Notes and Quotes from the Masters
Masters giving party; Yanks not showing up – The Masters Tournament
AUGUSTA, Ga. – The Masters is throwing a 75th birthday part. It seems the Americans didn’t get the invitation.For the first time in those 75 years, no Americans are among the top five places going into the final round. You have Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy at 12 under and leading by four shots; a four-way tie for second among Argentina’s Angel Cabrera, South Africa’s Charl Schwartzel; South Korea’s K.J. Choi and Australia’s Jason Day.
Australia’s Adam Scott and England’s Luke Donald are tied for sixth.
And Bo Van Pelt is low American, in eighth place at 210, six off the lead. Bubba Watson is a stroke behind him, tied for ninth with fellow Americans Fred Couples and Tiger Woods, England’s Ross Fisher and Australia’s Geoff Ogilvy.
* ELS IN MASTERS RUT -- For all of his obvious skill and his two U.S. Opens and 16 other victories on the PGA Tour, the Masters continues to bedevil Ernie Els. Els made the cut just on the number, 1-over 145, and led off the third round Saturday. He proclaimed it a great day for golf – hot, little wind, course perfect, and “overall nice scoring conditions.” But going out first with a non-scoring marker, Jeff Knox, just to keep him company, he shot 76 for a 5-over 221. Els has finished second twice, but otherwise has never really threatened in his 18 Masters appearances. Beyond learning that Knox once shot 61 at Augusta, Els didn’t know much about him. “I didn’t ask any questions,” he said.
* HALF OF BROTHER ACT -- With younger brother Francesco swept away by the cut, Italy’s Edoardo Molinari, 30, carried on for a 69 Saturday – out of the running at 3-under 213, but having made the cut for the first time in three Masters. He built his round on three straight birdies from the 12th – a 9-iron to 3 feet there; a 3-wood, 5-iron and two putts at the par-5 13th, and a layup 3-wood and a 5-iron to 40 feet at the 14th. A poor drive cost him a bogey at the 15th. “You always feel you’re leaving some shots out there,” said Molinari, citing tough pins you couldn’t be aggressive with. “You cannot hit them firm because the greens are so quick,” he said. Victory was out of range, so he was aiming at the next best target. “I think the first goal would be to make the top 16, to come back next year,” he said.
* AND THEN THERE WAS ONE – Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama, 19, was the only one of six amateurs to make the cut, and he did so with a specter hanging over his head: “In the midst of the earthquake, I was very happy that I was able to come over here and play. I wasn’t sure whether I will be able to encourage the people in Japan by my play.” But a five-birdie, one-bogey 68 Saturday might help, a round played with thoughts of a safe family but a devastated school, Tohoku Fukushi University. He’s at 3-under 213. “I was very glad to play this beautiful place,” he said.
* SNEAKY FAST – Bo Van Pelt, 35, playing in only his second Masters (he missed the cut in 2005) has quietly slipped up the leaderboard and into contention. After a 73-69 start, he shot a 4-under 68 Saturday for a 6-under 210 total. He was rolling till a bogey at the 18th stopped him. He’s won once, the 2009 U.S. Bank Championship.
* ONE DOWN, ONE TO GO – Bubba Watson had said after the second round that he’s be happy to take a pair of 67s for a finish. Reminded of this, Watson noted Saturday, “Yeah – I’ve got one more to go, and hopefully that will do pretty good.” Watson posted a seven-birdie, two-bogey 67 for a 5-under 211 total – solid but not promising. Some thought his birdie at the 18th should give him some momentum heading into the final round.
“I’d rather be 5-under than 4-under, but my round is today so tomorrow is just a brand-new day,” he said. “Tomorrow, I might wake up sick, I might wake up perfect and play great, might play bad. The momentum is done after that.” There was one great advantage to making that last birdie putt. “Makes my dinner taste better,” he said.
* BITS AND PIECES – Matt Kuchar, low amateur in 1998, from a 75 on Friday with a 3-under 69 Saturday. It was just his third round in the 60s out of 17 overall rounds at the Masters … Nitting and picking: If Rory McIlroy were leading leads at the end of the third round and go on to win, it would not be an official wire-to-wire victory; McIlroy shared the first-round lead with Spain’s Alvaro Quiros after the first round before holding the outright lead through the second and third rounds … There have been four official wire-to-wire wins at the Masters (held the lead outright following each round): Craig Wood (1941), Arnold Palmer (1960), Jack Nicklaus (1972) and Raymond Floyd (1976) … The third-round leader/co-leader has gone on to win the Masters Tournament 41 (out of 74) times, most recently Angel Cabrera in 2009.
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