Rod Pampling one of the early leaders at -1 through 7 holes, Tiger or Phil not on the course yet. Here's an interesting story from the Chronicle on the changes at Augusta. Also of note, write off Ben Crane he won the par 3 contest and no par 3 contest winner has ever won the Masters. Also he has Former New England Patriot QB, Drew Bledsloe, on the bag. There's bound to be a joke there someplace! ______________________________________________________________ Augusta's added length could end Masters' magic By STEVE CAMPBELL Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle AUGUSTA, GA. - Phil Mickelson need not apologize for choosing 2004 as his favorite of all Masters Tournaments. Two Aprils ago at Augusta National Golf Club, Mickelson forever forfeited his candidacy for Greatest Player Never To Win A Major Championship. Mickelson jumped for joy when his 18-foot birdie putt on the final hole delivered a one-stroke victory over Ernie Els. As exhilarating as that Sunday surge through the back nine may have been, Mickelson can separate his favorite Masters from his most magical. A star-struck Mickelson was 15 when he watched Jack Nicklaus win the 1986 Masters. Nicklaus won his 18th — and final — major championship at age 46. "I still think that was the greatest Masters ever," Mickelson said. "That was awesome." Nicklaus shot 30 on the back nine to fend off a Hall-of-Fame wing of players. Seve Ballesteros, Greg Norman, Nick Price and Tom Kite all finished within three strokes of the lead. Defending champion Tiger Woods wistfully calls it "one of the best back nines you've ever seen." "And the way it's playing nowadays," Woods said, "you may not see those types of scores anymore on the back nine." Woods is by no means alone in heading into the 70th Masters wondering if the Sunday theatrics that players and fans know and love are on the verge of extinction. Augusta National will play at 7,445 yards — or 155 longer than last year. The course is 520 yards longer than it was as recently as 1998. "I think that's one thing all of us fear: We're scared they've taken that out, that you won't have that theater and drama of eagles and birdies and balls in the water," Price said. "Somebody could come from out of the woodwork. That's the greatest thing about Augusta. I hope they haven't lost that." 63 unlikely Price set the course record — matched 10 years later by Norman — of 63. Though Woods has four green jackets in his wardrobe, he is hard-pressed to imagine how he or anybody else could go that low on the current setup. "Unless you want to play just 16 holes," Woods said. Perhaps, but the oft-repeated saw about the Masters beginning on the back nine on Sunday also has a tinge of urban legend. The past 15 Masters champions have come from the final pairing. The last player to buck that trend was Nick Faldo, who went from third to a 1990 playoff victory against Raymond Floyd by shooting 69 on Sunday. "We are comfortable with what we are doing with the golf course for the Masters tournament," Augusta National chairman William "Hootie" Johnson said. And if some of the players are uncomfortable with what Augusta National hath wrought, then so be it. "I didn't know," Johnson said, "that a tough golf course was supposed to be fun." The likes of Woods, Mickelson, Els and Chris DiMarco have been less than effusive in their praise of the new-look Augusta. Augusta native Charles Howell III, who is playing in his fifth Masters, calls the changes "fantastic." In particular, Howell likes the stretching of the par-4 No. 11 to 505 yards — with trees planted on the right. "If you would have read the Ben Hogan quote where he said, 'If I ever hit the 11th green, you knew that I pulled it,' ... in 2001, we were hitting wedges in there," Howell said. "That quote had no meaning at all. Now it does. "So, yeah, they have put the teeth back into it. But, they have still left some of the birdie holes the same." Howell said that without the changes of recent years, many players would be hitting nothing more than sand wedges into the par-4s. Instead, the course has evolved into what two-time U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen considers a more thorough examination of the game. "It's very much a driving course now," Goosen said. "You have to drive it straight. In the past, you could drive it anywhere and get on the greens. Now every part of your game is getting tested." Twenty years ago, Nicklaus trailed by four with four holes to play. He proceeded to eagle the par-5 No. 15, nearly ace the par-3 No. 16 and deliver a birdie at No. 17. "It's never easy to shoot 65, but it's even more difficult now," Woods said. "If you see 65 nowadays, you've really earned it." Which just might be the point. Low scores earned "Yeah, the golf course is a grind, and that's what it should be," Howell said. "I think that's the way Bobby Jones would have wanted it. I don't think he would have wanted to see guys strolling around out here, laughing and having a good time. "I think he wanted to see them grinding on it. If you win, you beat the best on one of the hardest golf courses in the world. There's going to be some holes where you're choking your guts out." steve.campbell@chron.com
Ugh David Duval is already in double digits over par and he's only at the 13th. Also chasing him for last is Clay Ogden who beat Michelle Wie in the Publix (I think) in quarterfinals of the match play.
Hey for those stuck at work if you go to www.masters.org you can get streaming video of the play at Amen corner.