Masters 3rd round
All-England clash
AUGUSTA, Ga. – The azaleas once again bloom gloriously at Augusta National, softly caressing their Monet brush through grassland and rough-bark pine. The pinks will blow their gentle breath along the land. The ones moving will be Ian Poulter. |
Barring an uprising on Savile Row or an injunction by local authorities, Poulter will wear a pink ensemble on one of the two final days of this Masters. Look for it Saturday, for the third round, in which he will be in his finest position in six attacks on Augusta National. Tied for the lead, in fact, in an All-England pairing with Lee Westwood, who when it comes to coloring and panache, is 180 degrees from Poulter.
Poulter is the one in pastels, reds, Union Jacks, and often black-and-gold spiked hair. Westwood is the guy who looks as though he just stepped back from the brink of the abyss. Which he did.
That was a promising career Westwood had. He was the new flower of England, the scourge of Europe. He’d deposed Monty. Then he went weirdly sour, and then went bored. This was years. Finally, he had a talk with himself. Hey, you want to do this or not? Answer: Yes. And now he’s come back these last few years. A 69 Friday gave him a 136, and tied him with Poulter, who had already finished with a second 68. Of course, each of them blew a chance for the solo lead by bogeying the tough 18th, each in his turn.
For Poulter, that was a silky round of five birdies coming up to the 18th. He got both par-5s on the front, the 2nd and 8th. Then he got the rare double on the back nine, birdies at two of the toughest par-3s in the world, the 12th and 16th. Throw in another par-5, the 13th, and that on a two-putt after a 5-wood to the green, and you had a round that belied the pastel of his existence.
At the 18th, he pulled a 5-iron from 212 yards and bogeyed.
“It’s a good start,” Poulter said. “Certainly the way I played today, and the number of chances I had, with the pins as difficult as they were. I would say it’s one of the best rounds I’ve ever played.”
For the stern-visaged Westwood, the round was like the storm-tossed English channel. An eagle at the par-5 2nd, on a 6-iron to a mere 18 inches, and a double bogey at the par-4 14th, where he chunked a simple wedge from the rough. Scattered here and there –six birdies and three birdies. The best sign of the new Westwood, or the rejuvenated one, came after his double bogey at the 14th. He hit two excellent shots, a fine drive and a laser 5-wood, and birdied the par-5 15th. That might not have happened not long ago.
“Yeah, maybe not,” Westwood conceded. “I’m a lot more patient and mature than I used to be. I know not to panic now when things go wrong.”
Only two years ago, he had the 2008 U.S. Open at his fingertips. But he bogeyed three out of four holes early on the back nine, then came out of a bunker badly at the 18th, and left the theater stage to the Tiger Woods-Rocco Mediate playoff.
“And I learned a few things,” Westwood said. “Stuff I’m not going to share, because I think if you get into these situations and learn stuff, what’s the point of passing it on?”
So the English pair lead by two over Woods, K.J. Choi , Ricky Barnes, Anthony Kim and Phil Mickelson, which is quite a pack of hounds to have on one’s heels. And if the golf course isn’t a laboratory, from where one publishes results, it can be a source of side income. The two Englishmen will be paired for the third round Saturday, and not for the first time will they be head-to-head. There was something at stake the last time, too.
Poulter said Westwood took some money off him in a practice round for the Masters.
“Yeah, he would mention that,” Westwood said. “Every pound is a prisoner to him.”
Return to Man About Golf archives