LOW … FOR A WHILE
Gary Woodland tied a front-nine Masters low score in the third round with a 30 but he trailed off on the back nine and shot XX.
Year; Golfer; Round; Score; Finish;
1975; Johnny Miller; Third; 65; T2;
1988; Greg Norman; Fourth; 64; T5;
2004; K.J. Choi; Second; 70; 3rd;
2009; Phil Mickelson; Fourth; 67; 5th;
Gary Woodland found himself in the proverbial zone Saturday afternoon. The more he played, the louder things got and the less he heard.
By the time he strolled back to the distant outpost that is the No. 11 tee, the native Kansan had tied a Masters record for low front-nine and was 7 under par over his first 10 holes. People in the galleries were murmuring “59” and citing the course record of 63. Things were going so fast that Woodland said he had to “slow down a little bit to catch my breath.”
Then Amen Corner took it away.
Woodland quickly was snapped back to his Masters reality. An unlucky bogey on 11 was followed by an unfortunate double on 12, and Woodland grinded his way through his final six holes. In the end, he posted respectable score of 69 and left the course tied for 13th.
“I was in a groove. I mean I had it going,” said Woodland, a four-year pro out of Topeka, Kan., who now lives in Orlando, Fla. “To be honest, I only missed a couple of shots. Unfortunately they were off the tee box the last couple of holes coming in, and that cost me. But all in all, I’m playing great.”
When the pollen settled, Woodland had done something only four other golfers have done in 78 Masters tournaments — shoot 30 on the front nine. Phil Mickelson was the last to do it in 2009. All four finished in the top five of their respective tournaments.
Woodland started the day well back of the leaders after barely making the cut following a second-round 77. He said he fixed some issues with his driver during a practice session Friday night. That was evident as he came out blazing Saturday morning.
Woodland followed his birdie on 1 with an easy eagle on 2, and the tone was set. He added birdies on 6, 8 and 9. The crowd following him grew on each hole, as did the roars of approval when his ball dropped in the cup.
“I felt the momentum,” Woodland said. “It was definitely getting louder and louder. I didn’t know if that was just more people showing up later in the day or if it was because of the way I was playing. I was definitely feeding off that early, sure.”
Woodland said he remained “in a zone” after his drive on 11 put him in perfect position well down the fairway. Fourteenth on the PGA Tour in driving distance, Woodland was hitting farther than usual Saturday. Ultimately, that cost him.
His approach on the par-4 11th green was dead on the pin, but took a huge hop and ended up rolling off the green. Woodland elected to putt back up the slope to the flag, but his ball got only halfway there. He missed the 10-footer for par, and the expanse of people in the gallery up the hill let out a collective, “uh!”
On the par-3 12th, Woodland committed the cardinal sin of not aiming for the middle of green over the bunker. Instead he went after the sucker pin front left and came up short. His wedge shot on the 155-yard landmark hole rolled back into the water, and his penalty shot from next to Hogan’s Bridge nearly did, too. The double-bogey took Woodland off the leaderboard.
“On 11, the second shot was perfect, and it just flew over the green,” Woodland said. “It was flying. I think that was what the difference was on 12. I knew I was hitting it so hard, I tried to hit wedge and came up short.”
Woodland is a former scholarship basketball player who swapped his sneakers for cleats halfway through college. That’s worked out pretty well, as the 6-foot-1 athlete is playing in his third Masters.
The plan now is to shake off Saturday’s drama and come back create some more buzz Sunday.
“It was a zone that you want to be in, and hopefully I get back in that zone tomorrow,” Woodland said.
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