By David Kraft
ESPN Golf Online
Saturday, April 8

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- The 10th hole has been a bear during this year's Masters. But it wasn't for the leaders on Saturday.

10 At A Glance
Avg. 4.298
Rank 6
Eagles 0
Birdies 4
Pars 33
Bogeys 19
D-bogeys 1
Others 0

And there is a correlation.

The 485-yard, par-4 10th has been the third-hardest hole in this year's tournament, playing at an average of 4.290. Since 1942, the first year such statistics were kept, it's been the hardest hole on the golf course -- tougher than No. 12 (the second-hardest) and tougher than the par-3 fourth (the third-hardest).

A new green -- rebuilt for agronomic reasons and to reduce Bermuda grass encroachment -- has given the players fits. Some have said that experience is actually a negative on the hole, because what worked in the past doesn't work now.

But Saturday, the leaders cruised through No. 10, just as they have all week. Vijay Singh, David Duval, Loren Roberts, Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson -- the top five on the leaderboard -- all took par. In fact, all five have played the hole in a combined 1-under this week -- with the birdie belonging to Roberts. No one has taken a bogey.

Also on Saturday, Tiger Woods picked up a birdie, hitting an 8-iron to within 10 feet and making the putt. Carlos Franco, Hal Sutton and Nick Faldo also made 3 on Saturday.

But the 10th took its toll on others. Sergio Garcia took bogey on his way to a 75. So did Jeff Sluman and Tom Lehman. There were 19 bogeys at No. 10 on Saturday, 73 for the tournament.




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