"We've got balls in the air? God bless their hearts," a smiling William Payne, chairman of the tournament media committee, said as he watched the first threesome of Lyle, Charles Coody and Tommy Aaron, all former Masters champions, trudge up the first fairway into a stiff and cold north wind.

After Thursday's opening round of the 67th Masters was postponed by the incessant inclement weather, the first time that's happened since 1939, the 93-player field began arriving early Friday in preparation for up to 36 holes.

Portable floodlights provided by Sunbelt Rentals illuminated the practice range and the practice putting green -- a first at Augusta National Golf Club -- and players donned layers of clothing covered by rain gear.

On the driving range, also illuminated by portable lights, '92 Masters champion Fred Couples was belting drivers under the watchful eye of Butch Harmon while other players splashed shots through the soggy turf.

With nearly four inches of rain having fallen this week and temperatures averaging 15 degrees below normal, this Masters already has made history with the poorest weather on record since 1949.

Patrons were permitted entry at 7:15 a.m., only 15 minutes before the first scheduled tee shot. That, in part, explained the relatively sparse crowd that encircled the first tee box, but there also was less attraction to the opening salvo of this Masters given the absence of an honorary starter for the first time since 1980. The late Sam Snead kicked off last year's tournament six weeks before he died.

Club chairman Hootie Johnson left introductions to starter Phil S. Harrison, who began by apologizing to patrons for the two-tee start.

Then he spoke the words that many have longed to hear: "Fore please, Sandy Lyle now driving."

Lyle cranked a tee shot that landed just short of the fairway bunker. Before placing his tee in the ground, '71 Masters champion Charles Coody turned to the gallery and asked, "Anybody got a cannon?"

Both Coody, 65, and Aaron, 66, hit tee shots that carried no more than halfway up the steep slope of the No. 1 fairway. Both were forced to use fairway metals for their approach shots to the par-4, named Tea Olive, and made bogey while Lyle had a par.

Meanwhile, Bob Estes struck the first tee ball on No. 10, followed by Craig Parry and Jeff Maggert.

The course was in pristine condition, but the perimeter was a soggy mess from the precipitation and patron foot traffic. As expected, golf balls traveled only as far as they stayed in the air. With the brisk wind and damp ground, scoring was going to be a challenge and among the first 32 players on the course in the first hour, no one had scored better than a par on any of the first four holes.

It wasn't until 8:34 a.m. that Nick Price finally recorded the first birdie of the day on the par-5 second hole.

At least they were playing, God bless their hearts.

"It's going to be tough, but we've got to play sometime," Jeff Sluman said as he changed shoes in the warm locker room. "This isn't a bad place to hang out, but eventually we have to get out and play."

A few minutes after he exited the clubhouse, around 7:40 a.m., a fine mist began to fall.