Langer comes unglued at 15th
AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Bernhard Langer's bid to become the oldest Masters champion was a spirited one, but it evaporated where many a dream has fallen short -- in the water in front of the par-5 15th.
The two-time Masters champion started the day tied for fourth, at 3 under and three shots back, but he went to the turn in 35 and was very much in the thick of things. But with Ernie Els going eagle-birdie at the 13th and 15th holes, Langer was losing ground and needed to make things happen. He nearly did with a birdie at the par-4 14th to get to 5 under, but a poor drive right at the 15th cost him dearly, because when his pitch-out hit a tree branch, the German was left with 230 yards in.
He gambled by trying to hit a long iron out of the second cut, and lost when the ball hit the bank in front of the green and trickled back into the water.
"I needed to make some birdies," said Langer, who at one time on the outward nine was 4 under and tied for the lead. "So I decided to be aggressive."
It led to a double bogey and even though he bounced back to birdie the par-3 16th, Langer bogeyed the 17th and shot 72--285, good for a share of fourth. It's his eighth Top 10 in 22 starts in the tournament.
Though Langer has made the cut in all nine starts this season and finished Top 10 three times, the European Ryder Cup captain for September's matches repeated that he will not put himself into the action.
"I said that before. I don't know why people keep asking," he said.
And what keeps him going strong at 46? "I like the competition."
Aces were wild Padraig Harrington, who won the par-3 contest Wednesday, waited four days before showing off that short-game magic, though he delighted the folks down in the hollow at the 16th with an ace. It was the eighth hole-in-one at that hole, though the patrons barely got in their seats when the ninth one appeared. Playing one group behind Harrington, Kirk Triplett also made an ace. Factoring in the ace Chris DiMarco had at the fourth in Round 1, it's the first time in Masters history that there have been three aces in the same year . . . Harrington actually had a poor week on the par 3s, going 4 over. He made the ace and one birdie (at the 12th), but had a double at the 12th in Round 4. Harrington also tied for the championship of the par-3 contest in 2003, so he has been personally responsible for the continuance of the hex. Since the par-3 contest began in 1960, no one who has won has gone on to win the Masters in the same year . . . The ace helped Harrington shoot 72--288, tied for 13th. Triplett finished 72--286 and was tied for sixth. It was Triplett's second Top 10 finish in six starts here . . . Paul Casey started the day 4 under, just two off the lead, but he shot 74--286 and settled into a share of sixth. Still, "this gives me a real taste for it," said the young Englishman, who made the cut for just the second time in five starts in majors. "I handled the nerves very well today."
New kids on block With Phil Mickelson's win, the streak of first-time major winners is now at six, and if you are wondering the last time that happened, you have to go back to 1883-88. The current streak goes back to the PGA Championship in 2001, when Rich Beem won. He was followed in 2003 by Mike Weir, Masters; Jim Furyk, US Open; Ben Curtis, British Open; Shaun Micheel, PGA Championship; and now Mickelson, who accepted his green jacket from another lefthander, Weir . . . With Mickelson's birdie at the 18th giving him a 69, it meant that eight sub-70 rounds were posted on the final day. There were just three Thursday, seven Friday, and nine more Saturday, a total of 27 for four days. The best of all belonged to Sergio Garcia, whose back-side 31 highlighted a 66--285 that allowed the Spaniard to go from T-20 to joint fourth. Garcia's round included an eagle at the 15th that was a few rolls shy of dropping for a double eagle. Starting at the 12th, Garcia went birdie-birdie-bogey-eagle-birdie-birdie-par. His bid for a 45-foot birdie putt on the 18th came to a stop on the lip. Garcia was the clubhouse leader -- but for just a short while.
Eagle-eyed The goblet is in the mail, the "sixth or seventh one" Brad Faxon said he has earned with an eagle at the Masters. He got it at the 15th Saturday, but it was his effort in Round 4 that left the Rhode Islander smiling. "I'm pleased with the 71," he said. "It's a good round around here. Not a great one, but I drove it pretty good." Starting the day 8 over and tied for 41st, he pushed into a share of 31st at 7-over 295. He bogeyed the par-3 sixth for the third straight day, but got birdies at the seventh and eighth, then shook off a bogey at the 12th with a brilliant pitch-and-run to set up a tap-in birdie at the 15th. As for the goblets, Faxon said he's got them set up and "people like getting a drink in it, I'll tell you that." . . . The other New Englander in the field, Tim Petrovic (Newington, Conn.), came home in 78--300. Just don't think he was going through the motions, because he was doing his homework. "I was making notes," said Petrovic, who was thrilled to make the cut in his first appearance here. "Even though I wasn't scoring well, I was making notes." Double bogeys at the par-4 third and par-4 ninth did the bulk of the damage as Petrovic went to the turn in 42 . . . Casey Wittenberg shot one of those subpar rounds, a 69--288 that left him in a tie for 13th, easily winning him low amateur honors. It was the best finish for an amateur since Charlie Coe was third in 1962. Wittenberg earned an invite to the 2005 tournament . . . The other amateur was Brandt Snedeker, who closed with a 77--300. In Round 1, Snedeker went birdie-birdie-birdie around Amen Corner, but he played those holes (11, 12, 13) in 3 over the rest of the week.
A friendly group Good friends Davis Love and Fred Couples were paired together and they matched 70s to come in at 2-under 286, tied for sixth. They each went birdie-birdie-birdie at Nos. 13-15, but Love bogeyed the 16th and Couples the par-4 18th. Couples has now made the cut in all 20 starts in the Masters, a feat some find remarkable, though he doesn't. "If I made the cut 20 times at a US Open, that would be remarkable," said Couples. "But this course? I know it." . . . Jay Haas, 12th in the Ryder Cup standings, needed a strong finish to push up the leaderboard and secure some coveted points, but he didn't get it. Haas, 50, who is trying to become the oldest player to qualify for a Ryder Cup team, was tied for ninth to start, but he shot 73--289 and fell into joint 17th. Only Top 10 finishes earn Ryder Cup points.
