Ten green jackets walked the fairways together Friday -- Jack Nicklaus, who survived the cut after an age-defying 70, and Arnold Palmer, who shot 82 and won't be playing this weekend.
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Tiger Woods hasn't broken 70 in his last 10 rounds at Augusta National. And since he won the 1997 title, he's a combined 1-over in 10 rounds.
David Duval's 65 was his best round in a major championship. Previously, he'd shot 66 in the third round of the 1996 British Open.
Vijay Singh's 67 was his best score at Augusta National and only the third time in 22 rounds he's broken 70.
Colin Montgomerie and Gabriel Hjertstedt both eagled the par-4 fifth hole on Friday -- the sixth and seventh time that hole has been eagled in Masters history. Ironically, the last two were by Nicklaus -- in the first and third rounds in 1995.
Nicklaus' 70 was the first time a player older than 60 had broken par at The Masters since 62-year-old Sam Snead shot 71 in 1975. Nicklaus is 60.
Bernhard Langer will make the cut for the 17th straight year -- the longest streak in Masters history. He's never finished lower than 39th during that streak. Fred Couples made his 16th cut in 16 appearances at Augusta.
Craig Stadler birdied the 15th hole Friday -- the same 15th hole where he took a quadruple bogey in the first round.
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Jack's back
They still offer pimento cheese sandwiches. The azeleas still are blooming. The greens still are fast.
And Jack Nicklaus is lurking. Ah, it truly is The Masters.
Augusta National was, as it so often has been for the past 40-plus years, abuzz over Nicklaus. The Golden Bear shot a 70 on Friday and is even-par through 36 holes. A seventh green jacket?
"I feel like I should be leading," he said. "I feel like I've played a lot better than my score is. I've putted a lot better than my score is."
Nicklaus, paired with Arnold Palmer and Gary Player -- both of whom missed the cut -- has 11 grandchildren. He didn't play last year after hip-replacement surgery, but was sixth in 1998. He was also sixth in 1990. Other than that, he's finished in the top 15 only once since winning his sixth Masters title in 1986.
But Friday, he shot 33 on the front -- birdies at Nos. 4, 7 and 9 -- but stumbled on the back, bogeying the 12th and 18th holes, with a birdie at No. 13.
That had everybody scrambling for the history books. When he won in 1986, he shot 74-71 -- 1-over through 36 holes. But he shot 69 on Saturday and closed with a 65 on Sunday to beat Tom Kite and Greg Norman by a shot.
"I have a lot better chance now than I did Thursday, because we got rid of an awful lot of guys," he said. "I've still got a lot of guys in front of me, but I've still got a chance."
Could he make a run?
"Realistically, do I think I have a good shot at winning the tournament?" Nicklaus asked. "Probably not. But does that mean I'm not goig to try? Does that mean I'm not going to give it my best shot? Does that mean in my own mind I don't believe I can play and if I get down to the end, I can't make something happen? Absolutely, I've got to believe it."
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Slow down: They enforce a no-running rule at Augusta National -- for patrons, but not for Sergio Garcia. The 20-year-old Spaniard, who ran up one fairway at last year's PGA, put on his track shoes again Friday, sprinting up to the 16th green to mark his ball before it rolled down the hill. Undaunted, playing partner Fred Couples broke out in a mock jog, laboring his way to the green to a roar from the gallery.
The cut can be cruel: When David Duval birdied Nos. 17 and 18 to move to 6-under (138), he dashed of a number of big names who were in the clubhouse at 149 (5-over) and 150 (6-over). Defending champion Jose Maria Olazabal (149) bogeyed 17, but birdied 18. Mark O'Meara (150) bogeyed the final two holes. Duffy Waldorf missed a 15-footer that would have gotten him in, as did amateur Aaron Baddeley. Four players birdied the 18th to get into the weekend -- Skip Kendall, Greg Norman, Jesper Parnevik and Thomas Bjorn.
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OVERHEARD
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DUVAL
On playing one group behind Nicklaus for two rounds: "It's pretty cool. It was a neat place to be. It was great today coming off of, oh I guess walking down to 10, when Nicklaus was out (in 33) and everybody was going nuts. It's a lot of fun." |
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NICKLAUS
On age: "If you had asked me (on) Wednesday, I'd have said, 'This old geezer doesn't have a chance of doing anything.' If you ask me that question (today), I'd say 'Yeah, I'm going out there to play good golf.' I feel pretty young." |
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WOODS
On his play thus far: "I hit a lot of good shots, (but) missed a few shots. I've hit the ball well, but I'm not making the putts. Unfortunatley, that is what you have to do here. I just haven't done it. I'm hitting it pretty well. I'm just not getting the ball in the hole as well as I should." |
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MICKELSON
On the experience among the leaders: "(It's) strong. There's a lot of good names up there, and I think it's going to be very difficult for players to separate themselves on the leaderboard because there are such strong players up there." |
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