There’s a lot of scores up there from the guys who have got the capability to shoot the low scores.All I do is shoot the best I can. And if it’s good enough at the end of the week to win, I’m a happy camper.’
Norman finished the day at 12 under par. Faldo was at eight under and David Frost and Phil Mickelson were at six under. With the leaders teeing off last in the second round, as was the custom at the time in the Masters, Mickelson had teed off in the last group alongside Norman. The left-hander bogeyed the first two holes and so dropped out of his overnight second place with a 73. As on Thursday, however, there was a dramatic birdie at the 18th, this time with a miracle recovery from the trees.
Janzen and Bob Tway were at five under after rounds of 71 and 72 respectively. Like everyone, Janzen was asked about trying to catch the runaway leader. ‘He’s the best player in the world and he’s going to be tough to catch,’ he said. ‘No one’s invincible. I know he wants to win this badly. The good news is that everyone else wants to win it badly, too. It’s quite a challenge. I think I’ll have to play the best 36 holes of golf I’ve ever played.’
At four under were Scott McCarron, Vijay Singh and Scott Hoch and at three under were Corey Pavin and Ian Woosnam. Pavin had the best round of the day with a 66 that included an inward half of 32. In the first round the 1995 US Open champion had bogeyed four holes in a row from the 2nd hole to be four over after only five holes of the tournament. He had played the next 31 holes in seven under. From 60th place after round one, he was now tied for tenth. He said he was inspired by Curtis Strange in 1985, who led during the final round after opening with an 80. ‘I had nowhere to go but up,’ Pavin said. ‘I like where I’m at, considering yesterday. If it doesn’t rain at all, we could very likely have single digits winning this tournament. I would not be surprised to see that happen.’ As it turned out, only one player finished better than single digits under par.
After Pavin’s 66, the next best score was the 67 of Faldo. Thencame the 68s of Frost, despite a double bogey six at the 10th hole, and Couples, while there were 69s for Norman, Woosnam and Steve Stricker. Couples had teed off at 8.36 in the morning after his opening 78. It was an hour he was not accustomed to playing at during Masters week. A fan favourite even before his victory in 1992, he would usually be selected for a later tee time on Thursday and would then be faring well enough in the tournament for the remainder of the week to be teeing off nearer, or after, lunch than breakfast. ‘First time in a while I’ve teed off before noon,’ Couples said. ‘The greens were really smooth. It was a lot of fun.’
His four-under round, including a double bogey at the 12th where he found the water, meant Couples made the cut, as he did for 23 years in a row between 1983 and 2007. That streak tied the record by Gary Player whose span was from 1959 to 1972. But what people were actually talking about was a rumoured altercation between Couples and Woosnam on the practice range before Thursday’s round. It was all denied, of course, with Woosnam calling it ‘rubbish’. Couples said: ‘I don’t know how I could get in a shoving match, maybe with some spectators but not with Woosie. He’s so easy-going and happy-go-lucky. I don’t know where that came from.’
Some suggestions were made. Woosnam said there might have been some ‘f-words’ flying around over some confusion with starting times for the par-three contest, while Couples said that he did have a playful shouting match with Davis Love’s wife Robin, a friend of long standing, and perhaps ‘someone was mistaking Woosie for Robin Love?’ Unlikely.
After going out in 37 in the second round, Woosnam was another to come home in 32. The 1991 champion and former world number one, all five-foot-four of him, was asked: ‘People have
Norman finished the day at 12 under par. Faldo was at eight under and David Frost and Phil Mickelson were at six under. With the leaders teeing off last in the second round, as was the custom at the time in the Masters, Mickelson had teed off in the last group alongside Norman. The left-hander bogeyed the first two holes and so dropped out of his overnight second place with a 73. As on Thursday, however, there was a dramatic birdie at the 18th, this time with a miracle recovery from the trees.
Janzen and Bob Tway were at five under after rounds of 71 and 72 respectively. Like everyone, Janzen was asked about trying to catch the runaway leader. ‘He’s the best player in the world and he’s going to be tough to catch,’ he said. ‘No one’s invincible. I know he wants to win this badly. The good news is that everyone else wants to win it badly, too. It’s quite a challenge. I think I’ll have to play the best 36 holes of golf I’ve ever played.’
At four under were Scott McCarron, Vijay Singh and Scott Hoch and at three under were Corey Pavin and Ian Woosnam. Pavin had the best round of the day with a 66 that included an inward half of 32. In the first round the 1995 US Open champion had bogeyed four holes in a row from the 2nd hole to be four over after only five holes of the tournament. He had played the next 31 holes in seven under. From 60th place after round one, he was now tied for tenth. He said he was inspired by Curtis Strange in 1985, who led during the final round after opening with an 80. ‘I had nowhere to go but up,’ Pavin said. ‘I like where I’m at, considering yesterday. If it doesn’t rain at all, we could very likely have single digits winning this tournament. I would not be surprised to see that happen.’ As it turned out, only one player finished better than single digits under par.
After Pavin’s 66, the next best score was the 67 of Faldo. Thencame the 68s of Frost, despite a double bogey six at the 10th hole, and Couples, while there were 69s for Norman, Woosnam and Steve Stricker. Couples had teed off at 8.36 in the morning after his opening 78. It was an hour he was not accustomed to playing at during Masters week. A fan favourite even before his victory in 1992, he would usually be selected for a later tee time on Thursday and would then be faring well enough in the tournament for the remainder of the week to be teeing off nearer, or after, lunch than breakfast. ‘First time in a while I’ve teed off before noon,’ Couples said. ‘The greens were really smooth. It was a lot of fun.’
His four-under round, including a double bogey at the 12th where he found the water, meant Couples made the cut, as he did for 23 years in a row between 1983 and 2007. That streak tied the record by Gary Player whose span was from 1959 to 1972. But what people were actually talking about was a rumoured altercation between Couples and Woosnam on the practice range before Thursday’s round. It was all denied, of course, with Woosnam calling it ‘rubbish’. Couples said: ‘I don’t know how I could get in a shoving match, maybe with some spectators but not with Woosie. He’s so easy-going and happy-go-lucky. I don’t know where that came from.’
Some suggestions were made. Woosnam said there might have been some ‘f-words’ flying around over some confusion with starting times for the par-three contest, while Couples said that he did have a playful shouting match with Davis Love’s wife Robin, a friend of long standing, and perhaps ‘someone was mistaking Woosie for Robin Love?’ Unlikely.
After going out in 37 in the second round, Woosnam was another to come home in 32. The 1991 champion and former world number one, all five-foot-four of him, was asked: ‘People have
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