virtually from the other
side of town.
"You make mistakes on this course -- that's part of the
deal," Mickelson said.
"I felt if I could get back around even par I'd be in
good shape for the weekend. Even if the leaders get to five or
six under, that's not really enough if you remember a couple of
years ago."
The reference was to Greg Norman's loss of a six-stroke lead
and, ultimately, the title to Nick Faldo in 1996.
Mark O'Meara shot two-under 70 and is at par 144 with Scott
McCarron (71).
"I'm pleased to be back in the tournament," said
O'Meara, who shot 74 in the first round. "But I can't make
any more mistakes like I did on the seventh and ninth holes."
Misdirected short irons led to bogeys on those holes before
O'Meara carved three birdies from the back nine.
"It's a battle, no question about it," he said.
The cut drifted skyward to seven-over 151, but there were still
a number of prominent names who were headed out of town.
Among them: Frank Nobilo (76-153), Norman )for the second straight
year) and Jeff Sluman (154), Ben Crenshaw (155), Vijay Singh (breaking
a streak of 53 straight cuts made, and Tom Lehman (156), Seve
Ballesteros (157) and Arnold Palmer (166).
Jack Nicklaus shot 72 and made the cut for the 14th time in
the last 15 tries since he withdrew with an injury after 36 holes
in 1983.
Gary Player, 62, became the oldest player ever to make the
cut, shooting 149 by adding par 72.
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(c) 1998, Detroit Free Press.
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