ESPN.com - Golf Online - Masters 2000 - Thursday notebook: Turn back the clock

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Thursday, April 6

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Turn-back-the-clock day at Augusta National belonged to the threesome of Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player.


	Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player own 13 green jackets between them.

But don't forget 63-year-old Tommy Aaron.

The native Georgian and 1973 Masters champion put himself in position to make the cut with an even-par 72.

"Hope springs eternal for the golfer," Aaron said. "I felt like I was swinging good coming into the tournament, but I hadn't posted any good rounds (on the Senior Tour). You always hope for the best. When you shoot a 72, you have to feel good."

In his prime, Aaron always seemed to play well at Augusta, reaching the top 10 four times before his victory. But he hasn't made the cut since 1992 and is trying to become the oldest player in Masters history to get past the second round.

Gary Player set the standard in 1998, when he made the cut at 62.

"I just want to play another good round," Aaron said.

As for Player, Palmer and Nicklaus, they drew huge crowds throughout the day. Nicklaus had the crowd buzzing with 15 consecutive pars before settling for 74. Player shot 76, and Palmer a 77.

"I think they enjoyed it," Palmer said. "And I think they agonized with us a little bit when we didn't hit the shots they thought we should hit."

At one point, Woods hit his tee shot to within 10 feet at the par-3 16th and, hearing a roar, doffed his cap. If he'd been paying attention, Woods would have realized that the ovation actually was for the game's triumvirate, making its way down an adjacent hill toward the No. 6 green.

Defending champ in the hunt
Jose Maria Olazabal blocked out the thought of winning a second straight green jacket, even after shooting a respectable 72 in the opening round of The Masters.

Olazabal was tied for 10th on a treacherous day when only nine golfers broke par.

"I don't feel like I have to prove anything," he said. "Only two guys have won it back-to-back before. I'm not thinking about that, to be honest."

Olazabal, who also won at Augusta in 1994, is trying to join Jack Nicklaus (1965-66) and Nick Faldo (1989-90) as the only back-to-back winners. The Spaniard wasn't real happy with his performance in the opening round, which included one bogey, one birdie and 16 pars.

"Today was the tough one," Olazabal said. "I never felt very good on the greens. I managed to put a level-par round together, so it wasn't all that bad. It was a day where you have to have a lot of patience."

Faldo finds his game
Three-time Masters champion Nick Faldo hasn't played on the weekend at Augusta since his memorable victory over Greg Norman four years ago.

That dubious streak may come to an end.

Faldo, who had shown signs of improvement after two miserable years on the PGA Tour, shot a 72 in the opening round to leave himself just four shots behind leader Dennis Paulson.

"I hit the ball really solid," said Faldo, who finished his four-birdie, four-bogey round with a 20-foot par at 18. "I played solid all the way. I'm pretty happy, really."

Faldo reached par for only the second time since winning in 1996, when he overcame a six-shot deficit with the help of Norman's epic collapse. Last year, Faldo went home on Friday after struggling to a 9-over 153 through two rounds.

Daly's demise
In his last exempt year at The Masters, John Daly shot an 8-over 80 and put himself in severe jeopardy of missing the cut for the first time.

Daly earned a five-year exemption when he won the British Open in 1995.

The longest hitter on tour finished third at Augusta in 1993, two years after he came from nowhere to win the PGA Championship. Since then, he has finished no higher than 29th.

He played the first two holes at 3-over Thursday and recorded double-bogeys on two par-5s. The 80 was one stroke off the worst scores he has posted at The Masters, in the final rounds in 1995 and 1999.


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