Familiar territory for Rose
AUGUSTA, Ga. - As integral a staple to the Augusta National landscape as azaleas and Georgia pines, the roars returned to the Masters yesterday, though sporadic and in a series of improbable shapes - an ace at the sixth by Ian Poulter, a wild birdie putt from 60 feet off the first green by Phil Mickelson, and a ceremonial drive by Arnold Palmer last seen disappearing into the morning fog.
But despite the tremors of commotion, what dominated the first-round proceedings of the 72d Masters were the sounds of silence.
From Tiger Woods, who didn't make a birdie and needed an eagle at the par-5 15th to shoot even-par 72 and extend a perplexing skid: He hasn't broken 70 in 14 first rounds of the Masters.
From Geoff Ogilvy, one of two players without a subpar hole in his round of 75.
From Charles Howell, who required 41 strokes to play the back as he shot 78.
From Adam Scott (75) and Sergio Garcia (76), who combined for four birdies.
And from last year's major champs, Angel Cabrera and Padraig Harrington, who combined for six bogeys and a double bogey to produce scores of 73 and 74, respectively.
Scoring chances were to be had on a day that featured brilliant sunshine sandwiched between fog and darkness. But those who took advantage were an eclectic mix of unheralded names, struggling souls, and blasts from the past.
All in all, a very strange Masters day, for it began an hour late because of fog. That is why Justin Rose, your co-leader with Trevor Immelman at 4-under-par 68, searched hard before offering a description of the proceedings: "A very wise thing to do on the first day, to keep the golf course on the easier side of tough."
For a guy who was 2 over through four holes before running off four consecutive birdies starting at the par-3 sixth, it might have been Rose's most succinct delivery of the day, for colleagues seemed to agree. Although the course was a severe challenge, given that devilish hole locations were placed to combat soft conditions, opportunities were there. It's a situation the players don't expect to continue.
"This is as easy as it's going to play for the week," said Arron Oberholser (71), one of 18 players to break par on a day when the field average was 74.18. Rose and Immelman took it the deepest, while first-time Masters participant Brian Bateman was tied with first-time professional Masters participant Brandt Snedeker and Lee Westwood at 69. Jim Furyk bogeyed the par-4 18th and fell to 70, tied with defending champ Zach Johnson, Stephen Ames, Robert Karlsson, and Poulter, whose hole-in-one at the 170-yard 16th elicited thunder.
The noise soon quieted, however, and what was left in a falling dusk were some curious names at the top of the leaderboard.
Although Rose and Immelman have résumés, combine what they've done in 2008 with Bateman's performance and you get these numbers: 10 missed cuts in 20 stroke-play events, a best finish of T-14, and a cumulative 55 over par in 61 rounds. Hardly the sort of stuff that would have sent you picking them in your Masters pool, but who would have guessed that Woods would run his stretch of birdie-less holes at Augusta National to 34, stretching to the second hole in last year's final round?
Woods did squeeze something out of a round in which he hit 10 fairways, but only 11 greens. It came at the par-5 15th, when he pitched in for eagle. At the teasing par-5 13th, Woods had been within 30 feet in two, but needed four to get down, making just his fourth bogey at that hole in 51 rounds.
But mostly, Woods shared a common thread with his peers - he failed to convert birdie chances - which explains why he settled into a share of 19th.
"I kept myself in the tournament. I'm right there," said Woods, who had been 33d, 15th, and 39th after the first round in each of his last three wins in this major championship.
In other words, his situation is opposite of Rose's, for while Woods has a track record, the young Englishman has a dubious history. In his fourth Masters appearance, he has a share of the lead for a third time, and in 13 rounds overall, he's been the leader four times. But whereas he's 11 under in his first rounds here, Rose is 22 over the rest of the way.
"I don't know exactly," said Rose, when asked why he seems to start fast. "I prepare for it. I work hard for it. I get myself up for it."
So, too, do many others, none more than Mickelson, the two-time champion. He made just one of four birdies at the 455-yard opening hole, though how he made it created applause. Wide left with his drive, he scorched a pitch-out through trees, but it came in hot, ran through the green, slid sharply left, and came to rest on matted-down grass some 60 feet from the hole. Choosing a putter, the lefthander slammed his putt up a large mound, then watched as it hit the flagstick and dropped for birdie.
"Probably a two-shot swing," conceded Mickelson, who got to 2 under with a birdie at the par-5 second, but played the next 16 holes in 1 over to settle for a 71. Still, "I think anything under par is fine," he said after settling into a share of 11th with seven others, including Retief Goosen, Paul Casey, and Mark O'Meara - the 51-year-old who is celebrating the 10th anniversary of his Masters triumph. It's rather surprising to see O'Meara's name, but no more so than that of 50-year-old Sandy Lyle, who chose the occasion of the 20th anniversary of his green jacket to go 3 under through 14 holes before stumbling in with a 72.
Still, for a guy who has missed the cut in eight of his last 10 starts here, four birdies created good cheer. "Birdies," he said, "keep you going pretty good."
No. 811 in the world rankings makes four birdies, while No. 1 doesn't make any and neither does No. 5 (Ogilvy)? Go figure, now that the roars have died down.
Jim McCabe can be reached at jmccabe@globe.com.
