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Masters

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Round 1 Quick Thoughts

Observations from Thursday at Augusta National.

BY ELI MILLERPublished: April, 2010

Fred Couples, shown at the Champions Tour's Toshiba Classic last month, posted a personal-best 66 at the Masters Thursday (PHOTO: Eddie Meeks).
• Tiger Woods (T7) couldn’t have asked for anything more. With one of the most heralded season debuts for any athlete ever, the Cypress native shot 68 — his best first-round score ever at Augusta National. He looked at ease and more relaxed, tipping his cap to the crowd and conversing frequently with playing partner K.J. Choi (T2). Tiger's mild club fling following a wayward approach on the par-4 14th wasn't that shocking considering the poor result, and it certainly ranked milder than some of his other recent tantrums. His round aside, it was simply amazing watching Woods on the course again after all that has transpired over the last four months. The swing looked as sharp as it did at the end of 2009, and if he manages to sink more putts (struggled a bit with 31 Thursday), he’ll be poised for a quick return to glory Sunday.

• The man who’s leading the first round of the Masters isn’t necessarily close to matching the hype Woods has, but Fred Couples shooting a Masters-low 66 still makes for a pretty tantalizing story. The 50-year-old La Quinta resident isn’t the first Champions Tour player to find himself in this situation — 59-year-old Tom Watson (T2) happens to be in major contention again this week, and the gleam of his British Open run last year hasn’t worn off yet. But Couples, whose career at Augusta has been marked by consistency (one win and tied with Gary Player for most consecutive cuts made, 23) and close calls (runner-up finish in 1998 after holding 54-hole lead, tied for third in 2006 after beginning final round one stroke behind lead), is hitting the ball as well as he ever has and making some putts along the way. And those Ecco tennis shoes with no socks take his cool persona to an even higher level, and that’s just, cool. Unless his back gives out or he loses feel on the greens, it’s tough to envision him stumbling down the leaderboard.

• It’s rare for Phil Mickelson (T2) to shoot a nearly blemish-free 67 in the first round of a major championship and be relegated to sidebar status. But Woods, Couples and Watson have stories that are simply bigger than Mickelson’s right now. Fortunately for Lefty, there’s a simple remedy — win. His current season has been marked by inconsistency, but the San Diegan engineered his best opening score of 2010, taking advantage of many scoring opportunities made only one bogey. Mickelson's 67 is his best opening-round score at Augusta since 2001. His first-round scores when he won his par of Green Jackets? An even-par 72 in 2004 and a 2-under 70 in 2006. Flying under the radar actually might be an advantageous for a player normally at the center of attention.

• How about another Southern California star flying immensely under the radar — that’s Anthony Kim (T7), who won last week’s Shell Houston Open on the PGA Tour and picked up where he left off with a 4-under 68 to kick off his second Masters appearance. Not surprisingly, that good-looking number was engineered in not-so-pretty fashion, as the Los Angeles native’s play oscillated like a seismograph needle: three birdies in last five holes on front nine, four bogeys and one eagles in first five holes of the back nine, three birdies in a row to close. Even when Kim broke a Masters record with 11 birdies in the second round last year, he tempered that mark with two bogeys and a double. If the streaky Kim can somehow limit the mistakes, he can remain in the hunt for his first major.

• John Merrick (T33) has enjoyed a ho-hum season, and at first glance his even-par 72 in the first round seems to further that trend. But the Long Beach native, who tied for sixth in his Masters debut a season ago and can head into the second round knowing exactly where he needs to improve — Amen Corner, where he made double bogey on the par-3 12th and a par on the easily reachable par-5 13th.

• Playing in his first Masters, former Diamond Bar resident Kevin Na (T50) struggled to generate any momentum. The 26-year-old made two birdies against four bogeys to shoot a 74. He’ll likely have to break par Friday in order to make the cut.

Check back to Southland Golf all week for more coverage of the Masters.

Visit masters.com for more coverage.


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Local Focus: How Southern Californians will fare at the 2010 Masters

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