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At The Masters
Paul Arnett
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Watabu save face by beating Ballesteros
AUGUSTA, Ga. » Kauai's Casey Watabu didn't know it at the time, but his 20-footer for birdie at the closing hole yesterday assured him of not finishing last at this year's Masters.
Not that it was ever his goal entering yesterday's second round of what many consider the most difficult of the four majors on the PGA Tour. He just wanted to go out, have some fun and give his family and friends here for this prestigious tournament something to cheer about after opening with a woeful 15-over 87 on Thursday.
He did that, with a solid 6-over 78 for a two-day total of 21-over 165. He finished in a tie for 93rd with Dave Womack and Camilo Villegas, one shot clear of two-time Masters winner Seve Ballesteros, who placed last at 166.
As for the experience, well, it was a good one for Watabu. He was paired with two-time Masters winner Tom Watson, who missed the cut by one, and Turtle Bay champion Fred Funk. Both gave him hearty handshakes and pats on the back as they walked off the 18th.
"It was a wonderful experience playing with Mr. Watson and Mr. Funk," Watabu said. "They were two great guys. (Long sigh). It's all finished now.
"It was a lot more fun today. I played a lot better. I guess it could only get better from yesterday. It didn't really matter where I finished, I just wanted to enjoy myself today and play the best that I could. Whatever I finished, I finished. I'm just glad I finished on a much better note than yesterday."
After carding three consecutive bogeys at Nos. 2-4, Watabu settled into a groove with six straight pars, before bogeying the 11th and 12th. He finished Amen Corner with a birdie at the 13th. He then doubled the 14th, birdied the 15th , bogeyed 16 and 17, before closing with a 3 at the last.
"It's different playing in front of all these people when it counts," Watabu said. "I got a lot of experience these couple of days and I'll take it with me and run. I got a lot of family and friends here, and I only made one birdie for them the first day, so I was like, 'I've got to make them cheer for something.' I made a few birdies on the back, which felt good."
What was even better was how he played the famed par-3 12th. On Thursday, he hit two shots in the water en route to an 8. Yesterday, he cut that score in half. He also played the par 3s in 3 over yesterday after going 9 over on Thursday.
Clark solid in majors: It may be the first time Tim Clark has ever led after 36 holes at a PGA Tour event, but being in contention at a major is nothing new for the South African. He was the runner-up at the 2006 Masters, he tied for third at the 2005 U.S. Open and was solo third at the 2003 PGA Championship. Clark has now made 12 cuts in 19 major championship appearances.
"This is a special tournament and very different to any other," Clark said. "I find here, you really get into your own game and not worry what others are doing. You know, it's really demanding. You're always thinking, you're always concentrating and I think that's what makes it so tough. Not only is it physically demanding; it's mentally demanding."
Streaks come and go: Fred Couples tied Gary Player's Masters mark of 23 consecutive cuts made in this event. But it wasn't easy. The 1992 champ had consecutive rounds of 76 to fall right on the number of 8 over, thanks in part to playing the final six holes in 1 under. His streak began in 1983. Couples did not play at Augusta in 1987 or 1994.
Ben Crenshaw made the cut for the second straight year after missing it eight consecutive times dating back to 1998. The 55-year-old is tied for 33rd at 6-over 150. Ernie Els missed the cut by two shots and saw his current tour streak of cuts made end at 46, dating back to the 2004 Bay Hill Invitational.
Jim Furyk now has the longest current consecutive streak at 20, including yesterday as he sits in 14th place at 2-over 146.
Inside the numbers: The hardest hole yesterday was the famed par-4 11th that stretches 505 yards and is bordered by water to the left side of the green. It is the first of the three holes at Amen Corner and produced an average score of 4.593. There were five birdies there yesterday, including one by Crenshaw, 42 pars, 38 bogeys, nine doubles, including one by Dean Wilson, and two others.
The easiest hole was the par-5 eighth with a scoring average of 4.625. There were 42 birdies, including one by Wilson, 48 pars and six bogeys. The scoring average yesterday was nearly a half-stroke better than the day before at 75.625.
The Masters
At Augusta Ga.
Second round, par-72
(a-amateur)
| Brett Wetterich |
69-73 |
-- |
142 |
|
| Tim Clark |
71-71 |
-- |
142 |
|
| Vaughn Taylor |
71-72 |
-- |
143 |
|
| Jerry Kelly |
75-69 |
-- |
144 |
|
| Vijay Singh |
73-71 |
-- |
144 |
|
| Zach Johnson |
71-73 |
-- |
144 |
|
| Justin Rose |
69-75 |
-- |
144
|
| David Howell |
70-75 |
-- |
145 |
|
| Lucas Glover |
74-71 |
-- |
145 |
|
| Padraig Harrington |
77-68 |
-- |
145 |
|
| Bradley Dredge |
75-70 |
-- |
145 |
|
| Stuart Appleby |
75-70 |
-- |
145 |
|
| Geoff Ogilvy |
75-70 |
-- |
145 |
|
| Jim Furyk |
75-71 |
-- |
146 |
|
| Tim Herron |
72-75 |
-- |
147 |
|
| Jeev Milkha Singh |
72-75 |
-- |
147 |
|
| Craig Stadler |
74-73 |
-- |
147 |
|
| Mark Calcavecchia |
76-71 |
-- |
147 |
|
| Tom Pernice Jr. |
75-72 |
-- |
147 |
|
| Luke Donald |
73-74 |
-- |
147 |
|
| Tiger Woods |
73-74 |
-- |
147 |
|
| Paul Casey |
79-68 |
-- |
147 |
|
| Dean Wilson |
75-72 |
-- |
147 |
|
| Mike Weir |
75-72 |
-- |
147 |
|
| David Toms |
70-78 |
-- |
148 |
|
| Henrik Stenson |
72-76 |
-- |
148 |
|
| Yong-Eun Yang |
75-74 |
-- |
149 |
|
| Rory Sabbatini |
73-76 |
-- |
149 |
|
| Davis Love III |
72-77 |
-- |
149 |
|
| J.J. Henry |
71-78 |
-- |
149 |
|
| Phil Mickelson |
76-73 |
-- |
149 |
|
| Jose Maria Olazabal |
74-75 |
-- |
149 |
|
| Robert Karlsson |
77-73 |
-- |
150 |
|
| Stephen Ames |
76-74 |
-- |
150 |
|
| Ian Poulter |
75-75 |
-- |
150 |
|
| Scott Verplank |
73-77 |
-- |
150 |
|
| Ben Crenshaw |
76-74 |
-- |
150 |
|
| Arron Oberholser |
74-76 |
-- |
150
|
| K.J. Choi |
75-75 |
-- |
150 |
|
| Jeff Sluman |
76-75 |
-- |
151 |
|
| John Rollins |
77-74 |
-- |
151 |
|
| Aaron Baddeley |
79-72 |
-- |
151 |
|
| Trevor Immelman |
74-77 |
-- |
151 |
|
| Billy Mayfair |
76-75 |
-- |
151 |
|
| Shingo Katayama |
79-72 |
-- |
151 |
|
| Stewart Cink |
77-75 |
-- |
152 |
|
| Carl Pettersson |
76-76 |
-- |
152 |
|
| Rod Pampling |
77-75 |
-- |
152 |
|
| Miguel Angel Jimenez |
79-73 |
-- |
152 |
|
| Lee Westwood |
79-73 |
-- |
152
|
| Retief Goosen |
76-76 |
-- |
152 |
|
| Fuzzy Zoeller |
74-78 |
-- |
152 |
|
| Brett Quigley |
76-76 |
-- |
152 |
|
| Sandy Lyle |
79-73 |
-- |
152 |
|
| Niclas Fasth |
77-75 |
-- |
152 |
|
| Rich Beem |
71-81 |
-- |
152 |
|
| Angel Cabrera |
77-75 |
-- |
152 |
|
| Fred Couples |
76-76 |
-- |
152 |
|
| Adam Scott |
74-78 |
-- |
152 |
|
| Charles Howell III |
75-77 |
-- |
152 |
|
Failed to Qualify
|
| Michael Campbell |
76-77 |
-- |
153 |
|
| Chris DiMarco |
75-78 |
-- |
153 |
|
| Tom Watson |
75-78 |
-- |
153 |
|
| Mark O'Meara |
77-76 |
-- |
153 |
|
| Colin Montgomerie |
76-77 |
-- |
153 |
|
| Todd Hamilton |
74-80 |
-- |
154 |
|
| Darren Clarke |
83-71 |
-- |
154 |
|
| Thomas Bjorn |
77-77 |
-- |
154 |
|
| a-John Kelly |
77-77 |
-- |
154 |
|
| Chad Campbell |
77-77 |
-- |
154 |
|
| Ernie Els |
78-76 |
-- |
154
|
| Sergio Garcia |
76-78 |
-- |
154 |
|
| Bart Bryant |
72-82 |
-- |
154 |
|
| Joe Durant |
80-75 |
-- |
155 |
|
| Fred Funk |
82-73 |
-- |
155 |
|
| Bernhard Langer |
78-77 |
-- |
155 |
|
| Ben Curtis |
76-80 |
-- |
156
|
| Nick O'Hern |
76-80 |
-- |
156 |
|
| Steve Stricker |
77-79 |
-- |
156 |
|
| a-Richie Ramsay |
76-80 |
-- |
156 |
|
| Raymond Floyd |
77-80 |
-- |
157
|
| Ben Crane |
79-78 |
-- |
157
|
| John Edfors |
78-79 |
-- |
157
|
| Paul Goydos |
79-79 |
-- |
158
|
| Troy Matteson |
79-79 |
-- |
158
|
| Kenneth Ferrie |
75-83 |
-- |
158
|
| Robert Allenby |
79-80 |
-- |
159 |
|
| Shaun Micheel |
82-77 |
-- |
159 |
|
| Gary Player |
83-77 |
-- |
160 |
|
| Larry Mize |
83-78 |
-- |
161
|
| Hideto Tanihara |
85-77 |
-- |
162 |
|
| a-Julien Guerrier |
83-81 |
-- |
164 |
|
| Camilo Villegas |
80-75 |
-- |
165 |
|
| a-Casey Watabu |
87-78 |
-- |
165
|
| a-Dave Womack |
84-81 |
-- |
154 |
|
| Seve Ballesteros |
86-80 |
-- |
166 |
Sports Editor
Paul Arnett has been covering sports for the Star-Bulletin since 1990. Reach him at
parnett@starbulletin.com.
