HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – Jason Dufner took more than a solid showing away from the Masters last week. He took inspiration from winner Sergio Garcia.

Dufner finished 33rd in the year’s first major, things getting away from late in the final round a week ago. But he took something from Garcia managing his expectations and letting his game show through. And Dufner believes that’s why he had got a one-shot lead heading to the final round of the RBC Heritage.

Dufner had two eagles on the way to a 6-under 65 to move in front of Canadian Graham DeLaet (69).

Dufner, at 13 under, said he entered Harbour Town Golf Links with low expectations, deciding that he gone through too many tournaments over-thinking how he was supposed to play or whose expectations he was supposed to live up to.

“That really gets in the way of playing well to be honest with you,” said Dufner, the 2013 PGA Championship winner. “So I think I maybe learned a little bit from the champion last week, where he kind of lowered his expectations, and got out of his way, so to speak, and let his talent and his game plan take it from there.”

Dufner’s talent was on display, particularly on Harbour Town’s par-5s.

He blasted a 215-yard approach on the second hole to 11 feet for his first eagle. He was short of the fifth green in two, then chipped in from about 100 feet for his second eagle. On the 15th, the course’s final long hole, Dufner settled for birdie, part of three in a row on the back nine that took him into the lead.

Dufner plays Harbour Town often, but without much success. His best finish was a tie for 14th and only once in seven previous fourth rounds has shot in the 60s. He is chasing his fifth PGA Tour title – and just the second since winning the Wanamaker Trophy at Oak Hill four years ago.

Get ready for the final round @RBC_Heritage with yesterday’s highlights. pic.twitter.com/hgqK0SKNAb

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 16, 2017

Dufner said he took confidence from his Masters performance and has carried that into this week.

“I feel like this golf course has always been a good set up for me,” Dufner said. “I haven’t had amazing results here, but I’ve been pretty consistent. We’ll see how it goes tomorrow.”

DeLaet was tied with Dufner heading into his final hole, but three-putted No. 18 from 35 feet to fall back. Still, it was the Weyburn, Sask., native’s third straight sub-70 round after having just five in five previous appearances here.

DeLaet is seeking his first tour win and knows it will take a mental effort to keep him straight.

“Obviously, this is the one thing that’s kind of missing,” DeLaet said. “So there’s going to be some battles (inside) that I’m going to have to deal with.”

Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., shot 70 for an 8 under total. Adam Hadwin, also of Abbotsford, was tied for 20th after a 71 and David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., was tied for 31st after shooting 69.

Kevin Kisner and Webb Simpson were at 11 under. Kisner shot a 66, and Simpson, the former U.S. Open champ, had a 68.

Kisner followed up his 64 with a second straight bogey-free round at Harbour Town. The last of his five birdies – a 30-footer on No. 17 – pushed him into the tie with Simpson.

Simpson was the hottest player on the course when the round began, going 4-under over his first six holes including an eagle-3 at the par-5 fifth. Then Simpson cooled off, with 11 pars and a bogey on the 16th that dropped him two shots behind.

Ian Poulter, in a chase to stay on tour, shot 69 to stay in fifth. He had three birdies on the final five holes before the turn to share the lead with Simpson for a time. On the 10th hole, however, he hit his drive left in the water, then landed his second tee shot along the water line where an alligator – perhaps miffed by the first water ball – stared down the Englishman known for his colorful outfits. Poulter tried to set up, but the gator would not relent until the caddie of playing partner Simpson charged the reptile.

The alligator retreated to safer waters and Poulter took double bogey.

Poulter, playing on a medical extension, needs to earn $145,000 of 117 FedEx Cup points over the next two weeks to keep his playing privileges intact. He’s in good because fifth place pays $260,000.

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – Canadian Graham DeLaet always loved playing at Harbour Town Golf Links, but rarely got the results he thought he should – until this week.

The Weyburn, Sask., native followed up his career-best 6-under 65 in the first round with a 67 on Friday to share the lead with Luke Donald midway through the RBC Heritage.

Donald also shot 67 to reach 10-under 132, two in front of Ian Poulter and Webb Simpson.

Poulter and Simpson each shot 68.

DeLaet was 1 over on his first seven holes of the second round until a birdie on the difficult par-4 eighth hole and an eagle on No. 9, also a par 4 where he bounced his approach shot into the cup.

DeLaet had never finished better than 14th in six previous trips here and had only twice broken 70 in his last 10 rounds before this week. DeLaet said his top-15 finish a year ago – his first and only one – continued to fan his flame for Harbour Town. “And my love and enjoyment of playing this golf course turned into, ‘Maybe I could play well here,”’ he said.

DeLaet plodded through the first part of his round until dropping his approach on the 461-yard eighth hole within 15 feet and made the putt. On the next hole, DeLaet sent a wedge from 109 yards out into the green, simply hoping to spin it back left toward the pin. Instead, it hopped in the cup to put DeLaet out front.

“We couldn’t see the bottom of the pin, but there was reaction from the crowd so we figured it was in,” DeLaet said.

Donald, DeLaet shine in Round 2 from Harbour Town. pic.twitter.com/FwO28jhNFE

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 15, 2017

DeLaet has won four times worldwide (three in his home nation and once in South Africa), but has never done better than three second places (the last in the 2014 Waste Management Phoenix Open) on the PGA Tour. DeLaet doesn’t plan to change his approach with a big weekend ahead. “I’m looking forward to not getting up at 4:45 a.m. again like I did this morning,” he said with laugh.

Donald has finished second or third in six of his past eight visits to the RBC Heritage – and put himself in position for another stellar finish this time, too. Donald’s round took off with three straight birdies on the front nine. He held off a spate of wild drives after the turn – Donald drove way right on No. 10, played a provisional, found his first ball and made par – before chipping in for birdie on the closing, lighthouse hole at No. 18.

It was the second straight day Donald made birdie at the iconic hole. He’s shot in the 60s in 21 of his 42 career rounds here. About the only thing he hasn’t done is win, something he looks to remedy this week.

“I’ve been in this position before and I’ve got to go out there and be aggressive and make some birdies,” Donald said. “Certainly playing for pars won’t get it done out there.”

Poulter, playing on a major medical extension, is on the clock to keep his card and needs about $145,000 in his next two events to maintain his playing status and is off to a strong start. His 66-68 is the just the second time in seven career visits to Harbour Town he’s opened with two sub-70 rounds. His eligibility? Not on his mind at all. “I’m playing golf like I really don’t care, to be honest,” he said. “I’ve had to work on clearing everything out of my mind to go play good golf.”

Simpson, the 2012 U.S. Open champion, continued his strong play at Harbour Town’s first nine, notching four more birdies to go along with the five straight he made there in the opening round Thursday.

First-round leader Bud Cauley followed his 63 with a 72 and was in a group of five at 7-under that included former PGA Championship winner Jason Dufner and Sam Saunders, the grandson of golf’s late king, Arnold Palmer.

Kevin Kisner had the round’s best score, a 7-under 64, and was among six players four strokes behind the leaders.

Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin, both of Abbotsford, B.C., shot 66’s. Taylor was 7 under while Hadwin was 5 under.

There were 74 golfers who made cut of 1-under par – anyone over par or even was leaving – which was lowest cutline ever at Harbour Town. Those going home included Jim Furyk, Ernie Els, 2016 Masters champion Danny Willett and Charley Hoffman, who contended at Augusta National for much of the week before falling off the pace.

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – Bud Cauley took advantage of pristine, windless conditions at Harbour Town Golf Links with birdies on four of final five holes for an 8-under 63 and a two-shot lead Thursday after the opening round of the RBC Heritage.

Cauley hadn’t made many waves at Harbour Town his first three visits with two missed cuts and only one round in the 60s. This time, though, with mild, 70-degree conditions, practically no wind and abundant sunshine, Cauley made eight birdies in a bogey-free round, including three straight to finish with a flourish.

“You never go out thinking you’re going to shoot that,” Cauley said. “I just got into the round and was swinging well and tried to give myself as many looks as I could.”

The 63 was one shy of the 27-year-old Cauley’s career low (62 at the McGladney Classic in 2012) and two off the tournament mark of 61 shared by David Frost and Troy Merritt.

Cauley was two in front of Luke Donald, Graham DeLaet and Sam Saunders, the grandson of the late Arnold Palmer. Russell Henley continued his recent run of top-flight golf with a 66 to join a group that included former U.S. Open winner Webb Simpson and Ian Poulter.

But it was Cauley’s strong finish that led the way. He rolled in a 5-footer for birdie on No. 16, an 8-footer for another on No. 17 and hit a near perfect approach to the usually wind-swept 18th green off Calibogue Sound to inside 12 feet for the two-stroke edge.

While the lack of wind certainly helped, Cauley said his shot selection and game plan coming in were essential in his success. “The last five holes I hit every shot just kind of how I was looking,” he said. “So that was a nice way to finish.”

Cauley hasn’t had the greatest season, missing seven cuts in 12 starts. His best showing was a third at the CareerBuilder Challenge in the California desert. He hopes this start can propel him to bigger things.

Cauley knows he could’ve been elsewhere under different circumstances. He chuckled at pictures of his four good PGA Tour friends, Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler, Smylie Kaufman and Justin Thomas, on a spring break jaunt – including a yacht – to Baker’s Bay in the Bahamas. If Cauley continues his strong play at Harbour Town, he’ll have just as good a time as his foursome of pals.

“I had to keep my shirt on today,” he joked.

Donald got the ball rolling with his early 65. The former world No. 1 was frustrated at missing his second straight Masters last week and used it as motivation to once again batter Harbour Town.

“It’s never fun to be sitting at home,” Donald said of the Masters miss. “But in a way, it motivates you. It gets the fire under you and you get a little bit more inspired.”

Donald has finished second four times and third twice in his past eight appearances at Harbour Town.

His 65 was the 20th time in 41 career rounds that Donald shot in the 60s at Harbour Town. It was also his eighth straight round under par here, closing in on the record of 11 in a row he already shares with Larry Nelson. Donald says there’s no secret to his success here: Scramblers and those who manage their games well have as much of a chance as any long bomber at Harbour Town.

“The long hitters, it’s taking driver out of their hands a lot,” Donald said. “So I feel like the playing field’s levelled out.”

It also helps when many of the world’s best don’t show up. Just five of the world’s top 25 are playing, starting with England’s Tyrrell Hatton (No. 16) who shot a 69. Matt Kuchar, 17th in the world, is the best Masters finisher at the RBC Heritage, following a fourth at Augusta National with an opening 68.

Henley continued his strong recent play. He won in Houston two weeks ago simply to make the Masters, then finished in 11th in the major to earn an invite back to Augusta National in 2018. Henley said he put the clubs away Monday and Tuesday to rest up after arriving from Augusta. “It’s been a whirlwind the last two weeks,” he said.

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Eighteen years and 71 majors later, more tears for Sergio Garcia.

This time, they were accompanied by a smile.

Sunday at the Masters was a most joyous occasion, far different from when Garcia teed it up in his first major as a pro in the 1999 British Open at Carnoustie.

He was 19 and already heralded as a star and the most likely rival for Tiger Woods. Garcia was low amateur at the Masters that year. He shot 62 at the Byron Nelson Classic and tied for third in his pro debut on the PGA Tour. He won the Irish Open, and the next week he was runner-up to Colin Montgomerie at the Scottish Open.

And then he shot 79-83 at Carnoustie and sobbed on his mother’s shoulder on his way out.

Garcia never would have imagined then how long it would take for him to win a major, and he had reason to believe it might never happen.

“It’s been such a long time coming,” Garcia said after his playoff victory over Justin Rose.

No one had ever played as many majors as Garcia before winning his first one, so those tears were equal parts joy and relief. It showed.

Phil Mickelson leaped – not very high – when he finally won his first major at Augusta National in 2004. Garcia, who only needed two putts from 12 feet on the first extra hole against Rose, crouched when his birdie putt curled in the back of the cup. He clenched both fists and shook them repeatedly. He shouted multiple times. He blew a kiss to the gallery as it chanted his name. He crouched one more time, placing his hand on the green and then slamming his fist into the turf.

“It was just a lot of things going through my mind,” he said.

Along with the happy reflections of the people around him – including Angela Akins, the former Golf Channel reporter he plans to marry in July – that final burst of emotion was thinking about “moments that unfortunately didn’t go the way I wanted.”

Garcia is not the first player that endured bad breaks and heartache in the majors before finally winning one.

Tom Kite won the PGA Tour money title twice and had played in 67 majors as a pro before he finally won the 1992 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach when he was 42. Corey Pavin was 36 when he hit that 4-wood onto the 18th green at Shinnecock Hills and won the 1995 U.S. Open. Mark O’Meara had 14 victories on the PGA Tour when he won the 1998 Masters at 41.

Most different about Garcia is that he made it easy to root against him, blaming everything but his own shots and missed putts.

There was that time at Bethpage Black in the 2002 U.S. Open when he complained about having to play in the rain, suggesting the USGA would have stopped play if Woods had been on the course. He lost a three-shot lead in the final round at Carnoustie in the 2007 British Open, and after losing in a playoff to Padraig Harrington, he said he was playing against “more than the field,” intimating that somehow, the golfing gods were out to get him, too.

A year later, Harrington rallied from three down to Garcia on the back nine and beat him at Oakland Hills in the PGA Championship. When asked later if he thought he was going to get his first major, Garcia snapped, “Next question, please. Let’s try to keep this as positive as we can, please.”

Losing hurt, and it reached a point where Garcia acted as though he no longer cared.

That why his comments all week at the Masters that he had changed his attitude, that he was learning to accept bad bounces, was met with skepticism.

What he found on Sunday, starting with his drive to the golf course, was a calmness he had never felt in the previous three times he played in the final group. And from that calm emerged the grit that Garcia had lacked.

He salvaged par from a certain bogey on the 13th that kept him in the game. He made eagle on the par-5 15th to tie for the lead. He reached the 18th green and stood over a 5-foot putt for the victory. The last time he had a putt to win a major was at Carnoustie in 2007. He missed and had to go into a playoff.

He missed this one, too, and headed into a playoff against Rose, only this time he didn’t lose hope.

“I knew what I was capable of doing, and I believed that I could do it,” he said. “Thanks to that, I was able to do it.”

Garcia is no longer that 19-year-old with curly hair and freckles, sprinting up the fairway at Medinah as he tried to chase down Woods in the 1999 PGA Championship. There is grey in his goatee. There are scars from majors.

And there was a green jacket on his shoulders.

It looked as though it belonged there all along.

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Sergio Garcia finally showed he has what it takes to win a major, and he has a green jacket to prove it.

Needing his best golf on just about every shot in the final hour at the Masters, Garcia overcame a two-shot deficit with six holes to play and beat Justin Rose in a sudden-death playoff Sunday for his first major after nearly two decades of heartache.

No one ever played more majors as a pro – 70 – before winning one for the first time.

Garcia got rid of the demons and the doubts with two big moments on the par 5s – one a par, the other an eagle – in closing with a 3-under 69. It was never easy until the end, when Rose sent his drive into the trees on the 18th hole in the playoff, punched out and failed to save par from 15 feet.

That gave the 37-year-old Spaniard two putts from 12 feet for the victory, and his putt swirled into the cup for a birdie. He crouched in disbelief, and shouted above the loudest roar of the day.

The winning putt. #themasters pic.twitter.com/b0lEPfBKxM

— Masters Tournament (@TheMasters) April 9, 2017

Rose, who also closed with a 69, lovingly patted Garcia’s cheek before they embraced. Rose then tapped Garcia on the heart, which turned out to be a lot bigger than anyone realized.

“Ser-gee-oh! Ser-gee-oh!” the delirious gallery chanted to Garcia, who couldn’t contain his emotion.

Garcia turned with his arms to his side, blew a kiss to the crowd and then crouched again and slammed his fist into the turf of the green.

All that Spanish passion was on display, raw as ever, this time sheer joy.

Garcia became the third Spaniard in a green jacket, winning on what would have been the 60th birthday of the late Seve Ballesteros. And it was Jose Maria Olazabal, who won the Masters in 1994 and 1999, who sent him a text on the eve of the Masters telling Garcia to believe and “to not let things get to me like I’ve done in the past.”

He didn’t get down after missing a 6-foot putt on the 16th hole, or missing a 5-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole in regulation.

His chin was up and he battled to the end.

“If there’s anyone to lose to, it’s Sergio. He deserves it,” Rose said. “He’s had his fair share of heartbreak.”

This was shaping up as another, especially after Garcia watched a three-shot lead disappear as quickly as it took Rose to run off three straight birdies on the front nine.

Tied going to the back nine, Garcia immediately fell two shots behind with wild shots into the pine straw bed under the trees. Rose was poised to deliver a knockout on the par-5 13th when Garcia went left beyond the creek and into a bush. He had to take a penalty shot to get out and hit his third shot 89 yards short of the green. Rose was just over the back of the green in two, on the verge of turning a two-shot lead into four.

Everyone figured this was coming, right? Garcia himself had said, in a moment of self-pity, that he didn’t have what it takes to win a major. Four times he was runner-up. This was his third time playing in the final group.

But right when it looked to be over, momentum shifted to Garcia.

He hit wedge to 7 feet and escaped with par. Rose rolled his chip down to 5 feet and missed the birdie putt. The lead stayed at two shots but not for long. Garcia birdied the 14th. His 8-iron into the par-5 15th landed inches in front of the hole and nicked the pin, and he holed the 14-foot eagle putt to tie for the lead.

Rose took the lead with an 8-foot birdie on the 16th and gave it back by missing a 7-foot par putt on the 18th.

Not since 1998 have the last two players on the course gone to the 18th tied for the lead, and both had their chances to win. Rose’s approach hit off the side of the bunker and kicked onto the green, stopping 7 feet away. Garcia answered with a wedge that covered the flag and settled 5 feet away.

Both missed.

The playoff didn’t last long. Rose was in trouble from the start with an errant tee shot, and Garcia didn’t waste the opportunity.

Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., in his first Masters, finished in a tie for 36th place.

Former Masters champion Charl Schwartzel birdied the 18th for a 68 to finish third. Matt Kuchar made a hole-in-one on the 16th that gave him hope but not for very long. He tied for fourth with Thomas Pieters, who ran off four birdies on the back nine.

Jordan Spieth, starting the final round only two shots behind, put another tee shot into the water on No. 12 long after it mattered. He had to birdie three of his last four holes for a 75. Also an afterthought was Rickie Fowler, who started one shot behind and shot 76.

All that mattered was Garcia and Rose, who delivered a final hour as compelling as any at Augusta National.

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Justin Rose had a back-nine charge so common at Augusta National. Sergio Garcia finally caught a good break in a major. Jordan Spieth got his name high on those famous white leaderboards, the only spot he has ever occupied on the weekend at the Masters.

Saturday had something for everyone at the Masters, including the promise of more to come.

“Saturday’s gone and now Sunday’s coming – a very exciting Sunday,” Garcia said after making a 7-foot par putt on the final hole for a 2-under 70 to share the lead with Rose. “Just make sure we have a good chance coming into the last five or six holes, and see what happens.”

Garcia, the most vexed player without a major in his generation, hung his head when a 4-iron from the first cut of rough on the par-5 13th came out soft and disappeared into the tributary of Rae’s Creek in front of the green. Just his luck, the ball bounced softly off the bank and stayed up, and from there the Spaniard hit a tough chip to tap-in range to turn potential bogey into a birdie.

Three rounds are in the books and the stage is set for a Sunday showdown. #themasters pic.twitter.com/0d7431r1nL

— Masters Tournament (@TheMasters) April 9, 2017

Rose was an afterthought, five shots behind, when his tee shot to a left pin on the par-3 12th dropped in 5 feet from the hole for the first of five birdies on the back nine. He took care of the par 5s and then finished with a 20-foot birdie on the 17th and a 12-footer birdie on the 18th for a Saturday-best 67.

Rose has a share of the 54-hole lead for the first time in a major. He also has a U.S. Open title from Merion and an Olympic gold medal from Rio. And when he surveyed the landscape, he’s not sure any of that matters.

There is too much golf left. There are too many capable players. Too much can happen around this place.

“A one-shot lead starting the day doesn’t mean much,” Rose said. “You’re going to have to go out and play a good round of golf, and I think there’s going to be four or five guys pretty much with the same mindset tomorrow.”

Rose and Garcia were at 6-under 210, and that one-shot lead they share was over Rickie Fowler, who has never been this close to the lead in a major going into the final round. Fowler also has never felt better about his game or his chances.

He didn’t do anything special except to birdie all the par 5s to offset a few miscues in his round of 71.

“I don’t think anyone is going to put themselves far enough out front where they can cruise in,” Fowler said.

Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., was 8 over after a 75.

Perhaps the most daunting name at Augusta National was Spieth, who began this Masters with a quadruple-bogey 9 on the 15th hole of the opening round and was 10 shots out of the lead when he trudged off the course on Thursday.

He went 29 straight holes without a bogey until a three-putt from below the ridge on the par-3 16th. By then, he already was squarely back in the mix with a few good bounces and his frightening touch on the greens. He also pulled off a shot from the pine straw on the 13th by telling his caddie, “What would Arnie do?”

It was his way of saying Arnold Palmer would go for it, and his way of letting Michael Greller know that Spieth was feeling it. He drilled a 5-iron into 30 feet and narrowly missed the eagle putt. Two holes later, he nearly holed a wedge from the 15th fairway.

Spieth had a two-shot lead with 11 holes to play in his Masters debut in 2014 and was runner-up to Bubba Watson. He went wire-to-wire to win in 2015. And he threw away a five-shot lead on the back nine last year for another runner-up finish.

Here he is again.

“Waking up and you have a chance to win your favourite tournament that you’ve dreamt of winning and competing in since you were a kid, and to be able to have your fourth opportunity now … I didn’t know going into my first one if I would have five chances in my life,” Spieth said. “So it’s awesome.”

Spieth was tied with Ryan Moore (69) and Charley Hoffman, who led for much of the day until he put his tee shot into the water on the par-3 16th and made double bogey. Hoffman battled for par on the last hole to stay just two shots behind.

Only 10 players remained under par, all of them separated by five shots. That group included former Masters champions Adam Scott (69) and Charl Schwartzel (68). Lee Westwood, a runner-up last year, also had a 68 and was five shots back.

“It just the great players in front, and in conditions like this, it’s going to be hard because you’re going to have to make it happen,” Scott said.

That’s the allure of Augusta National, and it’s never more appealing than when so many top players are right there with a chance. That includes Garcia, who has had close calls in every major he has played except the Masters – until now.

“It’s the kind of place that if you are trying to fight against it, it’s going to beat you down,” Garcia said. “So you’ve just got to roll with it and realize that sometimes you’re going to get good breaks, like has happened to me a few times this week, and sometimes you’re going to get not so good breaks. But at the end of the day, that’s part of the game.”

And it’s a big part of Augusta National, which could prove to be the ultimate challenge.

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Fred Couples isn’t concerned about 57.

Not when he’s shooting 70 on another challenging day at Augusta National.

Showing he can still keep up with the kids, Couples put himself in contention Friday at the site of his only major championship a quarter-century ago.

Not that it should be surprising to anyone.

The 57-year-old has been a perennial challenger at the Masters since becoming eligible for the PGA Tour Champions. Couples led after the opening round in 2010. He was on top at the midway point in 2012. He was second heading to the weekend in 2013.

Now, after sitting out a year ago because of a chronic back issue, he’s back in that familiar spot again – just three shots off the lead after posting a 2-under-par score, even as another dose of swirling winds made life miserable for a bunch of younger players.

“I really know the course very well,” Couples said. “I feel like my age is still OK, because I can drive it far enough. I’m not long like I used to be on this kind of course, but it still plays where I can reach a lot of these greens with shorter clubs to make the ball stop around the hole.”

Couples made six birdies, the last of them at No. 18 to close his round with a flourish.

After a 272-yard drive gave him a peek at the green around the towering Georgia pines, he stuck his approach 2 feet from the flag for a tap-in. It left him at 1-under 143 through 36 holes, within striking distance of a lead pack comprised of Sergio Garcia, Rickie Fowler, Charley Hoffman and Thomas Pieters.

That final hole was especially important because it came after back-to-back bogeys.

“I had what I thought was really good yardage, and the only problem was that I made two really bad bogeys in a row,” Couples said. “I was kind of thinking, ‘Where do I want to hit this?’ It hit in the flat part of the green and went up the hill and was circling back toward the hole, and the crowd was kind of going crazy. Very nice to finish with a birdie.”

The challenge for Couples is to keep it going through the weekend. Over his last eight Saturday and Sunday rounds at Augusta, he’s broken par only one time. That’s not surprising, no one in their 50s has won a major golf championship.

But it’s clear Couples still knows his way around this place, where experience is such a huge factor.

“I’m a competitor, so I like to believe in myself,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of good finishes here, and my goal is to keep fighting with these guys.”

Can he win?

He’s not ready to go there.

Not yet anyway.

“I’m not going to be thinking about winning the tournament until Sunday or the back nine on Sunday,” he said. “I’ve got a long way to go before I worry about that.”

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Sergio Garcia is learning to accept life as it comes, to not get too upset when things don’t go his way.

Sounds admirable enough.

Except when one is trying to finally win a major championship that should’ve been in the trophy case years ago.

Garcia has played magnificently over his first two rounds at Augusta National – a bogey-free performance in the face of howling winds Thursday, a 3-under 69 in conditions that were still quite challenging Friday – yet there’s still a sense he has no idea what it takes to win one of golf’s biggest events.

He’ll head to the weekend with a chance to finally stamp himself as one of the greats.

Watch @TheSergioGarcia's second round in under three minutes. #themasters pic.twitter.com/1zkXVJqwzK

— Masters Tournament (@TheMasters) April 7, 2017

But he already seems to be steeling himself for the inevitable failure.

“Having a chance is the best thing,” Garcia said, before adding, almost as an afterthought, “and winning it, I’m sure, it’s amazing.”

He talked of how fortunate he’s been to play in 70 consecutive majors, a remarkable accomplishment indeed. But it’s not what a player should be harping on when, once again, he’s in position to win one.

“I don’t even know how many there are, but so many majors in a row and giving myself a lot of chances to win them,” Garcia said, “that for me is already a win.”

Maybe in his mind.

That sort of attitude is a big reason why he’s managed to finish in the top 10 of the majors a staggering 22 times without even once coming away with a green jacket or a claret jug or a Wanamaker Trophy or that unnamed silver prize they give to the U.S. Open champion.

Garcia isn’t just the best active player never to win a major.

He’s probably the most talented player – of any era – to miss out on one of the titles that transform a good career into greatness.

“If we can put the cherry on top,” Garcia said, his follow-up delivered with not a hint of urgency, “that would be even better.”

Can you ever imagine Ben Hogan or Jack Nicklaus or Tiger Woods saying something like that in the prime of their careers?

No way.

For them – and any great athlete, really – winning is the only thing that matters, the only thing that anyone remembers.

If there’s any hope for Garcia, at least he sounds a bit more positive than he did at this same place five years ago. After shooting himself into contention the first two days, he fell off the board with a 75 in the third round.

In a brutal self-assessment, he declared to Spanish reporters: “I’m not good enough. In 13 years, I’ve come to the conclusion that I need to play for second or third place.”

Ouch.

After finishing up the next day, tied for 12th and an afterthought, Garcia was asked if he really meant what he said or had just gotten caught up in the frustration of the moment.

He didn’t back down.

“Do you think I lie when I talk?” Garcia shot back. “Everything I say, I say it because I feel it. If I didn’t mean it, I couldn’t stand here and lie like a lot of the guys. If I felt like I could win, I would do it. Unfortunately at the moment, unless I get really lucky in one of the weeks, I can’t really play much better than I played this week and I’m going to finish 13th or 15th.”

He’s 37 now, hardly over the hill but his head and beard now tinged with a bit of grey. Certainly, he’s no longer a vivacious teenager bounding up the fairway after pulling off a remarkable shot from behind a tree at Medinah, a runner-up to Woods in a memorable PGA Championship that everyone figured was a mere delaying of the inevitable.

Back in 1999, it would’ve been impossible to find anyone who doubted that Garcia would someday be a major champion. The only question seemed to be how many titles he would win.

Now, he’ll gladly take one.

Mark O’Meara holds the record for playing in the most Masters (15) before finally picking up his first victory.

This is Garcia’s 19th appearance at Augusta National.

“Things have definitely changed,” he said. “I think I’m a little bit calmer now. I think that I’m working on trying to accept things which can happen here and can happen anywhere. It’s part of golf. It’s not easy. It’s much easier to say than to do it. But that’s the challenge we always have, you know, making sure that you accept the bad moments or the bad breaks with the good ones, and kind of move on.”

To his credit, Garcia didn’t flinch when a scoring error briefly showed that he made triple-bogey at the 10th instead of a bogey.

“The most important thing is I knew where I stood,” he said. “I knew I wasn’t 1 under. I knew I was 3 under.”

He finished at 4-under 140, tied for the lead with three others midway through the tournament.

Afterward, Garcia was asked again about that 2012 meltdown, when he seemed resigned to a fate of never winning the big one.

He tried to sound more optimistic.

“I probably didn’t accept things as well as I should have,” Garcia said. “I’ve shown myself many times after that, that I can contend and I can truly feel like I can win – not only one, but more than one.”

That’s the way he needs to be thinking.

He just didn’t sound all the persuasive.

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Rickie Fowler finally got to the top of the leaderboard in a major and didn’t have much of a view.

Right next to him was Charley Hoffman, playing in the final group going into the weekend at the Masters for the second time in three years. Sergio Garcia knew the score when no one else did and had his first share of the lead in his 19th time playing Augusta National. Not to be overlooked was Thomas Pieters of Belgium, a real threat to become the first Masters rookie since 1979 to leave with a green jacket.

And those were just the co-leaders in the largest 36-hole logjam at the Masters in 44 years.

Even more daunting were the players lined up behind them – Jordan Spieth and Phil Mickelson among four Masters champions, Olympic gold medallist Justin Rose, Spanish rookie sensation Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy, missing only this major for the career Grand Slam.

“It’s going to be a fun weekend,” Fowler said after a 5-under 67, the best score of another wind-swept day. “We’re going to see a lot of good golf and battle it out.”

Friday’s second round at #themasters was the survival of the fittest. pic.twitter.com/JherxTvXu5

— Masters Tournament (@TheMasters) April 8, 2017

Two days of survival gives way to a shootout among some of golf’s biggest stars.

In conditions just as demanding as the opening round, Fowler holed out a bunker shot for eagle on his second hole, quickly moved into the lead pack and secured his spot in a share of the lead with a tricky birdie putt from the collar of the 16th green.

Garcia, playing his 70th consecutive major and still looking for that first victory to define an otherwise strong career, wasn’t the least bit bothered by seeing the wrong score for him on a leaderboard behind the 13th green when a penalty for a lost ball was mistakenly attributed to him. He bounced back from a bogey behind the 13th green by firing a 3-iron across the water and into the wind to the 15th green for a two-putt birdie. He shot a 69.

Pieters moved to the top by hitting off the pine straw and over a tributary of Rae’s Creek to 12 feet for eagle on No. 13, and he followed with a wedge to 4 feet for birdie on the 14th to shoot 68. Hoffman lost his four-shot lead in 11 holes before he steadied himself the rest of the way and limited the damage to a 75.

The leaders were at 4-under 140.

Hoffman will be in the final group going into the weekend at the Masters for the second time in three years, with one big difference. Two years ago, Hoffman was five shots behind Spieth in what turned out to be a runaway for the young Texan.

This time, the Masters appears to be up for grabs.

The wind began to subside as the pines cast long shadows across the course late in the afternoon, and the forecast is close to perfection for the rest of the weekend, with mild temperatures and hardly any wind.

That won’t make it any less exhausting, not with 15 players separated by only five shots.

The last time there was a four-way tie for the lead at the halfway point of the Masters was in 1973, when Bob Dickson, Gay Brewer, J.C. Snead and Tommy Aaron were tied at 3-under 141. Aaron went on to claim his only green jacket.

Hoffman had a chance to keep his distance until he ran off five bogeys in a six-hole stretch, including a three-putt from 4 feet at the par-5 eighth.

“Everybody was talking about how great that round was yesterday, but it was pretty easy to me – making putts, hitting good, solid golf shots,” Hoffman said. “Today I think I sort of felt how hard it was for everybody else in this wind when you got out of position.”

Garcia only really got out of position on the scoreboard.

His tee shot on No. 10 clipped a tree and shot back into the fairway, while Shane Lowry also hit a tree and couldn’t find it. Both were wearing dark sweaters during the search, and the scorers were confused with who lost the ball. Garcia made bogey, dropping him to 3 under. A few holes later, however, it was changed to 1 under on the scoreboard, and Garcia pointed to the board behind the 13th green.

It eventually was fixed, though that was of no concern to the 37-year-old Spaniard.

“The most important thing is I knew where I stood,” Garcia said.

And he knows the score that everyone talks about – 70 majors as a pro without a victory, and enough close calls to make him wonder if he’ll ever get it done.

Adam Hadwin is the only Canadian to make the cut. The Abbotsford, B.C., product shots a 2-over 74 and is 5 over. Mike Weir, the 2003 champion from Brights Grove, Ont., shot a 79 and finished 11 over. Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., shot 80 and ended at 15 over.

Spieth, undone by a quadruple bogey in the opening round, started slowly and finished strong with birdies on the 16th and 18th for a 69. Adam Scott, the 2013 Masters champion, also had a 69 and joined Spieth at 144.

“We’re in a position now where we can go out there and win this thing and certainly make a run,” Spieth said. “So that right there just kind of gives me chills, because after yesterday I was really disappointed in being 10 shots off the lead.”

And right there with them was Mickelson, who can become the oldest Masters champion. The 46-year-old Mickelson was one shot behind until he sputtered down the stretch with three bogeys and two par saves over his last five holes for a 73.

“If I can have a good putting weekend, I’m going to have a good chance,” he said.

Him and everyone else.

AUGUSTA, Ga. – The Masters began Thursday with two ceremonial tee shots and one empty chair.

In a sombre tribute to Arnold Palmer, who died in September, Augusta National chairman Billy Payne escorted Palmer’s widow to the first tee for the honorary start. Payne also carried Palmer’s green jacket and draped it over a chair where Palmer had sat last April.

This is the first Masters without the King since 1954.

“The almost unbearable sadness we feel at the passing of Arnold is surpassed only by the love and affection for him that will always reside in our heart,” Payne said as thousands crammed around the first tee on a crisp morning full of sunshine and wind.

Every fan through the gate received a button that said, “I am a member of Arnie’s Army.”

Payne asked for a moment of silence so everyone could remember their own experience with Palmer – did anyone in golf have more friends? – and then turned it over to Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player for the ceremonial tee shots.

Player, who jokingly asked for a mulligan at age 81, drilled one down the middle. Nicklaus got him by about 5 yards, though Player was quick to announce it as a tie.

That’s how it was among the “Big Three” – Palmer, Nicklaus and Player, whose 34 majors among them included one stretch in the 1960s in which they combined to win the Masters seven straight times. They were best of friends off the course and hated losing to one another on the course.

Palmer had been part of the honorary start since 2007. He was so feeble a year ago that he did not hit a drive, though he still came out to the first tee and watched from a chair.

That’s what stood out the most to Player.

“Arnold was a great stickler for manners, and I’ll never forget, which really reminded me on the first tee this morning,” Player said. “Arnold could hardly walk to the first tee and he put his arms like this, and he stood up like this.”

To demonstrate, Player placed his hands on the side of his chair and lifted himself up.

“Because he had been taught to stand up,” Player said. “And he gave a little wave, and that was very touching to me, and I could see him doing it in that chair today.”

Brad Dalke, the U.S. Amateur runner-up, didn’t tee off until 11:30 a.m. and wanted to be sure he was out under the oak tree to see the honorary start. Rickie Fowler and William McGirt were among the players who came out to watch.

“I wouldn’t want to miss this,” Dalke said.

The “Big Three” has been referenced in recent years whenever three players separate themselves, if only briefly. The original concept had as much to do with marketing because Palmer, Nicklaus and Player were managed by Mark McCormack at IMG and would travel the world competing in exhibitions.

But it was as much about friendship.

“There will be other ‘Big Threes,’ but I don’t know if you’ll ever have another ‘Big Three’ that will live together like we did,” Player said. “I was in Jack’s home for weeks, and Arnold was in my home and Jack visited my farm time and time again. I was in their airplane. We really lived our life together. … Now, will that happen again with three guys? Possibly, I don’t know.

“It’s hard to be highly competitive against people and have a great friendship,” Player said. “And yet I sit here today and Jack Nicklaus is my best friend in the world.”

And they still are competitive, even after one shot.

Nicklaus was asked if he hit his driver farther than Player.

“Well, the official word was that it was a little past,” Nicklaus said “But Gary is claiming a tie.”