Rose Blooms at Augusta As Big Names Struggle

Apr 06, 05:09 AM

Current Headlines: By MIKE AITKEN AT AUGUSTA NATIONAL

AN ABSENTEE from the Masters since 2004, Justin Rose savoured a return to Augusta National yesterday with an opening 69, three under par, which served as welcome confirmation of the blossoming of an exceptional talent.

Nine years after he finished fourth in the Open as teenage amateur, the 26-year-old Englishman played error-free golf on a course so testing that Darren Clarke negotiated the front nine in 43, seven over par. American Brett Wetterich was also three under after 13 holes, defending champion Phil Mickelson signed for 76 and Tiger Woods was one over at the turn.

Woods, in search of his fifth green jacket and third straight major, teed off early in the afternoon and knocked his first shot long down the middle on the way to the first of six straight pars to start the day. His first bogey came on the seventh after driving the ball far to the right into a trampled area in the gallery - a shot so bad that he dropped his driver in disgust.

Ernie Els fared worse than most. The South African finished at six-over-par at 78 - and that was after something of a success on the back nine, having dropped all of those six shots on the opening nine holes. "It was a difficult day," said Els. "A very tough day. I played some better stuff on the back nine and will try to work ourselves back into it. I don't quite know how, but we're going to give it a try."

Any doubts Rose may have harboured about not being tournament sharp after missing Doral through injury were dispelled during an outward half of 34 which included birdies at the third and fifth holes and no dropped shots.

"It's impossible to quantify how much better I am now than in 2004 other than to say I am better," said Rose, who was watched by his mother and grandparents from South Africa.

"I'm so much richer in experiences, and that's how you improve, when you have something to learn from. As time goes by, you get stronger because of what you've been through. I'm better all through the bag. I have more control with drives and irons, hit the ball higher and softer, and am a better putter."

Rose has played well in American majors before - he was fifth on his US Open debut in 2003 - but yesterday's display was his most mature effort yet. With Sweden's Henrik Stenson also well placed after firing 72, level par, the Englishman is more optimistic about a European resurgence at the Masters.

"It doesn't stack up that no European has won a major since 1999, even allowing for the fact that one man [Tiger Woods] has been partly responsible for that," he said. "It's about time one of us went crazy and won one. It wouldn't take much for us to go on a run like we did in the 80s. We just need a little spark."

Tim Clark, the South African who finished second behind Mickelson here last spring in spite of being a medium hitter, was a prominent member of the chasing pack on 71, one under, thanks to adopting a strategic, cautious approach.

"I realised you don't have to go out and attack the golf course," noted the former Scottish Open champion. "The greens are extremely firm, so I tried to give myself easy pars. I wanted to put myself in position to make par. Last year's Masters gave me more confidence and I know that consistent rounds of golf will give you a chance to win."

The highlight of Clark's day was an extraordinary birdie from off the green at the last. A decent drive and a crisp 3 iron had left the golfer eight or nine feet shy of the putting surface. Opting to putt rather than chip, Clark made a remarkable 3.

"I putted the ball and it was like a U-turn," he said. "It went just off the green and then came back. It was 60 feet and felt exciting."

For Clark, the Masters is the most enchanting of all the majors. "This is the one you want to win," he said. "As a kid, I dreamed of walking this course. To be here and play is a dream."

A cluster of Americans, Vaughan Taylor, Zach Johnson, JJ Henry and Rich Beem also matched 71. Beem, who made a brace of birdies and an eagle, felt his performance would have merited a score in the mid 60s at a regular Tour event. Beem felt the combination of testing winds and electrifying green speed was formidable from the moment he sent a 30 foot putt on the first 15 feet past the hole. The 2002 US PGA champion said: "The green speed and the wind. Those combinations make it that much tougher. Factor in the windy conditions with these big slopes and it gets tough real quick."

Relieved he didn't need to complete an opening hole which spawned a double bogey and a triple during the first hour of play, Arnold Palmer, 77, the ceremonial starter, began the 71st Masters with a decent drive to the left side of the hill. A spectator who attempted to pocket the ball as a souvenir was instructed to return it or find himself ejected. He handed it back.

Asked if he had a message for Richie Ramsay, who posted 76, and the other young golfers who made their debut yesterday, Palmer, who teed off for the first time alongside Gene Sarazen in 1955, was emotional. "I suppose I wish every young player who plays here just understands what it means, how I feel about it, and the effect it had on my life," he said.

Colin Montgomerie's worst fears looked as if they might be realised when he chipped over the first green for a bogey, then had two in a bunker for another at the second. The 43-year-old came back with birdies at the third and sixth, but by the time he handed in a 76 he was in no mood to talk. "Not right now, thank you," were his only words.

Some 27 years after his Augusta debut, Sandy Lyle, meanwhile, closed a scrappy round with a disheartening bogey on the 18th for 79. "I had a few horrid second shots," he recalled. "It was the old tug left which cost me." Having made just one cut in the past seven Masters, for Lyle that 3 from the bunker on the last to win in 1988 must feel ever more like a shot from a different life.

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