There weren’t broken bottles under children’s feet, nor bodies strewn across a dead end street, but with apologies to U2, it was Friday, Bloody Friday as many of golf’s biggest stars missed the cut at the 78th Masters. World number one Luke Donald, Sergio Garcia, Dustin Johnson, and former major champions Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els, Graeme McDowell, Zach Johnson, and Webb Simpson – with four Green Jackets and 12 major titles between them – all missed the cut in a bloodletting more graphic than the Hostel, Final Destination, and Halloween franchises combined. Even dual major champion Rory McIlroy had to sweat out a final putt on 18 to make the cut by a single stroke.
Friday the 11th looked more like Friday the 13th.
The triage left Bubba Watson alone at the top of the leaderboard at 7-under, three shots clear of Australian Jon Senden and a logjam of players at 3-under that includes defending champion Adam Scott, Rookie of the Year Jordan Spieth, and rising star Swede Jonas Blixt.
Watson rode a five consecutive birdie stretch on the back nine to surge into the lead, playing holes 12-16 in 2-4-3-4-2, surpassing even the four successive birdies he carded from 13-16 in the final round of 2012 when he caught Louis Oosthuizen, then snatched away the Green jacket in a playoff.
“I guessed the wind right on the stretch of holes on the back nine there,” he deadpanned humbly, being his usual, affable and grateful self.
Now Hubba Bubba stands halfway to a second Green Jacket, but his work is not done. Though many marquee names will be trading in their “apparel scripts” for sweats, T-shirts and flip-flops, while they watch on TV, it’s still a long way to the Butler Cabin, several names are lurking dangerously, and with back nine charges on Sunday encouraged by the Tournament committee this Masters is still up for grabs by anyone within six shots.
That’s the magic number by the way – only Jackie Burke in 1956 came from further back than six strokes back at the halfway point.
The most dangerous name on the leaderboard is Adam Scott. The defending champion opened with a solid 69, but gave away three strokes to par over the front nine, and looked to be scrambling just to tread water at even par before he did what Masters champions do – turn in on at the back nine, especially the par-5s. He birdied 12 – the pint-sized terror playing as the second hardest hole on the course – as well as 13 and 15 to power back in contention.
“I hit two really quality shots on the 9th that felt like the best swings I had made to that point. I wanted to keep that feeling for the back nine,” Scott explained. “I played a really good back nine. It was really solid.” The surge gave him a hard-earned even par 72 to keep him at 3-under for the tournament and stay within reach of Watson.
Scott will be paired with popular Super-rookie Jordan Spieth, who is turning the old adage of “Rookies get schooled at Augusta” on its ear. After opening with a 71 on Thursday, Spieth birdied the par-5 eighth, then eagled the 15th to get to 3-under for the tournament. Though he gave a shot back at 17 with an indifferent 3-putt, he electrified the gallery with a closing birdie at the home hole to get a 70 to the house. With a clever, gutsy shot more akin to that of a wily veteran than a green and grateful rookie, he launched a 7-iron thirty feet past the pin, then sucked it back to two feet, made the putt and rode a wave of adoration from the gallery that was heard all the way to Texas. Hook ’em Horns, indeed!
Still everyone’s job is made easier now that five former major champions with four Masters titles between them are on the sidelines for the weekend.
“I keep making these triples, which are tough to overcome,” lamented Mickelson, who flailed in the woods, chipped over greens, and three putted from short distances over the two days to sink deeper and deeper into the nether-reaches of the leaderboard.
“It’s tough, but I Just made some silly errors here and there,” groused Els. “I’m actually driving it well, doing a lot of things well, but, yeah, just getting in my own way here and there. I missed some putts, missed some iron shots here and there.”
Sergio was much more laconic.
“It was windy,” he said succinctly.
Serge, you sound like Helen Hunt in the movie “Twister.”
So with moving day tomorrow, it’s up to Bubba – Mr. “I’ve never had a lesson” and “I just close my eyes and putt” himself! – to try to put enough distance between himself and the pack if he wants to clinch a second Green Jacket and secure another trip to the PGA Grand Slam of Golf…where he can graffiti the pictures again. You remember? When much to the horror of PGA officials he “signed the Mona Lisa with a spray can and called it art?” (Actually he put a devil beard on Padraig Harrington, drew a uni-brow and handle-bar mustache on Webb Simpson, and made himself look like a greasy matted-haired geek with string warts, but it’s the same thing.)
The key will be greens in regulation. Eight of the last 11 winners were top 5 in GIR for the week. (Cabrera, Schwartzel, and Immelman are the exceptions, for those of you scoring at home.) Bubba hit 14 greens Thursday, but at two of them he was able to putt.
“I missed one by six inches and the other by three feet,” he stated. Today he again hit 14, meaning he’s playing consistent golf and getting good looks at the hole.
“I’m just trying to hit greens,” he explained. “If I can hit greens that means I’ve hit good tee shots and I hit good iron shots, and just trying to make par from there and throw in a birdie here and there.”
What was it my old law school professor said? Keep it simple. That way you hang around for the weekend. Still, for some missing the weekend wasn’t all that bad. Perhaps Graeme DeLaet best exemplified the good feelings and camaraderie of the Masters. Even after an 80-72-missed cut he said, “It’s still the best week of my life.”
