Notes and Quotes from the Masters
This is Masters of the Unlikely Start – The Masters Tournament
AUGUSTA, Ga. – The first round was the tale of the Unlikely Five – Fred Couples, at age 50, leading with a 66, and then the five-way tie for second at 67, with Phil Mickelson being the only guy who was not a surprise. England’s Lee Westwood, who seems to be finding his long-lost game, had his Masters best with that 67. “I played solidly all day. I didn’t miss a green in regulation, gave myself a lot of chances,” Westwood said. He came home with four birdies over the last seven holes.
South Korea’s Y.E. Yang, the 2009 PGA champion, was playing in his third Masters, and birdied four of the first six holes on his bogey-free back nine. “”It just seemed to me that everything came to me very comfortably. I hope I can sustain this. I don’t want to be too aggressive.”
Korea’s K.J. Choi birdied four in a row from the 13th for his best-ever 67. In eight Masters, it was also his best start by four shots.
Mickelson had a burst through the middle of the back nine, going four under on three holes with some amazing putting. He eagled the 13th from 30 feet, birdied the 14th from 40 and the 15th from 25. Then missed a 2-footer for birdie at the 18th. Said Mickelson: “I cannot believe, two feet out, it didn’t go in. It looked like it was going to go right in the middle, but it just stopped.”
NOT SO GAY – Brian Gay (74) was looking at a birdie at the par-3 12th, pin-high, uphill, right-to-left. “Of course, I want to make it,” he said, “and I got just a little bit aggressive and ran it by 3 ½ feet, and missed it coming back. That stung a little bit.”
DEBUT TO REMEMBER – Italian amateur Matteo Manassero, 16, in the field as the British Amateur champion, opened his first Masters with a birdie at No. 1. From there he manufactured a serviceable 1-under 71, by two shots the best start of the six amateurs. His head seems to be on straight, though. Expectations? “I don’t have any,” he said. “I don’t know if I have expectations from other people, but not from me. I just want to play good. I want to play good in the other days. If I don’t play good, I will be sad, but not that much.”
BROTHER ACT SO-SO – The rare set of brothers and the first from Italy had a mixed start. Francesco Molinari, 27, shot 70, and Edoardo, 29, 76.
THE BIG THREE MINUS ONE – Jack Nicklaus, six-time winner of the Masters, joined Arnold Palmer on the first tee at 7:40 a.m. Expect to see Gary Player in there someday, billed as the Big Three back together again.
As to those opening shots:
“Arnold, when he hit it, he said, ‘That wasn’t too bad,’ ” said Nicklaus, who added that he didn’t see either shot land because he wasn’t wearing his contact lenses. “That’s what we were trying to do – hear the club hit the ball. And I said, as long as we didn’t hear it land, we are both in good shape.”
FROM THE CLUB TAILOR – The fairways are being mowed at 3/8 inch, the tees a 5/16, the collars at ¼, the greens at 1/8, and the rough (termed the “second cut,” at 1 3/8 inch.
THE MASTERS’ CHANGING FACE – They used to be called the “foreign” contingent, back when “foreign” simply meant from another country. Now they’re “international golfers,” though practically all are international. At any rate, the old “foreign” contingent now outnumbers the U.S. players. Of the field of 96, 52 are foreign and 44 are American, and even that latter figure is deceptive. Three are amateurs and six are in the can’t-win age, while three foreigns are can’t-win, making the split realistically 52-35.
Other points: Of the six amateurs, two are from Korea, one from Italy.
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