Golf

High scores lead Masters after tough day

Early edition: As players struggled with the weather conditions, for the first time since 1966, no player managed to break 70 during the third round.

By BOB HARIG
Published April 8, 2007

Tiger Woods wipes his face as Paul Casey, from England, lines up a shot during the third round of the 2007 Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga.
	[AP photos]

ADVERTISEMENT Stuart Appleby, from Australia, tees off on the eighth hole during the third round of the 2007 Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga.

AUGUSTA, Ga. - Forget the green jacket. How about a wool coat, scarf and mittens?

That was the necessary wardrobe Saturday at Augusta National, where spring turned to winter, scores soared and the 71st Masters had another in a long list of remarkable days.

For the first time since 1966, no player managed to break 70 during the third round as competitors retreated to depths never seen at this tournament.

Australia's Stuart Appleby emerged as the leader through 54 holes when getting to the warmth of the clubhouse was perhaps his greatest achievement.

And Tiger Woods, seething after he finished with two straight bogeys, nonetheless looked up from the driving range to see he is in the last pairing, just a stroke behind Appleby, another major championship in sight.

"It was very frigid," said Appleby, whose triple-bogey 7 at the 17th hole cost him a bigger advantage. "Normally this temperature is something you would associate with rain or maybe something you would see at St. Andrews. Tough day. I don't think we've seen scores anything like this for a long time.

How about. . . never.

Appleby's 54-hole score of 218, 2 over par, is the highest to ever lead the tournament. The third-round scoring average of 77.350 was the third-highest in Masters history for the third round.

England's Justin Rose took the lead briefly after Appleby's miscue at the 17th but retreated with consecutive bogeys and finished a shot back after a 75.

And in maybe the most amazing development, Woods finished poorly, shot 72 - and got closer to the lead. The slow burn Woods was doing afterward hardly affected the temperature, which barely got above 50 and had wind chills that hovered in the low 40s.

"I'm only four back, it's not like I'm a hundred back," said Woods with a tinge of attitude as the leaders were still on the course. "So I've got a shot at it."

Less than two hours later, Woods found himself in the final pairing with Appleby, a place from which the Masters winner has come for 16 straight years. He moved into that position by doing nothing.

Rose backed up, as did Vaughn Taylor, who bogeyed the final three holes to shoot 77 and finish at 220, in a tie for fourth with Zach Johnson 76 and Padraig Harrington (75).

Woods' round of 72 turned out to be tied for the second-best of the day with Lee Westwood and two shots behind Retief Goosen, whose 70 was the only under-par score and boosted him from a tie for 45th all the way to a tie for eighth, just four back.

"It's as tough as I've seen it," said defending Masters champion Phil Mickelson, who despite shooting 73 is tied for eighth and just four back. "It wasn't as hard as it could have been because they put water on the greens. It's a challenge to make pars. You have to fight on every hole to make par here."

You don't need to tell that to Brett Wetterich and Tim Clark. The second-round co-leaders combined to shoot 19 over par without a birdie. Wetterich finished with 83 to drop to a tie for 23rd. Clark had 80 and is tied for eighth.

Appleby, 35, an eight-time PGA Tour winner, has never had much success at Augusta National, where he will attempt to become the first Australian to win the Masters. (He is the first in the final group since Greg Norman in 1996.) His previous best finish is a tie for 19th. His closest call at a major came at the 2002 British Open, where he lost in a four-way playoff won by Ernie Els.

But Appleby got it going early Saturday, birdying the second, third and fourth holes to get to 2 under par. After a bogey at the seventh, he made nine straight pars before his disaster at the 17th, where he pulled his tee shot into a bunker on the seventh hole.

"It was a comedy of errors," Appleby said. "Stuff like that happens out here. I have to say on the whole it was very, very good. I felt confident. It was a day that was very, very testing. And 17. . . that's golf. It's Augusta. It's a tough opponent. And it'll be a tough opponent (today)."

He meant the course, but he could have been referring to Woods, who will attempt to win his first major championship coming from behind. In all 12 of his major victories, Woods either led or was tied going into the final round.

Appleby, who lives in the same Orlando neighbor as Woods, was asked if he has ever had any success against Woods at home.

"What would you like me to say, that I cleaned up on him all the time, I'm great on the practice range? I can beat him; I can hit it past him? No, no and no," Appleby joked. "No, I've never had my way with him."

Somewhat lost in the hysteria is the fact that Woods, 31, will be attempting to win his third consecutive major championship, a feat accomplished just twice in the modern era - including seven years ago by Woods.

Perhaps everybody was just too numb to notice Saturday.

Bob Harig can be reached at harig@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8806.

[Last modified April 8, 2007, 00:46:19]