Rory out to wreck Couples’ weekend
Twenty years on, the Major champions separated by 30 years in age will be among a diverse group of golfers vying this weekend for glory in an intriguing contest at the 2012 Masters.
This roller coaster of a Major took a few more fascinating twists and turns yesterday before leaving Couple, 52, and fellow American Jason Dufner, 35, as the clubhouse leaders on five under par. The pair were one stroke clear of Ireland’s McIlroy, South African Louis Oosthuizen, England’s Lee Westwood, Spain’s Sergio Garcia and Bubba Watson of the United States, all of whom had completed 36 holes on a day that had begun in very chilly conditions before warming considerably over the course of the day, albeit breezy throughout.
McIlroy had birdied the last two holes on Thursday for an opening 70 and yesterday he added a three-under 69, getting his day off on the right foot this time with a fairway-splitting drive that banished thoughts of a first-round double bogey at the hole.
His round really fired with back-to-back birdies at the third and fourth holes, the latter coming courtesy of 40-foot putt at the long par-three. Another birdie followed at the seventh as the US Open champion nailed his iron-shot approach and then sank a 15-foot putt.
McIlroy’s first bogey of the day came at the 10th but he responded in style with birdies at both the par-fives on the back nine, the 13th and 15th, to join the leaders, only to bogey 17 having sent his tee shot right behind trees, moving the ball left with his second into sand and then two-putting from around nine feet.
“Just from the get-go this morning, I think the two birdies helped last night, put me in a positive frame of mind going into today,” McIlroy said. “I hit the ball a lot better. Had a great drive up one and sort of went from there.
“I ended up shooting 69, which I thought was a good score today in these conditions.”
Asked if he felt he had momentum heading into the weekend, McIlroy, who led at halfway last year, said: “Yeah, I do. It feels good. Yesterday felt a little bit tentative. Today felt better. And hopefully I can keep progressing through the weekend.
“I’m not leading, so that’s a bit different. I’m sort of in the pack. But it’s not a bad place to be.”
Couples, who had held off 49-year-old Raymond Floyd to win the ’92 Masters by two strokes, put himself in a position to become golf’s oldest Major winner with a second round that had started with a bogey at the par-four first. There was only one further blip after that, a bogey at the par-three sixth, and a whole lot of good stuff as Couples, cheered on by an appreciative audience, sank seven birdies to card a 67.
“I’m certainly not Rory McIlroy or Phil Mickelson, but I do know this course pretty well,” Couples said. “I’ve had a lot of success here but I have to come out tomorrow and not be too edgy. Can I win? I believe I can, yes.”
Westwood had begun the day with a one-shot lead following an opening five-under-par 67 that had equalled the Englishman’s best round in 13 trips to the Masters.
Westwood had lost the lead momentarily with a bogey at the par-four 11th, after a run of 10 pars, to leave Sweden’s Peter Hanson in pole position but he was quickly back into a share with a birdie at 12 and then out in front alone thanks to another at the par-five 15th. There was still another surprise though as the 18th, which had been baring its teeth all day, claimed the world No 3 as another victim, the double bogey stripping Westwood of the 36-hole lead and leaving Dufner and Couples as the joint front-runners.
Dufner, who had vied unsuccessfully with Keegan Bradley for the PGA Championship in Atlanta last August, was back in the Major mix again as he built on a first-round 69 with a 70 yesterday.
Of those a shot back, Oosthuizen, having started the day a shot off the lead following his first under-par round in four starts at Augusta, made his first cut in four starts, the 2010 British Open champion carding a 72 while Garcia, a top-12 finisher at the last three Majors, shot a 68 and Bubba Watson a 71, while Miguel Angel Jimenez was three under after 11 holes.
The Spaniard’s playing partner, Tiger Woods, was not faring so well, one over for the tournament following an opening 72.
It was destined to be a busy weekend with the projected cut falling at six over par and more than 60 players in the 90-plus field heading for safety. They included Pádraig Harrington, who was level par for his round after 16 holes, although world No 1 Luke Donald was flirting with disaster at five over for the week after 10 holes.
