News
from Augusta
A
match made in Augusta: Fuzzy and Tiger could be paired together Friday
Associated
Press
Augusta,
Georgia. 9th April 1998 - How's this for a marquee group in The Masters:
Fuzzy, Tiger and anyone else.
Though
10 players were still on the course when darkness suspended play in the opening
round tonight, it appeared that Fuzzy Zoeller and Tiger Woods would wind up playing
together in the second round.
Both
shot 1-under 71s to open the tournament, leaving them in a five-way tie for fifth
-- three shots behind leader Fred Couples -- among the 78 players who finished.
The first round
will have to be completed Friday morning, so Augusta National officials decided
to use threesomes in the second round to speed play. It will be the first time
since 1983 that threesomes have been used.
Woods
and Zoeller will wind up in the same group unless David Duval birdies at least
one of his three remaining first-round holes and Shigeki Maruyama comes up with
birdie or better on two of his last three.
Woods
and Zoeller were inexorably linked a year ago at Augusta, where Zoeller made racially
charged comments as Woods was closing in on a record-breaking victory.
Zoeller
apologized, and Woods insisted that it's a closed matter.
"It's
just another pairing," he said, when asked about the possibility of playing
with Zoeller, later saying "No" when asked if he saw any irony in the
situation.
Before
the tournament, Woods dismissed John Daly's suggestion about playing a practice
round with Zoeller, saying it sounded more like "a public relations move
than getting ready for a major."
Zoeller
was one of the earliest finishers today so there was no chance to ask him about
the probable pairing.
SUPER
SENIOR: Move over, kids. At age 66, Gay Brewer showed he still has game.
Brewer, the 1967 Masters champion, turned more than a few heads this morning when
he finished birdie-birdie-par for an even-par 72, which made him the clubhouse
leader for about 30 minutes. It was the lowest score in The Masters by anyone
over 65, topping the 74 that Sam Snead shot in 1978 when he was 66. Brewer also
became the oldest player to shoot par or better in The Masters. "I know this
course well enough," said Brewer, playing in his 36th Masters. "I've
always been known as a good wind player." Brewer has shot a better score
only once since 1983, which also happens to be the last time he made the cut.
And in the toughest first round at Augusta since 1982, Brewer managed to do better
than Ernie Els, Justin Leonard and Davis Love III. "It was a lot better than
my 69," Fred Couples said. "That should be the story of the day."
CRENSHAW'S
WOES: Three years ago, Ben Crenshaw was The Masters champion. Today, he was
a beaten man. Crenshaw, suffering from a bad cold and a worse game, shot an 11-over-par
83. Only two golfers did worse, and one of those was 75-year-old Doug Ford. "I
need an ambulance," Crenshaw said. "It was a terrible day. I had no
confidence from the start. I was totally inept." At least Crenshaw got his
80 out of the way right from the start. In two tournaments this year, he shot
a 69 in the first round, then followed with rounds in the 80s to miss the cut.
He had yet to make the cut in five tournaments this year.
DIVOTS:
- The last
time only one player broke 70 in the first round of The Masters was in 1987, when
John Cook shot 69 ...
- Arnold
Palmer is participating in his 44th straight Masters, tying Sam Snead's record
for consecutive appearances. Palmer began his streak in 1955, his first year as
a professional. ...
- Fred
Couples, leading with a 69 after the aborted first round, has never missed a Masters
cut, the only former winner to make that claim. He has completed the tournament
13 times. ...
- Ignacio
Garrido of Spain is the son of Antonio Garrido, who missed the cut in the 1978
Masters. That makes them the eighth father-son combination in The Masters. Garrido
tied the tournament record with an 11 on the par-5 15th and finished with an 85.
Jumbo Ozaki had an 11 at No. 15 in the second round in 1987, while Crenshaw had
an 11 in the final round last year
- Ford
extended his record by making his 46th appearance. He had an 86. ...
- Scott
McCarron had an eagle on No. 15, giving him three eagles in nine rounds at Augusta.
...
- Paul Azinger
(71) broke par in the first round for the sixth straight time. ...
- Stewart
Cink, who failed to make birdie in his Masters debut last year when he missed
the cut, finally got his first on the ninth hole. He followed that with an eagle
four holes later.
