Stenson loses way at Augusta

Lee Westwood found himself leading The Masters again after Henrik Stenson crashed from six under par to one under in almost a blink of the eye on his 36th birthday at Augusta National today.

While Westwood, making his 56th attempt to win a major, had four birdies in a row from the fifth and turned in 32, former Ryder Cup team-mate Stenson - spectacularly good for 15 holes – followed a three-putt bogey on the short 16th with a quadruple-bogey eight at the last.

In trouble off the tee, he then topped his third shot, went over the green, left his chip on the fringe and three-putted once more.

The Swede was not the only one to hit trouble – Rory McIlroy’s return to the course started with a double bogey and world number one Luke Donald was faring even worse.

Tiger Woods was one under with one hole remaining and Scot Paul Lawrie, playing the event for the first time since 2004, eagled the 13th and 15th for a three-under 69 that set the early clubhouse target.

The 1999 Open champion, now 43, had never broken 70 in 14 previous rounds and had not managed an eagle either in 264 previous holes at the venue for the season’s first major.

Westwood led with nine to play before slipping back to sixth in 1999, and two years ago it was only an inspired closing 67 from Phil Mickelson – one over after six like McIlroy today – that denied him.

McIlroy’s hopes of making full amends for his closing 80 last April had taken an immediate nosedive.

The 22-year-old Northern Irishman, who went from four ahead to 10 behind in the most harrowing experience of his young golfing life, came back to win the US Open by eight shots two months later.

Yet he had still been asked about possible demons at Augusta earlier this week and he gave himself another bad memory by driving into the right-hand trees, failing to make it back to the fairway off the pine straw and then three-putting.

At least the second-ranked player in golf birdied the long next, but even after that a look at the leaderboard told him how much ground he already had to make up – although it became considerably fewer shots after Stenson’s late crash.

With two to play, Donald was four over and not even in the top 75 in a tournament featuring only 95 players after the injury withdrawals of Dustin Johnson and Mark O’Meara.

He birdied the second and eighth, the two par fives on the outward half, but there were also six bogeys in his first 13 holes.

For his two eagles, Lawrie first of all hit a rescue club to three feet on the 13th and then he chipped in from 45 feet at the 15th.

He refused to let a closing bogey spoil his mood – especially as he was not even certain to be playing after going down with bronchitis three weeks ago - and it was three better than Stenson managed on the hole.

“I’m still a little bit weak and not quite 100%,” Lawrie said. “I’ve played only nine holes every day (in practice) and worked a lot on my short game.

“I’m trying to keep it low key. I’m not thinking about winning at all – I’m three behind already!”

That was before Stenson did what he did, however.

Four-time champion Woods, the pre-tournament favourite after winning at Bay Hill a fortnight ago, saved par from the left-hand trees on the first two holes - he had to take a penalty drop on the long second – and holed from nine feet for birdie at the third.

A birdie at the 10th took him to two under, but he missed out on birdies at the two inward par fives.

Through the green in two on the 13th, he failed to get up and down from the sand, while at 15 another drive left forced him to lay up short of the water. He then had another bogey on the 17th.

Despite the soft conditions and no significant wind, the course was still presenting a real challenge for some – and nobody more than Britain’s first winner Sandy Lyle.

The 1988 champion, now 54, went to the turn in a 10-over-par 46 and then double-bogeyed the 11th.

Fellow Scot Martin Laird was four over with five to play, England’s Simon Dyson five over after 13 and compatriot Paul Casey started for home two over, along with 1991 winner Ian Woosnam.

Open champion Darren Clarke, who came into the event with a groin strain, was one over after six and fellow Northern Irishman Graeme McDowell stood on the same mark with 11 holes remaining.

Woods paid for yet another bad drive down the last. He had to take a penalty drive just as he had on the second and did well to salvage a second successive bogey.

It meant a level par 72, the same as defending champion Charl Schwartzel and England’s Justin Rose.

“I hit some of the worst shots I’ve ever hit,” Woods admitted.

“It was some of my old stuff from a few years ago – every now and again it pops up.

“I just wanted to keep grinding and I hung in there. I maybe could have shot one or better, but I got a lot out of it.”

As he headed off to the practice range to try to find a fix he was only three behind when Westwood failed to get up and down from off the 10th green and bogeyed to fall into a five-way tie with Lawrie, Jimenez – second man to break 70 – Francesco Molinari and Bubba Watson.

McIlroy, meanwhile, was alongside Woods when he made a seven-foot birdie putt on the long eighth.

McIlroy was right back into things when he also birdied the ninth to turn in a one under 35 - no mean feat after that opening six - and that brought him to the hole he triple-bogeyed a year ago.

Rather than going left this time he went way right, but from there he was able to slice his ball close to the green and a chip to three feet enabled him to save par.

Mickelson, who bogeyed the ninth for one over, was the one to go left off the next tee and it was not found in the permitted five minutes.

Mickelson's big blunder led to the same triple bogey McIlroy took on the hole and at four over he was seven behind and joint 75th.