April 11 -- A leaderboard filled with past champions including Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Fred Couples has set up a potential “shootout” for today’s final round of the Masters Tournament.
That trio, along with South Korea’s K.J. Choi, begin today’s final round at Augusta National Golf Club chasing England’s Lee Westwood, who holds a one-shot lead at 12-under. Mickelson, a two-time Masters winner, is at 11-under, followed by Woods and Choi at 8-under, one shot ahead of Couples, the 1992 champion.
With a combination of sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-70s Fahrenheit (mid-20s Celsius) in today’s forecast, and tournament officials setting the final-round hole locations in their traditional birdie-producing spots, Mickelson said he’s expecting another roar-filled day at the year’s first major tournament.
“We’re going to have some excitement, a real shootout,” the 2004 and 2006 winner said in his post-round news conference yesterday. “A lot of guys are still in this, even though it looks like they’re five, six shots back. We’ve seen guys get 7-, 8-under par in the round and I think it will be very possible.”
Mickelson and Westwood will be in today’s final group at 2:40 p.m. local time, 10 minutes after Woods and Choi begin play.
While Westwood, who’s seeking to become England’s second Masters champion following three-time winner Nick Faldo, shot a 4-under-par 68 in the third round, the loudest roars yesterday were for Mickelson.
Less than an hour after Westwood, the world’s fourth-ranked golfer, opened a five-shot lead at 12-under through 11 holes, Mickelson carded consecutive eagles and a birdie over a three- hole stretch.
‘Unbelievable’ Noise
With birdies and eagles seemingly being recorded every few minutes, players said Saturday at Augusta felt more like Sunday.
“The roars are unbelievable,” Couples said. “Westwood is playing great with the lead and Phil did what he was supposed to do. It’s going to be very interesting.”
Couples, a 50-year-old who fell to 3-under with a 75 in the second round, sits at 7-under after a third-round 68, one shot ahead of Hunter Mahan, Ricky Barnes and Ian Poulter.
Woods, No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking, closed yesterday’s round with a birdie from about four feet to tie Choi for third place. They will be paired today for the fourth straight day in the next-to-last group.
Westwood will begin with the outright lead for the first time in 48 major championship appearances. He finished third in two straight majors last year, the PGA Championship and the British Open, and has five top-five finishes in the majors.
Mickelson’s run yesterday began with an eagle at the par-5 13th hole. The world’s third-ranked player then holed out from 139 yards at the par-4 14th to reach 11-under, making him only the third player in the 74-year history of the Masters to eagle consecutive holes.
Mickelson Leads
Moments after Westwood bogeyed the 12th to drop back to 11- under, Mickelson jumped into the lead with a birdie at the 15th, nearly knocking his third shot into the hole from 87 yards away.
As the ball settled eight inches behind the cup, Mickelson threw his head back and smiled with his caddie, Jim Mackay.
“I was expecting it to disappear,” Mickelson said.
Westwood then birdied the par-15 15th and Mickelson dropped a shot at the 17th to give the Englishman the advantage over the left-handed American.
“I haven’t played this well in a long time,” Mickelson said. “I feel like my game’s as good as it’s been.”
Erratic
In an erratic round, Woods recorded six pars, seven birdies and five bogeys for a 2-under-par 70. He’s never come from behind to win any of his 14 majors, and lost to Y.E. Yang in last year’s PGA Championship after holding the lead going into the final day.
“I just wanted to put myself in contention and I’ve done that,” Woods said. “The guys were running away from me there. At one point I was seven back.”
After a five-month absence from competitive golf, Woods showed signs of rust on his shot- and decision-making.
At the 17th hole, Woods hit his driver off the tee so far right it landed in the 15th fairway. From there, rather than punching his ball back through a gap in the pine trees, he attempted to hit a right-to-left hooking shot. The ball landed among fans right of the green, leading to his fifth bogey.
He also three-putted three holes.
“I need to putt better than that,” he said. “But overall, I feel pretty good out there.”
Emulating Hogan
Woods is seeking to become the first golfer since the late Ben Hogan 57 years ago to win the Masters in his season opener. He’s had four top-10 finishes in Augusta since the last of his four Masters victories in 2005 and won six of 14 season openers since turning professional.
A victory today would leave Woods three wins short of Jack Nicklaus’s record 18 major titles.
Woods decided to step back onto the course this week after disappearing from the game following his admission of marital infidelity, which led to the unraveling of his personal life and status as one of the world’s most popular athletes.
Woods’s wife, Elin, didn’t accompany him to the Masters.
That trio, along with South Korea’s K.J. Choi, begin today’s final round at Augusta National Golf Club chasing England’s Lee Westwood, who holds a one-shot lead at 12-under. Mickelson, a two-time Masters winner, is at 11-under, followed by Woods and Choi at 8-under, one shot ahead of Couples, the 1992 champion.
With a combination of sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-70s Fahrenheit (mid-20s Celsius) in today’s forecast, and tournament officials setting the final-round hole locations in their traditional birdie-producing spots, Mickelson said he’s expecting another roar-filled day at the year’s first major tournament.
“We’re going to have some excitement, a real shootout,” the 2004 and 2006 winner said in his post-round news conference yesterday. “A lot of guys are still in this, even though it looks like they’re five, six shots back. We’ve seen guys get 7-, 8-under par in the round and I think it will be very possible.”
Mickelson and Westwood will be in today’s final group at 2:40 p.m. local time, 10 minutes after Woods and Choi begin play.
While Westwood, who’s seeking to become England’s second Masters champion following three-time winner Nick Faldo, shot a 4-under-par 68 in the third round, the loudest roars yesterday were for Mickelson.
Less than an hour after Westwood, the world’s fourth-ranked golfer, opened a five-shot lead at 12-under through 11 holes, Mickelson carded consecutive eagles and a birdie over a three- hole stretch.
‘Unbelievable’ Noise
With birdies and eagles seemingly being recorded every few minutes, players said Saturday at Augusta felt more like Sunday.
“The roars are unbelievable,” Couples said. “Westwood is playing great with the lead and Phil did what he was supposed to do. It’s going to be very interesting.”
Couples, a 50-year-old who fell to 3-under with a 75 in the second round, sits at 7-under after a third-round 68, one shot ahead of Hunter Mahan, Ricky Barnes and Ian Poulter.
Woods, No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking, closed yesterday’s round with a birdie from about four feet to tie Choi for third place. They will be paired today for the fourth straight day in the next-to-last group.
Westwood will begin with the outright lead for the first time in 48 major championship appearances. He finished third in two straight majors last year, the PGA Championship and the British Open, and has five top-five finishes in the majors.
Mickelson’s run yesterday began with an eagle at the par-5 13th hole. The world’s third-ranked player then holed out from 139 yards at the par-4 14th to reach 11-under, making him only the third player in the 74-year history of the Masters to eagle consecutive holes.
Mickelson Leads
Moments after Westwood bogeyed the 12th to drop back to 11- under, Mickelson jumped into the lead with a birdie at the 15th, nearly knocking his third shot into the hole from 87 yards away.
As the ball settled eight inches behind the cup, Mickelson threw his head back and smiled with his caddie, Jim Mackay.
“I was expecting it to disappear,” Mickelson said.
Westwood then birdied the par-15 15th and Mickelson dropped a shot at the 17th to give the Englishman the advantage over the left-handed American.
“I haven’t played this well in a long time,” Mickelson said. “I feel like my game’s as good as it’s been.”
Erratic
In an erratic round, Woods recorded six pars, seven birdies and five bogeys for a 2-under-par 70. He’s never come from behind to win any of his 14 majors, and lost to Y.E. Yang in last year’s PGA Championship after holding the lead going into the final day.
“I just wanted to put myself in contention and I’ve done that,” Woods said. “The guys were running away from me there. At one point I was seven back.”
After a five-month absence from competitive golf, Woods showed signs of rust on his shot- and decision-making.
At the 17th hole, Woods hit his driver off the tee so far right it landed in the 15th fairway. From there, rather than punching his ball back through a gap in the pine trees, he attempted to hit a right-to-left hooking shot. The ball landed among fans right of the green, leading to his fifth bogey.
He also three-putted three holes.
“I need to putt better than that,” he said. “But overall, I feel pretty good out there.”
Emulating Hogan
Woods is seeking to become the first golfer since the late Ben Hogan 57 years ago to win the Masters in his season opener. He’s had four top-10 finishes in Augusta since the last of his four Masters victories in 2005 and won six of 14 season openers since turning professional.
A victory today would leave Woods three wins short of Jack Nicklaus’s record 18 major titles.
Woods decided to step back onto the course this week after disappearing from the game following his admission of marital infidelity, which led to the unraveling of his personal life and status as one of the world’s most popular athletes.
Woods’s wife, Elin, didn’t accompany him to the Masters.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment