The tail of the tornado swept through Augusta alright but only about nine at night, four hours late than predicted. It would have hit right in the middle of Tiger’s personal record best first round of 68 with possibly untold negative consequences. As it is, the rain poured down in sheets, slewing off in different directions in the swirling wind. It washed away the pollen in rivers of gold but also softened the greens and fairways, thus changing the playing conditions unpredictably again. The possibilities of mud caking on balls increased and the consequential reduction in driving distances effectively lengthened the course. The wind was still blowing and swirling at about 20 kph and one could see the pines swaying some 70-80 feet up.
It did not auger well for scoring this day and so it came to pass. The casualty list of those who failed reads like a who’s who. Sabbatini and Clark (SA), Ryo Ishikawa from Japan who wants to become the youngest Masters Champion ever, Harrington and Rory Mcllroy from Ireland, Stewart Cink, the vanquisher of Tom Watson in the Open 2009 (Watson at 60 years is presently in the Top 10!), and Jim Furyk from the US, Paul Casey from the UK and Vijay Singh from Fiji, are among the notables who have taken the week end off (a euphemism for having missed the cut). The number of players under par has ominously dropped from 31 after Round 1 to 20 after Round 2, indicating the carnage ahead as the committee will surely tighten pin positions again.
The press room is abuzz with “Tiger talk” as he appears to make a move by birdieing the 2nd. While he cannot sustain it, making the turn at 3 strokes worse than yesterday, he sunk 20 foot birdie putts on 13 and 15 to finish at 70, tied third.
The redoubtable English pair of Westwood and Poulter, both desperately hungry for a Major, rapidly climbed up the leader board. While Poulter’s was a steady Pilgrims’ progress, Westwood had a wild ride, momentarily even touching 10 under and threatening to run away with it, before settling down to a more sedate 8 under finish, tied for the lead with Poulter. So, while the English pair will play together, Woods and Choi, as well as Mickelson and Yang, will be playing in the same pairing for the third time in this tournament.
While the sky was cloudless and pristine blue, the rain had muddied and turned part of the ground soggy. Augusta National had sprinkled gravel (green coloured, naturally!) to give patrons traction while traversing the slopes, particularly at Amen Corner where the crowds were at least 20 deep. Amen Corner comprises the 11th hole, the dangerous Par 3 twelfth hole at the bend and the tantalising 13th hole par 5; many a title is decided right here. Standing there, in a copse of towering pines, and gazing upwards, one captured the sunlight filtering through the branches and pine needles as though looking through a magnificent stained glass window in a cathedral, as the breezes in the pines were like choirs singing hosannas. Amen!
The most dangerous greens is the 14th, with deadly and virtually unreadable slopes that led Duval to a 4 putt on Day 1 and caused him to lose heart and miss the cut. On Day 2, it caught Yuta Ikeda of Japan in a deadly five putt (possibly a record at the Masters) trap. Matt Kuchar hit a perfect shot to the pin which spun 60 feet away and Tiger suffered the same fate ending up 40 feet away. While Tiger successfully 2 putted for par, Kuchar was lucky to 3 putt when he drained a 20 footer. What will happen on Day 3 and Day 4?
In the after game interview, Tiger said that despite the rain some greens had become much faster, mainly the 11th, 14th and 15th. The 16th green was so fast that he simply had to touch the ball and hope that it rolled the 8 feet into the hole. It did not.
While he was hacking and sneezing, and had swollen eyes from a pollen allergy today, he said that he is in excellent mental and physical condition and five months of no tournament experience has been overcome with concentrated practice sessions with Hank Haney, his swing coach. He is hitting the ball better and if his putter worked good, he will do fine. He was two shots behind after Round 1 and that is where he is now. With only 48 players (compared to the normal 72+ in other tournaments) playing the final 36 holes, the battle is truly joined.
Tiger is comfortable being where he is; will that cause discomfort to the leaders just one flight behind?
