Olazabal taking control late on day two

José Maria Olazábal, the 1994 Masters champion, stretched to a two-stroke advantage after a chip-and-putt birdie on the 15th hole.

The Spaniard has returned to form after a protracted bought with foot injuries and a painful comeback that led to victory at the Turespana Masters in 1997 and the Dubai Desert Classic in 1998, Olazábal has played a sparse schedule.

Trailing Olazábal is a trio including Greg Norman, whose game collapsed in spectacular fashion the last time he led at Augusta National, shot a 4-under 68 Friday to move into a tie for the early second-round lead in the Masters.

After opening with his only bogey of the day on the first hole, Norman played flawless golf, making five birdies to get to 5-under after two rounds.

Lee Janzen birdied the 18th for a 69 to join Norman at 139, while Scott McCarron was at 5-under through 13 holes.

"I'm glad I'm here," Norman said. ``I'm glad I'm playing well. I'm getting myself back into the groove of things."

A host of big names were just behind. Former Masters champion José Maria Olazÿbal and former PGA champion Davis Love III were at 4-under heading tot he back nine, while Nick Price took bogey on the par-5 15th to fall back to 3-under.

David Duval was at 2-under until he took a triple bogey on the 15th and fell to 1-over.

Tiger Woods was even par after two holes, joining a group of 27 golfers within five shots of the lead.

Norman's opening 71 on Thursday was his first round under par in the Masters since he shot a 78 and blew a six-shot lead to Nick Faldo in the 1996 event. He missed the cut the last two years.

Not much was expected of him this year, either. He was coming off shoulder surgery and had played sporadically, missing last week's BellSouth Classic tuneup when he came down with stomach flu.

But on a windy and cool day, he shot a 34 on the front nine, then added birdies at Nos. 12 and 13 before parring in for a 139 total.

After knocking a pitch shot inches from the hole on 13 for a birdie 4, Norman got a standing ovation from the gallery in the bleachers surrounding the green after he tapped in and walked toward the tee on 14.

"That was a special shot," Norman said. ``The gallery was phenomenal.''

Twelve players returned to the course Friday to complete a first round that was suspended by storms, then cut short because of darkness.

Price tapped in for par during the blustery morning to briefly join three others in a tie for the lead after the first round of the Masters.

Price later dropped a stroke in second round play to fall out of the lead.

Duval also made par, missing a 15-footer for birdie, to finish with a 71. He and Price then headed toward the clubhouse, their second round tee time a little more than an hour away.

"It's just what you have to do," Duval said of having to finish one round and then start another. "I'm not doing anything different."

Conditions that have changed almost hourly since the 63rd Masters began on Thursday were markedly different Friday, with brisk winds blowing down the 18th fairway as Price, Duval and 10 others who failed to finish a day earlier began play again.

Price and Duval had only one hole left, and stood on the 18th tee for about 10 minutes waiting for the official restart of play. Pins on the final holes were left in the same place for the golfers to complete their rounds, then were recut for second round play.

Duval preached the virtue of patience all along, to whoever would listen. Then he promptly ignored his own advice, joining a host of impatient golfers in a jittery opening day at the Masters.

If anyone needed reminding of the dangers of Augusta National's hard, fast greens and tricky pin placements, all they needed to do was look at the world's hottest golfer losing his share of the lead Thursday with back-to-back-to-back bogeys on the back nine.

As his game came apart -- though ever so briefly -- the wraparound shades that are Duval's trademark came off his head as menacing clouds rolled in to force a storm delay.

He returned to the course this morning under cloudy skies to finish one hole, along with 11 others who were still on the course when darkness settled over Augusta National. Those who finished the first round began teeing off 45 minutes earlier, with 69-year-old Gary Player first off the tee.

By the time Duval walked off the 17th green Thursday, he had regained some composure but others had the lead. Meanwhile, the stately course with some new makeup showed it was indeed capable of still holding its own.

"On a course like this you run into some bad stuff," Duval said. ``You try to outweigh it with the good stuff."

A day that saw workers watering greens between groups to keep closely cropped surfaces from burning out in 90-degree heat ended with players still on the course after a storm moved in to force a 95-minute delay in play.

They had the chance to regroup overnight, then tackle the chore once again. They could only hope to sleep well, without the thoughts of tight pins and shaved greens that can make matters so difficult.

"There's a lot of decisions out there and a lot of mental strain when you play this course," said Colin Montgomerie, one of those in the group at 70. "It's very difficult. Very difficult."

Just how difficult was evident, as players went on roller-coaster rides down the wide fairways and through the tall pines.

Tiger Woods made a triple-bogey 8 on the eighth hole, then regrouped with three straight back-nine birdies to finish the day even par. Vijay Singh was also even, though he made only one par in his last 10 holes.

Ernie Els was cruising toward the clubhouse with a share of the lead when he found two bunkers and then needed three putts for a double bogey on the last hole to finish at 71.

"As soon as you relax, you drop a shot," Montgomery said.

The 63rd rendition of golf's most exclusive major featured the most sweeping changes in course history -- added rough along the fairways and lengthened second and 17th holes.

But there were no changes in the hugely undulating greens, and that was where Augusta National made its stand to defend par once again. Masters officials helped by tucking pins in positions rarely seen the first day of the tournament and swirling winds cost some other shots.

"The greens are firm and fast, and there's some really hard pins," Love said.

Chamblee, Love and McCarron, playing within four groups of each other, posted their scores in quick succession on a day when the first threesomes used in the Masters since 1962 slowed play considerably.

Then Duval came out for his afternoon round and quickly birdied two of his first three holes and was tied for the lead after two-putting for birdie on No. 8. But the four-time winner this year, usually a model of consistency, hit it over the green on 12 for a bogey, put it in a creek on 13 for another and missed the green short on 14 after the rain delay for a third straight.

"Golf doesn't involve nine holes. It involves both sides," Duval said.

Some didn't wait until the back nine to make their mistakes.

Jeff Maggert bogeyed four of his first six holes and finished with a 78, while England's Lee Westwood, winner of 11 tournaments in the last two years, bogeyed his first two and shot 75.

And Woods had to show plenty of patience himself after pulling a tee shot into the woods on the par-5 eighth, then taking a penalty stroke out of an azalea bush before finally tapping in for his triple bogey.

Woods gave himself a pep talk after that, reminding himself that he shot 40 on the front nine in 1997 and still went on to win by 12 strokes.

"I said, 'This is actually two better than I was in 97,"' said Woods, who went on to birdie 12,13 and 14. He made six birdies on the day, but still finished at even par.

Greg Norman, meanwhile, shot his first Masters round under par since his final-round 78 cost him a six-stroke lead and the green jacket in 1996.

"It was a good day's work," Norman said. ``Anytime you get a round off to a good start, it's a good feeling."

Duval didn't have such a good feeling, though, as he walked quickly from the 17th hole to the clubhouse.

He'll have to play No. 18 this morning, then go out again. He'll do it while trying to be as patient as Augusta National will allow anyone wielding clubs to be.

"If you want to win this event, you have to find a way to do it," he said