AUGUSTA -- Just before 5 p.m. Friday, Matt Kuchar's caddy was on his knees, looking for a ball plugged in a bank. About 20 minutes later, a search party of three players, two caddies and a course official were tearing into shrubbery like beagles down a rabbit hole.
The par-3 12th hole took on the field Friday at the Masters. The second leg of Amen Corner, also known as Golden Bell, won in a knockout.
The victims included Kuchar, the Georgia Tech grad whose round got derailed by his double bogey at the 12th, Alvaro Quiros, who earned his own double by getting stuck in the sand, and Graeme McDowell, whose tee shot flew over the green and required Woods and others to unsuccessfully hunt in the shrubbery for his ball. He took a triple bogey that bumped him over the cut line. Even leader Rory McIlroy, seemingly invincible through the tournament's first two rounds, took his first bogey at 12.
Said Quiros, "It's a nightmare."
The hole's deceitful winds left it tied with No. 11, its Amen Corner relay partner, for the most difficult hole Friday. There, 99 of the world's best players came through, and four made birdie.
At 12, Kuchar had to make the walk of shame back over the Ben Hogan Bridge after his tee shot plugged into the bank along Rae's Creek. After caddie Lance Bennett spent minutes trying to locate the ball, Kuchar took a drop and a penalty stroke, leading to his double. A day that began 4 under par with hopes of climbing the leader board ended at 1 under, his hopes for his first green jacket likely left in the Rae's Creek bank.
The par-4 No. 11, the least celebrated of the Amen Corner triad and the only par-4 on the course longer than 500 yards, gobbled up 26 bogeys or worse.
"It's just a tough hole," David Toms said. "It's one of those holes where you take your par and get out."
About the Author
