DeLaet sits 2-shots off the lead at Houston Open
HOUSTON – Andrew Putnam made a late charge to pass three-time Masters champion Phil Mickelson and take a one-shot lead after two rounds of the Houston Open.
The 26-year-old Putman, who made his PGA Tour debut here a year ago, birdied six of his final nine holes on the Golf Course of Houston’s front side for a 7-under 65. That matched the lowest score of the day and put him at 12-under 132.
“Solo lead … that’s pretty cool,” said Putnam, who pointed out that he’d shared the lead in Las Vegas tournament last fall.
However, he hardly saw it coming.
“I haven’t been playing good or scoring well,” Putnam admitted. “Both have been bad. But (I’m) doing both well this week.”
Mickelson, who won the even in 2011, shot 67 for a share of second place at 133. Another late finisher, qualifier Austin Cook, matched Putnam with a 65 to tie Mickelson.
“It was unbelieavable,” said Cook, who played the final nine holes at 5 under and birdied the last one. “It was great. I’m really, really comfortable with my swing and my game right now and it’s kind of showing.”
Canada’s Graham DeLaet (67) and Luke Guthrie (68) were tied for fourth at 134.
DeLaet needs a win this week in order to join fellow Canadians Mike Weir and amateur Corey Conners at next week’s Masters.
Six players are in the next group another shot back, including 21-year-old Justin Spieth – who came in at a career-best No. 4 in the World Golf Rankings. Spieth, who had a win and a second place in his two previous starts, shot a 66.
Past Canadian Open champion Scott Piercy, who had a two-shot lead after a tournament course record-tying 63 in the first round, had a 74.
Mickelson made a 25-foot birdie putt on the par-5 15th hole to get to 12 under, but he hit a rare errant drive on the par-4 17th and took a bogey.
“I just blocked it a little bit, not a very good swing,” he said. “I certainly let that one get away. But I’ve driven it very well this week . . . hit a lot of fairways. My short game has been sharp, too. I’ve hit some good pitches. The putter feels a lot better, but it’s felt better for a while. I’m excited about this weekend. It’s going to be a shootout.”
Weather conditions were perfect for scoring low and the cut would be 4-under.
“It’s a fun tournament and it’s fun to have put myself in a (good) position to have a chance,” Mickelson said. “That’s an important thing for me heading into next week, to get into contention, to feel the pressure. Because the pressure that you feel trying to win the Masters is greater than just about anything we have.”
A hole by hole look at Augusta National Golf Club
A hole-by-hole look at Augusta National, site of the 79th Masters to be played April 9-12, with famous shots played at each one, the average score and where each hole ranks in difficulty since 1934:
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No. 1, 445 yards, par 4 (Tea Olive): This slight dogleg right plays uphill and has a deep bunker requiring a 317-yard carry off the tee. The bunker has a tongue in the left side, so anything that enters the front of the bunker might be blocked by the lip. A bunker is left of the green, which falls off sharply at the back and to the right.
Masters highlight: Charl Schwartzel pitched a low-running shot from the right mounds across the green and holed the shot for a birdie to begin the final round of his 2011 victory.
Masters lowlight: Rory McIlroy was one shot behind going into the weekend in 2012. He went over the back of the green, chipped through the green and down into a swale, barely got his next shot onto the green and two-putted for a double bogey on his way to a 77.
Average score and rank: 4.23 (6th)
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No. 2, 575 yards, par 5 (Pink Dogwood): A dogleg left that can be reached in two by the big hitters. A fairway bunker on the right comes into play. A big drive kept down the left side shortens the hole, but leaves a downhill lie to a green guarded by two deep bunkers in the front.
Masters highlight: Louis Oosthuizen hit a 4-iron from 253 yards in the final round of 2012 that landed on the front of the green and rolled some 90 feet into the cup for the first albatross in Masters history. It took him from a one-shot deficit to a two-shot lead. He went on to lose in a playoff.
Masters lowlight: David Duval hit into the ditch to the left, took two penalty shots before he escaped, and made a 10 in 2006.
Average score and rank: 4.79 (16th)
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No. 3, 350 yards, par 4 (Flowering Peach): One of the best short par 4s in golf, this hole that hasn’t been changed since 1982. Big hitters can drive near the green. But not many try because of all the trouble surrounding the L-shaped green that slopes sharply from right to left. Most players hit iron off tee to stay short of four bunkers on the left side.
Masters highlight: Charl Schwartzel holed out from the fairway for an eagle in the final round of 2011 on his way to victory.
Masters lowlight: Jeff Maggert was leading in the final round in 2003 when he found a fairway bunker to the left. His shot ricocheted off the face of the bunker and struck him in the chest for a two-stroke penalty. He took triple bogey on the hole and never recovered.
Average score and rank: 4.08 (14th)
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No. 4, 240 yards, par 3 (Flowering Crab Apple): This has become a long iron for big hitters, fairway metal for others. A deep bunker protects the right side of the green, with another bunker to the left. Club selection remains crucial because of the deceptive wind. The green slopes to the front. This hole features the only palm tree on the course.
Masters highlight: Jeff Sluman made the only ace on this hole in Masters history with a 4-iron from 213 yards in 1992. It carried him to a 65 and a share of the first-round lead.
Masters lowlight: Phil Mickelson was one shot out of the lead in the final round in 2012 when he purposely tried to hit into the front left bunker for his easiest chance at par. But his shot hit the grandstand and went into the woods. Lefty played two right-handed shots to get it out, hit his fourth into the bunker and got up-and-down for a triple bogey. He finished two shots behind.
Average score and rank: 3.28 (4th)
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No. 5, 455 yards, par 4 (Magnolia): An uphill, slight dogleg to the left with two very deep bunkers guarding the left side some 300 yards from the tee. The green slopes severely from back to front, and a small bunker catches anything long. If an approach is long and misses the bunker, it could roll down the slope and into the Magnolia trees.
Masters highlight: Jack Nicklaus made two eagles in the 1995 Masters, with a 5-iron from 180 yards in the first round and with a 7-iron from 163 yards in the third round.
Masters lowlight: Defending champion Cary Middlecoff had a four-putt double bogey in the final round in 1956 and wound up with a 77 to finish two shots behind Jack Burke Jr.
Average score and rank: 4.26 (5th)
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No. 6, 180 yards, par 3 (Juniper): An elevated tee to a large green with three tiers, with significant slopes marking the three levels. Getting close to the hole is a challenge. The easiest pin might be front left. The hole has not been changed since 1975.
Masters highlight: Billy Joe Patton, trying to become the first amateur to win the Masters, made a hole-in-one with a 5-iron from 190 yards in the final round in 1954. He missed the playoff between Ben Hogan and Sam Snead by one shot.
Masters lowlight: Jose Maria Olazabal had two chips roll back to his feet and a third go over the green in the second round of 1991. He took a quadruple-bogey 7 and wound up one shot behind Ian Woosnam.
Average score and rank: 3.13 (13th)
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No. 7, 450 yards, par 4 (Pampas): This hole literally has come a long way, from 320 yards to 450 yards. The tee was extended by 40 yards in 2003, then two years ago the tee box was lengthened to allow the hole to play shorter if necessary. The tee shot is through a chute of Georgia pines, played to the left-centre of the fairway into a slight slope. The green is surrounded by five bunkers, the most around any green.
Masters highlight: Byron Nelson drove the green in the 1937 Masters for a two-putt birdie when it played at 320 yards. That inspired Augusta National to alter the hole, moving the green back 20 yards and to the right on an upslope and surrounding the green with bunkers.
Masters lowlight: Defending champion Charles Coody, coming off an ace on the sixth hole, struggled to get out of the front bunker and took a triple-bogey 7 in the first round of 1972.
Average score and rank: 4.15 (tie for 11th)
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No. 8, 570 yards, par 5 (Yellow Jasmine): An accurate drive is important to avoid the fairway bunker on the right side. The hole is uphill and features trouble left of the green. There are no bunkers around the green, just severe mounding.
Masters highlight: Tom Kite and Seve Ballesteros were paired r in the final round in 1986, both in contention. Kite hit a sand wedge from 80 yards that bounced twice and dropped in for his first eagle to get within two shots of the lead. Ballesteros, not the least bit bothered, played a pitch-and-run from 40 yards short of the green and matched his eagle to take the lead.
Masters lowlight: Tony Lema took double bogey in the opening round of 1963 and shot 74. He eventually finished one shot behind Jack Nicklaus.
Average score and rank: 4.83 (15th)
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No. 9, 460 yards, par 4 (Carolina Cherry): The tee shot should be aimed down the right side for a good angle into the green, which features two large bunkers to the left. Any approach that is short could spin some 25 yards back into the fairway.
Masters highlight: Jack Nicklaus hit 9-iron into 12 feet in 1986 and was ready to putt when he heard back-to-back cheers from behind him on the eighth green. “Why don’t we try to make some noise ourselves?” he said to the gallery. He made the birdie putt, and so began his charge to his sixth green jacket.
Masters lowlight: Greg Norman went after the pin on Sunday and saw the ball spin down the hill back into the fairway, the start of his record collapse in 1996.
Average score and rank: 4.14 (12th)
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No. 10, 495 yards, par 4 (Camellia): A long hole that can play shorter if the drive catches the slope in the fairway. It is difficult to save par from the bunker right of the green. The putting surface slopes from right to left. It has played as the most difficult hole in Masters history.
Masters highlight: Bubba Watson was deep in the trees to the right of the fairway, 155 yards away, when he played a 40-yard hook with a wedge that landed about 10 feet beneath the hole. He two-putted for par to win the 2012 Masters.
Masters lowlight: Scott Hoch had a 3-foot putt to win the Masters in a playoff in 1989. He missed, and lost to Nick Faldo on the next hole.
Average score and rank: 4.31 (1st)
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No. 11, 505 yards, par 4 (White Dogwood): Amen Corner starts here. The tee was lengthened by 15 yards in 2006, but some pine trees have been removed on the right side, although the landing area is still tight. A big tee shot _ and a straight one _ is required to get to the crest of the hill. A pond guards the green to the left and a bunker is to the back right. The safe shot is to bail out short and to the right.
Masters highlight: Larry Mize was in a sudden-death playoff with Greg Norman in 1987 when he missed the green to the right. Mize’s 140-foot chip was gaining steam when it dropped in for birdie, giving him the green jacket and dealing another blow to Norman’s hopes of winning the Masters.
Masters lowlight: Raymond Floyd pulled his approach into the water on the second extra hole to lose a playoff in 1990 to Nick Faldo.
Average score and rank: 4.29 (2nd)
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No. 12, 155 yards, par 3 (Golden Bell): This is among the most famous par 3s in golf, and the shortest hole at Augusta National. Club selection can range from a 6-iron to a 9-iron, but it’s difficult to gauge the wind. Rae’s Creek is in front of the shallow green, with two bunkers behind it and one in front.
Masters highlight: Fred Couples’ tee shot came up just short of the green and began to tumble down the bank into Rae’s Creek when it was stopped by a blade of grass. He chipped to 4 feet to save par, and went on to beat Raymond Floyd by two shots in 1992.
Masters lowlight: Tom Weiskopf hit 7-iron into Rae’s Creek, and then hit four shots with a sand wedge into the water in the opening round of 1980 to make a 13, the highest score ever on this hole.
Average score and rank: 3.28 (3rd)
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No. 13, 510 yards, par 5 (Azalea): An accurate tee shot to the centre of the fairway sets up players to go for the green. A tributary to Rae’s Creek winds in front of the green, and four bunkers are behind the putting surface. From tee to green, there are about 1,600 azaleas.
Masters highlight: With a two-shot lead in the final round in 2010, Phil Mickelson was in the pine straw behind a pair of trees. He hit 6-iron through a small gap in the pines and over the creek to about 4 feet. He missed the eagle putt, but kept his lead and went on to win.
Masters lowlight: Curtis Strange had a three-shot lead with six holes to play in 1985 when he went for the green with a 4-wood, hit into Rae’s Creek and wound up making bogey on his way to a back-nine collapse.
Average score and rank: 4.79 (17th)
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No. 14, 440 yards, par 4 (Chinese Fir): This is the only hole on the course without a bunker. Even if the drive avoids trees on both sides of the fairway, the green has severe contours that feed the ball to the right.
Masters highlight: Phil Mickelson holed out for eagle during an eagle-eagle-birdie stretch on Saturday in 2010 that helped him get into the final group. He won his third green jacket the next day.
Masters lowlight: Fred Couples had a 4-foot birdie putt to pull within one shot of Mickelson in the final round of 2006. He three-putted for a bogey and tied for third.
Average score and rank: 4.17 (8th)
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No. 15, 530 yards, par 5 (Firethorn): A cluster of pines is starting to mature on the right side of the fairway, making it critical to be straight off the tee. The green can be reached in two with a good drive, but a pond guards the front and there is a bunker to the right. Even for those laying up, the third shot requires a precise wedge.
Masters highlight: Gene Sarazen was three shots behind when he hit the “shot heard ’round the world” in 1935. His 4-wood from 235 yards went into the hole for an albatross. He tied Craig Wood and defeated him the next day in a playoff.
Masters lowlight: Tiger Woods was one shot out of the lead in the second round in 2013 when his wedge hit the flagstick and caromed into the water. Woods returned to his original spot and dropped the ball a few behind to make sure he wouldn’t hit the pin again. He made bogey. But his incorrect drop was not discovered until after his round. He was assessed a two-shot penalty, making it a double bogey. He was allowed to stay in the tournament because of a committee error. Woods tied for fourth.
Average score and rank: 4.78 (18th)
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No. 16, 170 yards, par 3 (Redbud): The hole is played entirely over water and eventually bends to the left. Two bunkers guard the right side, and the green slopes significantly from right to left. The Sunday pin typically is back and on the lower shelf, and pars from the top shelf that day are rare.
Masters highlight: Tiger Woods had a one-shot lead over Chris DiMarco when he missed the green long in 2005. He chipped away from the hole up the slope, watched it make a U-turn at the top and roll back toward the hole, pausing for 2 full seconds before dropping for birdie.
Masters lowlight: Despite a collapse in the final round of 1996, Greg Norman was still only two shots behind when he hooked his 6-iron into the water.
Average score and rank: 3.15 (9th)
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No. 17, 440 yards, par 4 (Nandina): The only major change to the course this year was not by design. The Eisenhower Tree to the left of the fairway about 210 yards from the tee could not be saved from an ice storm in February and was removed. That should make the tee shot much easier, especially for those with a lower, left-to-right ball flight. The green is protected by two bunkers in the front.
Masters highlight: Jack Nicklaus made his final birdie in 1986 with a 12-foot putt that sent him to a 30 on the back nine and a 65, giving him a one-shot win and his sixth Masters. The pose Nicklaus struck when the putt dropped is captured in a bronze statue of him outside his clubhouse at Muirfield Village.
Masters lowlight: Stuart Appleby had a four-shot lead late in the third round of 2007 when he hit his tee shot so far left it went into a bunker on the seventh green. He hit into another bunker on the 17th, and three-putted for a triple bogey.
Average score and rank: 4.15 (10th)
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No. 18, 465 yards, par 4 (Holly): Now among the most demanding finishing holes in golf, this uphill dogleg right is protected off the tee by two deep bunkers at the left elbow _ the only bunkers in play off the tee on the back nine (except for par 3s). Trees get in the way of a drive that strays to the right. A middle iron typically is required to a green that has a bunker in front and to the right.
Masters highlight: Sandy Lyle was tied for the lead with Mark Calcavecchia when he hit 1-iron in the first of two bunkers down the left side of the fairway. Not thinking he could get on the green, Lyle hit 7-iron over the tall lip and behind the flag, and it rolled back to 10 feet. He holed the putt for birdie to win in 1988.
Masters lowlight: Arnold Palmer walked up the 18th fairway accepting congratulations for another victory, then hit into the bunker and wound up with a double bogey to finish one shot behind Gary Player in 1961.
Average score and rank: 4.22 (7th)
Ten things you should know about the Masters
Ten historical nuggets worth knowing to know about the Masters and Augusta National Golf Club:
WHAT’S THE SCORE: Clifford Roberts, co-founder of Augusta National, devised a scoring system for the 1960 Masters that he called the “over-and-under” method. Scores were shown on a cumulative basis on how a player stood with respect to par, such as 10-under par or 3-over par. That has become the standard for scoring at golf tournaments around the world.
MEASURING HOLES: The Masters is the only major golf tournament in which the yardage of each hole is rounded off to end in “5” or “0.” Roberts felt that an exact yardage was not relevant because the movement of tee markers and pin positions for each round changed the distance. The course is listed at 7,435 yards. And no one can be sure it ever plays to that length.
WHAT’S IN A NAME: When the club decided to hold a golf tournament, Roberts suggested it be called the Masters Tournament. Co-founder Bobby Jones vetoed that because he felt it was too presumptuous, so it made its debut in 1934 as the Augusta National Invitation Tournament. The title changed to the Masters in 1939.
GREEN JACKET THEN: Augusta National bought green jackets from New York-based Brooks Uniform Company in 1937 for members to wear during the tournament so patrons would know who to turn to for information. Members wore them at the club so that waiters would know who would pay the bill.
GREEN JACKET NOW: Sam Snead in 1949 became the first Masters champion awarded a green jacket, a symbol that winners would become honorary members. The previous champions also were given green jackets. For past champions and members alike, the jacket can only be worn at the club. The exception is the reigning champion, who returns the green jacket when he comes back to defend his title.
AMATEUR HOUSING: Amateurs have the option to stay in the Crow’s Nest atop the clubhouse at Augusta National. It provides space for up to five players, and rising from the room is the 11-square-foot cupola with windows on all sides that can only be reached by a ladder. There are seven amateurs at the Masters this year, though not every man wishes to stay in the Crow’s Nest. Among the amateurs who did were Jack Nicklaus, Ben Crenshaw and Tiger Woods. Canada’s Corey Conners will stay there for part of this year’s Masters.
BLACKOUT: The Masters now is the most viewed golf tournament in the world, broadcast in more than 200 countries. But it wasn’t always that way. When it was televised for the first time in 1956, all CBS stations within a 200-mile radius of the club were blacked out from showing the tournament to help with ticket sales. The blackout was lifted in 1969.
ICE ON THE AZALEAS: One of the many myths about Augusta National is the staff places bags of ice on the azaleas and other flowers in the spring to keep them from blooming until the week of the Masters. That was proven incorrect most recently in 2012, unless the town ran out of ice. Every now and again, spring arrives earlier than the first full week in April, and the azaleas and dogwoods no longer are in bloom.
THE GREAT SWITCH: The most exciting back nine in golf used to be the front nine at Augusta National. The opening tee shot was what now is No. 10. Amen Corner would have consisted of Nos. 2, 3 and 4. But after the inaugural tournament in 1934, officials decided to flip the two nines.
MEMBERSHIP: Ever wonder how to be considered for membership at Augusta National? Don’t bother. Much like the tournament it runs, club membership is by invitation only. Golf World estimated in 2009 from a member who didn’t give his name that the initiation fee was “low five figures” and annual dues were “a few thousand” a year. When the club opened, the initiation fee was $350 with annual dues of $60. And by the way, Augusta National is closed from the middle of May to the middle of October.
Tiger Woods confirms he’s playing the Masters
Tiger Woods ended all that speculation about his game by letting everyone see for themselves.
He said Friday he will play next week in the Masters.
Golf’s biggest attraction and four-time Masters champion played two practice rounds at Augusta National this week before a simple announcement on his website that he would end his two-month leave on the sport’s biggest stage.
“I’m playing in the Masters,” Woods said on his website. “It’s obviously very important to me, and I want to be there. I’ve worked a lot on my game, and I’m looking forward to competing. I’m excited to get to Augusta, and I appreciate everyone’s support.”
Woods was last seen at a golf tournament on Feb. 5 at Torrey Pines. He hit a sand wedge some 30 yards over the green, duffed a chip coming back, bladed the next one too hard and made double bogey. One tee shot later, he withdrew because of tightness in his lower back, saying that his “glutes didn’t activate” after a delay in cool, foggy weather.
Of far greater concern was the state of his game.
Woods has played on two tournaments this year and completed just 47 holes. His short game was shockingly bad at the Phoenix Open, where he shot a career-worst 82 and missed the cut by nine shots. And he didn’t get out of the first round at Torrey Pines.
A week later, he said his game and his scores were unacceptable. “I enter a tournament to compete at the highest level, and when I think I’m ready, I’ll be back.”
Those are words by which he will be judged next week at the Masters.
Woods played an 18-hole practice round Tuesday at Augusta, and he played again at the club on Friday, according to his agent.
He will have gone nine weeks without competition when he hits his opening tee shot on Thursday, which is not unprecedented for Woods. He went nearly five months without playing when he returned in 2010 from a crisis in his personal life that led to one of the greatest downfalls in sport. He tied for fourth that year.
Scrutiny might be even greater this time around.
The last time Woods took an extended break before the Masters, he had won his previous tournament at the Australian Masters and was No. 1 in the world after a seven-win season. Now, his game has been in disarray over a series of injuries, physical limitations and another change in coaching.
He hasn’t won a tournament since the Bridgestone Invitational in August 2013. He hasn’t finished under par in 14 months, dating to the 2014 Dubai Desert Classic. And he has plunged to No. 104 in the world, his lowest ranking since Sept. 29, 1996, a week before he won the first of his 90 professional tournaments worldwide.
Woods hasn’t won the Masters in 10 years, though he has managed there even when his game was off. It’s the only major where Woods has made the cut every time.
He missed the Masters last year because of back surgery to alleviate a pinched nerve, and he wound up sitting out three months. Four tournaments into his return, he again dealt with back pain and sat out the final four months of the season to fully recover and get stronger.
But when he returned at his Hero World Challenge in December, he tied for last in an 18-man field and chipped so poorly that some analysts said he had the chipping yips. Two months of practice didn’t help. During the Phoenix Open pro-am, he hit a bunker shot on the 16th hole that shot over the green and into the first row of bleachers.
Chipping and pitching at Augusta National doesn’t not allow for much margin of error, and the scrutiny figures to be at a high level even by Woods’ standards.
“The first little pitch shot he’s got to hit – not chip shot, the first little pitch shot he’s got to hit – will be microanalyzed, and he knows that,” said Paul Azinger, a former PGA champion and now ESPN analyst. “There’s a big microscope on that guy. I don’t think he’d show up unless he feels like he solved that problem.”
When he skipped the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, Woods said he hoped to be ready for the Masters and would continue working.
There have been secondhand reports that Woods was playing a lot at his home club, The Medalist, in South Florida. Golfweek cited a source as saying Woods shot 74 with five birdies when he played Augusta National on Tuesday.
Woods has his own practice facility in the backyard of his home in Jupiter Island, Florida. Going from a private setting to some 35,000 fans figures to be the biggest challenge.
“All we see with Tiger is the tip of the iceberg,” Azinger said. “And what we don’t know is what’s under the tip of the iceberg. How hard has he worked on being the best player, not the best swinger? That’s what we don’t know.”
Starting Thursday, that’s what everyone gets to find out.
Westgate Las Vegas Superbook listed odds for Woods winning at 40-1.
I’m playing in the Masters. Thanks for all the support. http://t.co/SYih4eSxUa
— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) April 3, 2015
Scott Piercy shoots 63, takes lead at Houston Open
HOUSTON – After his record-tying round Thursday, Scott Piercy let his thoughts drift toward qualifying for the Masters with a win this week.
Piercy tied a tournament record with a nearly flawless 9-under-par 63 to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Houston Open.
“It’s the first round,” he said. “If I’m sitting here Sunday, then I’ll be super-excited. If I (keep playing) like I did today, I would say there’s a pretty good chance of that.”
Alex Cejka, in an afternoon group, made four birdies on his back nine – the course’s front nine – to finish with a 64, one stroke behind Piercy.
J. B. Holmes was next at 65, having also gotten to 8-under with four holes to play before finding a fairway bunker with his first shot at No. 6. After badly missing the green, Holmes had to scramble to a bogey.
Phil Mickelson, Luke Guthrie, Charles Howell III and Houston’s Shawn Stefani each shot a 66 and trail Piercy by three strokes.
Piercy, who made five birdies in a row over one torrid stretch during the middle of his round, became only the fifth player to card a 63 since this PGA Tour stop moved to the Golf Club of Houston Tournament Course in 2003. Two of the others, Mickelson in 2011 and Johnson Wagner in 2008, went on to win the championship.
The 36-year-old Piercy, a pro from Las Vegas, missed only one green in regulation and needed just 26 putts. Two days earlier, however, feeling so discouraged by the way he’d been playing of late that it crossed his mind while he was out grinding on the driving range “to go home and not waste my time.”
Piercy, instead, decided to keep practicing. He wound up hitting golf balls for “12, 13 hours. … In the 13th hour, something kind of clicked and I kind of figured it out. On Wednesday, I kind of engrained it, kept working and got pretty good. Today was awesome. It really was.”
Piercy was off the PGA Tour for six months last year while recovering from elbow surgery and said he still hadn’t felt quite right before arriving in Houston. But he liked his form Thursday the moment he first swung his driver. He began the day with a birdie on No. 10 and capped it by sinking a 30-foot birdie putt on the No. 9, his final hole.
“Everything went right,” said Piercy, who last won on the Tour at the RBC Canadian Open in 2012. “I hit the ball so good. It’s been building. I kept hitting good shot after good shot. By the end, I was (only) trying to make birdies.”
Teeing off 20 minutes before Piercy, Mickelson made himself the early front-runner by chipping in for birdie on his first hole, then turning the corner at 3-under, about the time Piercy began his birdie run. Mickelson reached 7-under at one point but bogeyed the par-three ninth, his final hole.
The three-time Masters champion, one of at least 36 players in the Houston field who are headed to Augusta National next week for the season’s first major, had skidded to a final-round 76 Sunday in the Texas Open. So, his late lapse here notwithstanding, Mickelson called his effort “a good round, a good start to the tournament. I got off to a quick start, birdieing three of the first four holes, and kept it going.
“The course is in pristine condition. The greens being soft are going to allow us to get more aggressive (aiming for) the pins and make some more birdies. The scores are going to be low” he said. “I’m just glad I was one of them.”
Piercy wasn’t the only one thinking about qualifying for The Masters.
Canada’s Graham DeLaet opened with a 5-under 67.
Tim Clark to miss Masters with elbow injury
AUGUSTA, Ga. – Tim Clark of South Africa will miss the Masters next week as he recovers from an elbow injury.
Thomas Parker, his agent at Professional Advisory Group, said in a text message Wednesday that Clark’s elbow is feeling better but that he has not had enough time to properly prepare for the first major of the year.
The 39-year-old Clark was runner-up to Phil Mickelson at the 2006 Masters.
Clark was eligible by winning the RBC Canadian Open last year. He has not played since the Sony Open in Honolulu the second week of the year. Because the Masters is by invitation only, there is no alternate list.
With Clark not playing, the Masters is assured of having fewer than 100 players at Augusta National for the 49th straight year.
Stricker, out since December, plans return at Masters
Steve Stricker intends to play the Masters next week, his first competition since back surgery four months ago.
Stricker recently returned from Naples, Florida, where he tested his swing and his strength. He had surgery two days before Christmas on a bulging disk in his lower back that was causing recurring hip problems.
“I was playing, walking, just to see what I had,” Stricker told The Associated Press by phone Monday. “It’s the first time I played since December, and it was good. It felt good. Just a little stiffness here and there. I walked the last three days just to play like I would be playing.”
The 48-year-old Stricker last played Dec. 7 at the Hero World Challenge, where he finished 14th in an 18-man field at Isleworth. He has been playing a reduced schedule since 2013 and last year failed to reach the Tour Championship for the first time in the FedEx Cup era.
The original plan was to play the Shell Houston Open this week to warm up for Augusta National. His doctor and physical therapist told him, however, that returning from surgery might take its toll during the second straight week.
“I think the biggest concern was putting in back-to-back weeks, with the second week being a little more fatigued,” Stricker said. “I still feel it’s a bit early to be pushing it a lot, so I want to take it cautiously.”
Stricker qualified for the Masters by being ranked in the top 50 at the end of last year. He finished the year at No. 41, and has since fallen to No. 75. That’s his lowest ranking since he was out of the top 100 a week before the 2006 PGA Championship.
He played his last three days at Calusa Pines, where he said the greens were firm and fast, and a good way to prepare for the Masters.
“I didn’t fix a ball mark in three days – not because I missed the greens,” he said with a laugh. “I just couldn’t find any ball marks.”
Stricker plans to visit Augusta National this week for practice rounds. He said he would be in Indianapolis for the Final Four to watch Wisconsin play Kentucky on Saturday and then return to Augusta on Sunday.
Tiger Woods played practice round at Augusta
AUGUSTA, Ga. – Tiger Woods played a practice round Tuesday at Augusta National, a strong indication that the four-time champion could make his return at the Masters.
Mark Steinberg, his agent at Excel Sports Management, confirmed in an email to The Associated Press that Woods played 18 holes.
Still to be determined is whether he returns for the Masters next week.
Woods has not played since he withdrew at Torrey Pines on Feb. 5 after 11 holes because of tightness in his back during a chilly, fog-delayed opening round. A week later, he said he would return to competition when he had the game for it.
“My play, and scores, are not acceptable for tournament golf,” Woods said in a statement Feb. 11. “Like I’ve said, I enter a tournament to compete at the highest level, and when I think I’m ready, I’ll be back.”
He has missed the Honda Classic and Arnold Palmer Invitational – he was not eligible for Doral this year – since the statement. There have been second- and third-hand reports that Woods has been practicing near his home in south Florida.
Woods could make an announcement about his Masters plans this week, though it is not necessary. Unlike a regular PGA Tour event, players with a Masters invitation only have to register before they tee off in the opening round on April 9. It would be unlike Woods to do that. Instead, he likely would inform the club of his plans before Sunday.
Woods played in the 2010 Masters without having competed in nearly five months. He tied for fourth that year, though he was No. 1 in the world and his previous tournament was a victory in the Australian Masters.
He now has dropped to No. 104, his lowest ranking since September 1996 a week before his first pro victory. He has not recorded a top-10 finish since the end of 2013. And his limited golf this year has been the worst of his career. Woods shot 82 in the Phoenix Open when he missed the cut. He hit standard chips that didn’t reach the green or sailed 30 yards long during the 47 holes he has played this year.
The Augusta Chronicle first reported that Woods was in town after a plane matching the tail number of his Gulfstream G5 was parked at the terminal for private aircraft at Augusta Regional Airport.
Tiger Woods’ Plane (Larry Marano/ Getty Images)
Woods falls out of the top 100 in the world
VIRGINIA WATER, England – For the first time since 1996, Tiger Woods is not among the top 100 golfers in the world ranking.
Woods, who hasn’t played since he withdrew from the Farmers Insurance Open on Feb. 6, falls to No. 104 this week. The last time he was out of the top 100 was on Sept. 29, 1996, when he was at No. 225. The following week, Woods won the Las Vegas Invitational as a 20-year-old for the first of his 79 PGA Tour victories.
It is not clear when Woods will return. He said in February that his scores were not acceptable and he would not play until his game was in tournament shape.
Woods is not required to announce if he is playing the Masters until the tournament starts April 9.
Jimmy Walker wins hometown Texas Open
SAN ANTONIO – Jimmy Walker won his hometown Texas Open on Sunday to become the first two-time winner this season on the PGA Tour, beating fellow Texan Jordan Spieth by four strokes.
Walker closed with a 2-under 70 to finish at 11-under 277 at TPC San Antonio, a 35-minute drive from his home. The 36-year-old former Baylor player won the Sony Open in Hawaii by nine shots in January and has a tour-best five victories in the past two seasons.
Spieth also finished with a 70, making four late birdies in a row. The 21-year-old Dallas player was coming off a playoff victory two weeks ago at Innisbrook.
Walker and Spieth will move to career highs in the world ranking, with Spieth going from sixth to fourth and Walker from 13th to 10th.
FedEx Cup champion Billy Horschel was third at 4 under after a 71.
Daniel Summerhays, second last year behind Steven Bowditch, tied for fourth with Chesson Hadley at 3 under. Summerhays closed with a 69, and Hadley had a 71.
Doral winner Dustin Johnson shot his second straight 68 to match Ryan Palmer at 2 under. Palmer also had a 68.
Phil Mickelson, looking for some momentum heading to the Masters, closed with a 76 to drop into a tie for 30th at 4 over.
Ten players finished under par, with the Oaks Course playing the toughest on the PGA Tour this season with a 74.581 stroke average – more than two shots over par. The previous high was PGA National’s Champion course at 1.832 over par for the Honda Classic.
Marc Warren and Harris English failed to crack the top 50 in the world ranking, which would have given them spots in the Masters. Warren, 52nd, needed to finish ahead of Brendan Todd to get in, but closed with a 70 to finish 35th. English, 53rd, needed at least a top 10. His final-round 72 only got him to 30th.