Field Tussles With a Green Monster: Defending Champion Mickelson Shoots 76; Tiger Stumbles to 73

Apr 06, 09:39 AM

Current Headlines: By Mark Herrmann, Newsday, Melville, N.Y.

Apr. 6--AUGUSTA, Ga. -- The Masters offered a typically breathtakingly beautiful tableau yesterday, not counting the golf. That part was not a pretty sight.

Especially not for the defending champion, who tied the worst score he ever shot at Augusta National Golf Club, a 76, and still believed he was in the running. "I just didn't want to shoot myself out on the first day and I don't feel as though I've done that, even though I didn't play as well as I felt I was capable of playing," Phil Mickelson said after he rallied from 6 over par to 4 over.

In the first round of the 2007 Masters, 4 over was a better- than-average score (76.187). Justin Rose and Brett Wetterich tied for the lead on a muted, uneventful day by each shooting a 3-under-par 69. David Howell and David Toms were one shot behind them.

Put it this way, the aesthetic highlight of the day occurred at 7:48 a.m. when 77-year-old Arnold Palmer delighted a shivering, early arriving crowd by lacing his ceremonial first tee shot down the left side of the first hole.

"Very solid. A low, boring draw into the wind," said David Chapman, who caddied for Palmer's one-swing performance as Honorary Starter. "There's probably a few competitors who would take that shot."

Among those was Tiger Woods, who pushed tee shots into the trees on the final two holes and ended a rocky round with two bogeys and a 1-over- par 73. "I tried all day to get back to level, and I threw it away on the last two holes," Woods said. "I'm not too happy about that right now."

But he clearly is right in the thick of it. Given the way tournaments usually go when Woods is around, you could say that Rose and Wetterich are four shots ahead of the leader. "I looked at the computer before I went out and saw a lot of guys were three or four over," Woods said, after a round in which he birdied the two par-5s on the back nine and no other holes.

The main reason was that the Augusta National course finally was dry and firm for the start of the tournament, making the normally fast greens faster than normal. And the wind was swirling so much that an airborne ball would occasionally travel in a different direction than the wind seemed to be blowing.

That happened once or twice to Mickelson. A lot happened to Mickelson, mostly on the front nine, where he shot 40. Woods shot that same score in his landmark win here 10 years ago, but followed it with a 30 on the back. Mickelson didn't have such lofty goals or heady results.

"There are some birdies out there," said the man who shot par or better each round in winning last year. "The par 5s are all birdie-able. Shoot, on 18, if you hit a good tee shot, you're going to have a reasonable putt at birdie, I would think.

"I really didn't drive it as well as I wanted to, but again I got it down there," Mickelson said. "I'm not as concerned about the driving as I am about some of the short putts that I missed. I've putted these greens well in the past, but today just wasn't one of those days."

It was a good day for the two bulldog leaders.

Rose, the Englishman who led after two rounds here three years ago but hasn't qualified since, overcame a back injury that had made him a doubtful starter. When he was asked to assess the scoring, he said, "Well, I think it should tell you that it's a major. That seems to be what a lot of the major tournaments are striving for, that the course really tests the players to their utmost."

Wetterich has had a hardscrabble career that included a trip to Tour Qualifying School in 2005. Playing his first Masters round, he made par on No. 18 with a typically aggressive approach that even his father, in the gallery, reportedly thought was foolhardy. "That's why he's there and I'm here," Wetterich said.

Ultimately, this was the firm, fast Augusta National players had said they had been waiting to see. "Be careful what you wish for is the answer there, I guess," said Howell, Rose's countryman.

"It's arguably the best course in the world," he said. "It's that beautiful mix between the most beautiful place in the world to play golf and also the most difficult."

With emphasis on the latter.

The Masters

leaderboard

At Augusta National Golf Club

First round

Justin Rose 34-35 69 -3

Brett Wetterich 35-34 69 -3

David Howell 36-34 70 -2

David Toms 36-34 70 -2

Tim Clark 36-35 71 -1

Vaughn Taylor 36-35 71 -1

Zach Johnson 35-36 71 -1

Rich Beem 35-36 71 -1

J.J. Henry 36-35 71 -1

Davis Love III 36-36 72 E

Henrik Stenson 34-38 72 E

Bart Bryant 37-35 72 E

Tim Herron 37-35 72 E

Jeev Milkha Singh 33-39 72 E

Scott Verplank 37-36 73 +1

Copyright 2007 Newsday Inc.

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Copyright (c) 2007, Newsday, Melville, N.Y.

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