Saturday, April 8, 2000
Nicklaus, Duval soar, Tiger
sinks in Masters second round
THOMAS O'TOOLE
Scripps Howard News Service
AUGUSTA, Ga. - Jack Nicklaus brought the
crowd at the Masters to its feet on Friday. David Duval brought
the back nine of Augusta National to its knees. Big names brought
some luster to the leader board.
And Tigers Woods ... well, he was barely
allowed to bring his clubs back for another round.
A glorious day highlighted by less tempestuous
winds and softer greens saw lower scores and a mad scramble for
the lead. Duval, who admits pointing toward this week after finishing
tied for sixth and second the past two years, shot a 30 on the
back nine to take first place with a two-day total of 138. His
65 on Friday was the tournament's low round so far.
He played the final seven holes in 6-under,
a return to dominance that included an eagle at the par-5 No.
15.
"I'm not real concerned with my position,"
said Duval, who admitted his focus on Augusta might have contributed
to him being winless on the tour so far this year. "I've
had one goal for a while, and that's to be leading when we're
done Sunday afternoon.
"I have some high expectations this
week."
Phil Mickelson, trying to become the first
left-hander to win here, shot 68, and Vijay Singh and Ernie Els
each shot 67 for a three-way tie in second at 139.
Tom Lehman and Steve Jones are tied at 141.
None of the top six players has won here.
"The leader board looks really strong,"
said Mickelson. "With a leader board like this it will be
hard for players to separate themselves."
And it will be almost impossible for Woods
to rally. He bogeyed two of the final three holes to finish at
3-over 147, just two strokes from missing the cut.
First-round leader Dennis Paulson, a 37-year-old
Masters rookie, followed his Thursday 68 with a Friday 76 to stand
at 144. Defending champ Jose Maria Olazabal missed the cut.
The loudest cheers were reserved for six-time
winner Nicklaus' return to the leader board on the back nine.
A bogey at No. 18 put him at 70 for the day and even-par for the
tournament.
"That's remarkable," said Lehman.
Added Bernhard Langer, "It gives us
all hope. It's wonderful."
The 60-year-old Nicklaus, 14 years past
his last Masters victory and playing with an artificial hip, clearly
enjoyed himself, despite missing, by his count, seven putts either
for birdie or to save par. But he was hardly disappointed.
"Age doesn't have a lot to do with
it," said Nicklaus. "So far this week my nerves have
been excellent and my nerve has been good."
Only two years ago, prior to his hip replacement
surgery, he shot a final-day 68 to finish in a tie for sixth.
All of a sudden, he is fielding questions about contending again.
"If you had asked me that question
Wednesday, I'd have said this old geezer doesn't have a chance
of doing anything," he said. "If you ask me that question
Friday, I say, yeah, I'm going out there to play good golf. I
feel pretty young.
"Realistically, do I think I have a
good shot at winning the tournament? Probably not. But does that
mean I'm not going to try? ... Does that mean in my own mind I
don't believe I can play and if I get down to the end I can't
make something happen? Absolutely, I've got to believe it."
Nicklaus shot 33 on the front after staring
the day 2-over. He stands tied for 18th, along with former Masters
champs Nick Faldo and Ian Woosnam.
Duval started the day 1-over, and after
a birdie at No. 1, scored 10 straight pars. He birdied 12 and
14, eagled 15 and birdied 17 and 18. The eagle came after he hit
a 5-iron to 10 feet - and more importantly - below the hole.
He says he is not doing anything different,
beyond his new dedication to physical fitness. But he is motivated
by the recent Masters. He fell victim to Mark O'Meara's birdie-birdie
finish to win in 1998. Last year, he rallied but fell out of contention
on the back nine on Sunday.
"I've made it known ... that year I
was looking forward to this stretch," he said.
Duval and Mickelson have never won a major,
though Mickelson was second to Payne Stewart the last year's U.S.
Open. Els is a two-time U.S. Open winner while Singh has won the
PGA. These four players rank among the top 12 in the world.
"Tomorrow will be a really good test
for the field," said Els. "If it stays like this, it
will be a really good shootout. If they are right about the weather
(and predicted rain), then it could go the other way and bring
other players into the equation."
For more information see http://www.masters.org or http://www.augustachronicle.com.
E-mail Thomas O'Toole of Scripps Howard
News Service at otoolet@shns.com.
Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service.
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