The Masters is all about tradition. The returning champions. The Crow’s Nest. The Hogan Bridge.
Well, there’s one tradition those guys in the green jackets would gladly abandon.
Bad weather.
In what has become a mud-stained rite of spring, the pristine grounds of Augusta National were a gooey mess, the opening major of the year totally out of whack after two days of thunderstorms.
The first shot of the tournament was struck five and a half hours late.
Another line of heavy rain moved through on Friday, ruining any hope of getting things back on schedule until at least Saturday, maybe even Sunday.
Can Phil Mickelson win his second straight green jacket? Can Tiger Woods get back in contention? Can Chris DiMarco finally lead at Augusta when it matters?
Interesting stories, but hardly front and centre.
All eyes were on the weather radar.
The Masters hasn’t finished on a Monday since 1983. And rest assured no matter how many times this tournament starts and stops, it will be played to the finish.
”We’re going to play 72 holes,” said Will Nicholson, chairperson of the competition committee. ”It looks very good [for the weekend] looking at the weather guides. But this year, it’s crazy.”
Indeed. Bad weather has interrupted play on the PGA Tour for the ninth time in 15 tournaments, and the fourth week in a row.
”We’re all used to it after this year,” Justin Leonard said.
”It’s nothing new.”
It’s nothing new for the Masters, either. Four straight years, the tournament has been interrupted by storms.
These scenes are becoming downright routine: cat litter spread around the grounds to soak up the water; Rae’s Creek looking more like Willy Wonka’s chocolate river; the soaked, mud-splattered patrons trudging toward the gates.
”You just hate it for the fans,” David Toms said.
When play was suspended on Friday, DiMarco, Luke Donald and David Howell shared the top spot on the leaderboard at five under par.
DiMarco was the clubhouse leader after shooting 67 in the first round, while Howell closed in with birdies on five of his first seven holes to start the second.
Mickelson and top-ranked Vijay Singh were close to the front — and feuding as well — while Tiger Woods and Ernie Els hoped to bounce back from slow starts.
It all depends on the weather.
Two-time Masters champion Ben Crenshaw knows it’s tough to stay focussed with so much uncertainty. On Friday, for instance, DiMarco finished up the last four holes of the first round, took a short break, played one hole to start the second — and was done for the day.
”It’s very difficult to do in a major,” Crenshaw said. ”These guys are trying their hardest to find and capture a feeling. You have a delay, you have to start all over again.”
To pass the time, Howell had lunch with his girlfriend and napped for about an hour in the clubhouse.
”I was right next to Padraig Harrington,” Howell said with a smile. ”He did better than me. He was snoring when I woke up.”
Woods, a three-time winner, probably welcomed the break.
He knocked a putt in the creek the first day, then had another adventure on Friday at number eight Woods wound up in the pine trees along the right side, then caught a limb trying to get out. The ball ricocheted the wrong way, but at least settled in the fairway. He wound up with a bogey.
Woods took a 74, the third straight year he’s failed to break par in the opening round.
Mickelson was off to a strong start in defence of his title. His first shot on Friday dropped five feet from the flag at the par-3 12th, leading to a cherished birdie in the heart of Amen Corner. A 70 left him three strokes behind DiMarco.
Lefty also was involved in a brouhaha with Singh, who complained to rules officials that the metal spikes in Mickelson’s shoes were too long and creating marks on the green.
Singh, playing in the group behind Mickelson, made the complaint at number 12 after missing a 25-foot birdie attempt on about the same line that Lefty used to make his putt.
Mickelson wasn’t happy about the way the situation was handled, and he said so to Singh afterward in the clubhouse.
”I heard Vijay talking to other players about it, and I confronted him,” Mickelson said through his press agent, TR Reinman. ”He expressed his concerns. I expressed my disappointment in the way it was handled. I believe everything is fine now.”
Singh shot 68 in the opening round, squandering a chance to take the lead at the par-5 15th. He had a 35-footer for eagle, but the putt curled left of the cup and he missed the 4-footer for birdie — bitten twice by Augusta’s wet but still treacherous greens.
He never got back on the course to start the second round.
DiMarco’s first shot on Friday led to a birdie at number six, where he nearly duplicated his hole-in-one from a year ago. For the fourth time in five years, he’s leading a round at the Masters.
Maybe his time has come. But that’s an issue for later. All eyes were on the skies. – Sapa-AP