Sports: Masters notebook

Masters notebook

By BOB HARIG, Times Staff Writer

Bjorn makes birdies look easy

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- On a course as difficult as Augusta National, with its longer holes and quirky greens and major-championship pressure, five birdies in a round would be impressive.

How about five in a row?

That's what Denmark's Thomas Bjorn did Friday in the suspended second round of the Masters.

"A couple of times a year, you get a streak like that," said Bjorn, who shot 67. "But hardly ever at the start of a round, and never on a course like this. It was almost too easy."

He set a Masters record for consecutive birdies to start a round. The record was four, set by Ken Venturi in the first round in 1956 and matched by Paul Harney in the fourth round in 1968.

Bjorn bogeyed the seventh, 10th and 11th and went on another roll with birdies on the 12th, 13th and 14th holes.

"I'm happy because I brought myself back into the tournament," said Bjorn, who was at 3-under 141 and six shots behind clubhouse leader Vijay Singh.

ARNIE NOT FINISHED: Arnold Palmer shot 56 and made it to the weekend. Of course, he played only 12 holes and was to have finished his second round this morning.

A late-afternoon rain delay kept Palmer, who said his last round in the Masters would be Friday, from finishing. Palmer was 9 over through 12 holes and received loud applause at every green and tee. "In all my years as a player, I have never felt or seen or heard the kind of adulation I got," Palmer, 72, said. "The crowd was fantastic. Hell, I probably talked to half of them."

Although he has no chance to make the cut, Palmer said he will return to play this morning.

"I owe it to the crowd," he said. "But it's not the way you want to go out. I just didn't play well at all, like I have been doing. Nothing different today. It was just bad."

This is Palmer's 48th straight Masters, and he won it four times. "It's a sad day, yet a joyous day," two-time champion Tom Watson said. "He more than anybody made the Masters what it is today. He became a matinee idol. We are going to miss him, but he'll be around."

"It's a loss," Fred Couples said. "His score is irrelevant. I'm sure he's not bothering anyone out there. I really love the guy. If he hit one good shot and shoots a high score, that's okay."

Said Mark O'Meara: "I saw him in the locker room and told him, 'You set the stage. You are the guy I've always thought was the man. You still are the man. You've done so much to help the game progress. Thanks for all that you've done for me.' "

SPLOOSH: Watson was in contention at 2 under when he stepped onto the tee for the par-3 12th. Two balls in Rae's Creek later, he was struggling to make the cut.

"Have you ever seen the movie Alien? That's where the thing comes out of your chest," Watson, 52, said. "Well, that's what it feels like on No. 12 when that happens.

"I hit an 8-iron a little thin and it landed short and rolled back into the water. It had water written all over it when it left the club face."

CUT-PROOF: Couples appears set to continue his streak of making cuts after his second straight 73. Couples, 42, the 1992 champion, has made the cut in all of his previous 17 appearances. The projected cut was 147, and he was at 146. "I feel like this course really suits my game," Couples said. "I don't feel like I have to be the greatest driver here. This is my favorite spot. I get a little more jacked up here. It's such a pure place. And it kind of fits my game."

REVERSAL OF FORTUNE: Two-time champion Seve Ballesteros, 45, missed the cut for the sixth straight year with rounds of 75-81. "I played very well (Thursday) and I could enjoy the course," he said. "(Friday) I didn't enjoy it because the first seven holes were very difficult because of the rainy conditions. I didn't know how to play the course."

DIVOTS: Frank Lickliter withdrew with a hand injury. He shot 73 in the first round. ... Phil Mickelson is playing in his 10th Masters, five behind the record set by Bob Charles for most by a left-hander.