Times wires
Sunday, April 10, 2011
AUGUSTA, Ga. — The roars echoed through the pines like the old days as Tiger Woods scorched the front nine.
Woods started Sunday seven shots off the lead, but he wiped out that deficit with 5-under 31 on the first nine holes at Augusta National. He made four birdies and a 10-footer for eagle at No. 8.
When Woods made the turn tied for the lead with Rory McIlroy and Charl Schwartzel, almost everyone expected him to tear through the back nine.
But Woods isn't quite his old self yet. A 3-footer for par should have been a gimme, but Woods banged it off the back of the cup for bogey on No. 12. With a chance to take the outright lead on the par-5 15th, he missed another short putt for an eagle. He made birdie, but on this day, it might as well have been bogey.
He played his last three holes at par to finish with 5-under 67, his best final round ever at the Masters. And that left him tied for fourth at 10-under 278.
"I got off to a nice start there and posted 31," said Woods, winless in 11 straight majors. "And then on the back nine, could have capitalized some more."
Which shot would he like back? "Oh, we can't do that. We do that every week and we would go crazy, wouldn't we?"
Almost Aussies' day: The Australians were headed for a good day. The leaderboard was filled with guys from Down Under.
When Adam Scott rolled in a short birdie putt at No. 16, he had the lead. Jason Day and Geoff Ogilvy were in the mix, too.
The golfing-mad country seemed poised to celebrate the only major championship it has never won. But the Aussies will have to wait a little longer.
Scott (67) and Day (68) finished two behind Schwartzel (14-under 274), and Ogilvy (67) closed four back to tie for fourth.
"It's just disappointing that I didn't win when I held the lead with a few holes to go," Scott said. "I'm usually a pretty good closer. I didn't do a bad job (Sunday), but Charl was better."
As for Day, a Masters rookie?
"You can't do anything about a guy who birdies the last four holes of a tournament," he said. "If you want to go out and win a tournament, that's how you do it."
And Ogilvy, a former U.S. Open champion, surged into contention by ripping off five straight birdies starting at No. 12.
"When I birdied the 12th, that was a bonus," Ogilvy said. "I didn't expect to birdie five in a row. But that's what happened. It's nice to finish with my best nine."
Apology to reporter: Masters officials apologized to columnist Tara Sullivan of the Bergen (N.J.) Record after she was denied entry to a locker room for an interview. A female security guard acted improperly in stopping Sullivan, Augusta National spokesman Steve Ethun said.
The jacket: With its rich shade of green known simply as "Masters green," an Augusta National logo on the crest and brass buttons, the green jacket symbolizes all the pomp and pageantry of the year's first major.
Augusta National members began wearing jackets at the 1937 Masters. Twelve years later, the club extended the honor to Sam Snead, that year's winner, and the Masters champion has been presented with one ever since.
As the tournament winds down, possible winners are noted, and someone pulls out jackets in appropriate sizes. The winner's measurements are taken later and a jacket is custom-made.
In a timeless ceremony, the man who won the jacket the previous year helps the new winner slip into the distinctive blazer.
The Masters champion can keep his jacket for a year and wear it wherever he pleases. But when returning for the next year's tournament, he must bring the jacket with him. It will be stored, never to leave the grounds again. Unless, of course, he wins another Masters title.