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| High wind blows away much red |
| Siddharth Shriram / Apr 12, 2009, 00:11 IST |
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The way the battle is shaping up, they say it will all be in the minds of the contestants. Tiger Woods could not get his putter going on the first day and on the second neither his driver nor his putter was working. The dozens of tiny and big muscles that must be ordered by the mind to coordinate so precisely that in that millisecond when the club/putter is in contact with the ball, their centres of gravity must be in sync. How difficult is that? For the pros, not so difficult, but for the average hacker, like me, ...well we are hackers! Despite Tiger missing it a bit he is still right up there and if it all comes together over the weekend then the first of this years’ majors is his.
AND THEN THERE IS THE WIND
The flags from various contestants’ countries atop the main leader board were flapping noisily in the 30 mph gusting winds. But the wind was also flapping the trousers of the players who, bound by time constraints as to how long they could wait for the wind to settle, were forced to hit into uncertain conditions, resulting in relatively few players in red territory. None of this worried Chad Campbell who scurried up the leader board to –11 before giving back a couple of shots to par on by far the easier half where at least two birdies are there for the asking.
The remarkable Kenny Perry, known as KP here, at 48 years, shot a 67 to tie the lead showing all comers how this difficult course is to be tamed. In this, he was topped by the young Anthony Kim (AK) who shot a 65 in a most amazing round consisting of eleven birdies (the most birdies ever in a single round in the history of the Masters). AK will definitely be one to watch over the next few years.
One of the most interesting things at this tournament is the roars that accompany great shots. Even from a distance one can visualise the result by the quality of the roar. A suddenly rising crescendo indicates a great shot from a difficult position or a long putt sunk; a roar that quickly rises but equally quickly fades is a putt that threatens to but does not go in; a tap in birdie/eagle results in a respectful, gentle and warm purr; a short putt that should have gone in but does not, elicits a sorrowful, dirge like comforting pat-on-the-back kind of groan.
The applause can tell you how far from the pin a short chip/pitch has ended up; a gimme is spontaneous and loud; 3-5 feet is somewhat muted; 5-10 feet is polite and beyond that there is basically none. The players actually get charged up by hearing the huge roars as they would very much like to be the subject of them. Curiously, none of them seem to get disturbed by the roars but “In the Hole!” shouts cause their heads to turn.
At the time of writing, Paddy Harrington, whose hopes appeared to be fading, slotted in an eagle putt on the 13th but unfortunately was penalised for a shot on the green of the very next hole, when a gust of wind shifted his ball after address.
He is looking good and is unlikely to back off. Angel Girardo Cabrera of Argentina was threatening to go into the lead with a solid, uncomplicated, workmanlike round until he converted a possible birdie on the 15th into a bogey by three putting from ten feet.
With a birdie on the last, he ended up in sole third position, one shot back. Mickelson, who was looking like missing the cut, being on the cut line after 10, and over it after 11, won handily over Amen Corner by going bogey/birdie/eagle to be in the red for the first time. He is simply too talented to miss the cut and would have been sorely missed if he had.
Now, by virtue of scoring a birdie on 18, which Tiger bogeyed for the second day running, he has edged ahead of Tiger at -3, thus obviating the possibility of being paired with him for the Saturday round. This would have added an interesting side battle to the main event as there is great personal rivalry between the two, akin to several other such rivalries over the years, the most famous of these, of course, being the one between Palmer/Nicklaus.
Even as Greg Norman was fighting a battle to stay in for the week end, there was an emotional farewell to a tearful Gary Player (standing ovation as he walked up to the 18th green), having played in the last of 52 consecutive Masters tournaments that he has played. The regular spectators will miss him.
Sadly, all Indian and Asian viewers will also miss Jeev Milkha Singh who missed several makeable putts on the first nine and lost his rhythm on the second to, regretfully, cross the cut line which will be at +1. He was a victim of the wind that not only dried out the greens making reading them difficult but also whirled dangerously around Amen Corner resulting in poor scores on 10/11/12. Sic transit gloria mundi!
Tomorrow is another day and promises much and varied high drama.
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