Tiger Woods crosses Rae's Creek on his way to the 15th green, where he made one of his eight birdies Friday.
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A daily look at the happenings surrounding Tiger Woods at Augusta:
Friday was vintage Woods. He had a perfect tee time -- 10:12 a.m. -- and perfect weather. And he took advantage almost immediately, with four birdies on the front side. He bogeyed the 10th, but added four more birdies on the back, offset by a bogey at the 16th.
Woods' score of 70-66 is exactly the same as it was four years ago when he won his only green jacket. That year, he shot 40-30 on the first day, and he led the field by three after two rounds. This year, he trails by two and is tied with Phil Mickelson.
"I'm very pleased with where I'm at," Woods said. "Eight-under par. You can't really complain."
As for Woods' playing partners, Mike Weir shot 69 and made the cut at 1-under. But Mikko Ilonen blew up, shooting 79 after a first-round 72.
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The unkindest cut
The cut at the Masters is a precarious thing. Only 44 players -- plus ties -- are invited to play the weekend. Everybody else goes home. And this year's cut -- 1-over 145 -- tied the lowest in Masters history (set three other times).
That list of victims this year includes Davis Love III, Sergio Garcia, Colin Montgomerie, Nick Price and Greg Norman, who shot an 82 -- his worst round ever in 74 rounds at Augusta National.
"Ugly," Norman said before leaving.
He had company in his misery. Thomas Bjorn was 3-under with three holes to play, but made triple-bogey on the 16th and double-bogey on the 18th to miss the cut.
Scott Verplank was 3-under on Thursday, but shot 78. Colin Montgomerie eagled the second hole, but took a triple-bogey on the 10th and shot 76. Love was 1-under Thursday and shot 75. Garcia was 2-under and shot 76.
Amateur James Driscoll, on the leaderboard Thursday, shot 78, including a double-bogey on No. 17 that cost him the weekend.
"I didn't hit the ball very well yesterday, but it was one of those days where everything goes your way," he said. "I didn't hit it very well today, either, and I got what I deserved."
Others headed home include Stewart Cink, Joe Durant, Steve Flesch, Pierre Fulke and Nick Faldo.
Two men who will play the weekend are Fred Couples and Bernhard Langer. Couples has made the cut in all 17 of his Masters appearances. And Langer has made 18 straight after missing in his first trip to Augusta National in 1982.
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Scoring city: A total of 41 players broke par on Friday, the second-best total in Masters history. And how benign are some of the holes playing? Last year, the 12th hole gave up 32 birdies in four days. It's given up 39 already this year, including 21 on Friday.
Back-nine blues: Ian Woosnam had a unique back nine. He had six birdies and shot a 1-over 37. Why? He had a quadruple-bogey at the 11th and a triple-bogey at the 15th. He missed the cut by three shots.
Not too shabby: Charles Coody didn't make the cut, but the 1971 Masters champ -- who turns 64 in three months -- shot a 72 on Friday.
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OVERHEARD
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DUVAL
On his round and love of the media: "I had a great day and was anxious to get in here and talk with you all." |
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TRIPLETT
After telling his wife he expected to play well: "She said, 'Well, aren't you trying to play well every week?' " |
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PALMER
On playing playing with Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player the first two rounds: "They're old, but it doesn't get old." |
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NICKLAUS
On his pairing: "When I was a young kid, I always looked forward to playing with a Masters champion. I think the kids would like to play with us." |
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