Friday at the Masters, part 2

THE WAITING GAME

Golfers in the Masters field with the most starts in golf’s majors without a victory, with their position in the 77th Masters after two rounds. Five of the seven are in position to still win.

Lee Westwood; 60; T7

Sergio Garcia; 58; T14

Steve Stricker; 58; T20

Thomas Bjorn; 49; T37

Adam Scott; 48; T7

K.J. Choi; 48; T7

Words with … Lee Westwood

Q: How was your round?

A: Solid day (shot 71 and is 3 under for the tournament). I did what I needed to do with the conditions, in the conditions. I played solidly. I hit it in the right places a lot of the time. Didn't hit it in the wrong places very often. Just once on the fifth (hole) in the trap. And I was plodding my way around the golf course like you have to when it gets tricky around here.

Q: Considering the start you had, are you surprised to be this close to the lead, or was it that tricky a day where it all was going to come back?

A: Just feels like that kind of day and that kind of week where nobody's going to run away. It's a difficult golf course to shoot really low on, and if you can just keep plodding away and picking up the odd birdie now and again, not making too many mistakes. Obviously double bogeys are a killer, and I had one on the first hole yesterday, but I didn't have one today.

Q: Do you like these conditions to sort of continue?

A: Well, they're fairly stressful, but I guess I play well in these kind of conditions, so. Yeah, I love stress. Yeah.

Q: What pleased you most about this past two days?

A: Just the patience, I've shown, really. Not becoming overly aggressive after making double bogey on the first yesterday. Easing my way back into it.

Watson plays ‘Bubba Golf’

Having just signed a card that included more circles and squares than a Hollywood game show, Bubba Watson was asked if he had ever played a more uneven round.

“I’ve had tons of those,” he said with a laugh. “That’s what we call Bubba Golf.”

In the end, Watson’s second round at Augusta National as defending Masters champion was just good enough — barely — to reward him with a third round. Watson’s made seven birdies, six bogeys and one double bogey to shoot 73. They gave him a two-day total of 148, 4 over par, which happened be just below the cutline.

When Watson walked out of the scorer’s office, he needed Jason Day to shoot par or worse on the 18th hole to make the cut. Day made par and Watson was in.

And he’s not counting himself out.

“I mean, I made seven birdies,” Watson said. “When you make seven birdies in one day you’re playing well. It was just the three-putts.”

Counting two putts off the fringe, Watson said he has made four three-putts in two days, including four Friday. He blamed it on some uncharacteristically slow greens at Augusta National.

“It’s the first time I’ve ever seen it this slow, and I play by feel,” he said. “… It doesn’t have that bite to it. This is not the Masters we’re all used to seeing.”

Watson wasn’t alone in that complaint.

“Absolutely I would agree with him,” Luke Donald said. “It’s as soft and as slow as I’ve seen the greens. Slow being a relative word, but slower than what we’re used to. And it’s certainly changed some of the breaks that we’re used to seeing. Feeding the ball in from the high side, you can now take a little bit more of a run at it. And it’s hard to make that adjustment because you are so used to, especially the guys that have been here year after year, seeing how fast these greens are and how much they break and that changed a little bit this year. “

If Watson can somehow make the adjustments, Watson insists he can play himself in.

“When you look at that, there’s a way I could shoot 5 under and get under par for the tournament and be right there. Nobody’s really running away with it. It’s the same score as yesterday. So if it was windy, and they start feeling the nerves, anything under par would be good heading into Sunday.”

Depends on which kind of Bubba Golf gets played.

AFTER THE CHEERING STOPS

Defending champions who missed the cut the next year at the Masters since 1966. Bubba Watson kept his name off this list by making four birdies on his final seven holes Friday. Five of the eight defenders who missed the cut also were multiple winners of the Masters.

Yr. won; Winner; Next year

2003; Mike Weir; 79-70;

1999; Jose Maria Olazabal; 72-77;

1996; Nick Faldo; 75-81;

1995; Ben Crenshaw; 77-74;

1988; Sandy Lyle; 77-76;

1983; Seve Ballesteros; 73-74;

1980; Ballesteros; 78-76;

1973; Tommy Aaron; 77-73;

1966; Jack Nicklaus; 72-79;

Words with … Rory McIlroy

Q: That second shot on 8. How long was it, and what did you have left?

A: 275 to the pin. 5-wood. Just a nice high draw. It pitched somewhere in the middle of the green and ran up there.

Q: Did you see where it landed?

A: I was surprised to see where it finished. You're looking to get a chip shot that close, so it was nice to get up there and see that ball pretty close to the hole.

Q: You start in rain, you finish in blustery wind and still shoot a 70. How?

A: Well, it was good. I made a lot of good putts for pars on the front nine. After playing some, I mean I was, I didn't play my best for the first few holes and as I said, the eighth hole really got me going, really kick started me. Then I started to hit some really good quality shots. I took advantage of a couple of easier holes on the back nine, 13, 14. So, yeah, I mean it was, I mean anything under par today was going to be a good score, and I stayed patient out there when I needed to, and it was a good day.

Q: How do you feel about where you are right now?

A: I'm comfortable with my game. I'm happy with this position going into the weekend, and the conditions don't look to be getting much easier out there, so it will be nice to have a nice afternoon and look forward to tomorrow."

Aussies seek breakthrough

Australians haven’t won the Masters in a “donkey’s years.” Borrowing a piece of Aussie slang meaning for a long time, they’ve actually never won the tournament.

But all four Australians in this year’s Masters — Jason Day, Marc Leishman, John Senden and Adam Scott — fired solid second rounds to put themselves into position to contend for the only major that has eluded the country.

Day started 2 under and bounced back from an atrocious tee shot on 12 that led to a bogey with birdies on Nos. 13 and 16 to grab the lead at 6 under with a 68, the low round of the day. Leishman, the first-round leader at 6 under, lost just one shot and is 5 under. Scott started at 3 under, dropped to par by No. 5 and rallied to reach 3 under again with birdies on 7, 14 and 18. Senden reached 4 under before consecutive bogeys on 16 and 17 dropped him to 2 under.

“There’s obviously a lot of pressure on my shoulders being Australian and no Australian having ever won the event, but they’ve been very, very close,” said Day, who finished second two years ago. “I just have to get that out of my mind and play.”

Day said that instead of thinking about it as pressure, he considers it an opportunity to be the first, and that if he can focus on his game plan — which involves playing to the corners of the doglegs instead of trying to draw or fade balls around the corners — he thinks he will have a chance.

Day said he can’t think about those who are chasing him, a long list that includes Tiger Woods, because that will cause him to stray from the game plan and that will lead to bogeys.

Day said he works to peak at the Masters. He arrived in Augusta on Friday and played the course five consecutive days, taking Wednesday off.

“It’s my favorite time of the year,” he said. “I love this place.”

Australians have won nine British Opens, four PGA Championships and two U.S. Opens.