Woodland fades after early surge at Masters

AUGUSTA, Ga. - Gary Woodland's incredible run in the third round of the Masters came to a crashing halt Saturday.

After starting the day 7-under through 10 holes, he came back to earth with a bogey-5 on the No. 11 - and a double-bogey on the famed par-3 No. 12.

So after rising to a tie for third, the big hitter from Topeka, Kan., has retreated to 10th. At 1-under par, he was six shots behind leader Bubba Watson, who was to tee off at 2:45 p.m. local time with Australian John Sender, who is second at 4-under.

Woodland, 29, who has two PGA Tour victories but no top-10 finishes in a major, shot a 6-under 30 on the front nine.

Then his roller-coaster began. His approach on No. 10 settled inside two feet, but he gave it back at the 11thafter missing a 7-footer for par.

He used a pitching wedge on the 138-yard 12thand came up short. He dropped in the second cut, near the Hogan Bridge, and barely hit it long enough to avoid Rae's Creek a second time. He then missed a bogey putt from the fringe.

With 36 holes in the books at the 78th Masters, the star power here had dwindled. Significantly.

Tiger Woods never made it to Augusta National, sidelined indefinitely after back surgery. Phil Mickelson? He's gone home early - for the first time in 17 years - undone by a blow-up hole in each of his first two rounds and missing the cut by a stroke.

And it's not just that the weekend will proceed without Woods and Mickelson. The list of other big names cut Friday is quite lengthy, too: Ernie Els and Sergio Garcia, Luke Donald and Graeme McDowell, Angel Cabrera and Webb Simpson.

That's made finding a center-stage act for Saturday's third round a little tricky.

Watson held the 36-hole lead, a three-shot cushion he gained after making five consecutive birdies on the back nine Friday afternoon. Watson sats at 7 under and three shots ahead of Senden.

The rest of the top 20 was a mixed bag.

Defending champ Adam Scott was still lurking, behind only Watson and Senden at 3 under. Jim Furyk was at 2 under. And he's joined there in a tie for seventh by 54-year-old Fred Couples, a Masters master who is playing on the weekend here for the 28th time in the past 30 tournaments.

But who knows to whom this year's green jacket will be given with so many relative unknowns hanging around the lead? Senden's had sneaky rounds of 72 and 68 to put himself there. Joining him in a group of 14 players who reached the weekend under par were guys like Thomas Bjorn, Jonas Blixt, Stephen Gallacher and Russell Henley.

Those aren't exactly household names from the stop-what-you're-doing-and-come-watch-this cast. So the swollen weekend galleries plus broadcast partner CBS must again hope that the golf course can help save the show, creating theater and drama on Saturday and Sunday.

There's certainly a chance Watson could distance himself from the field. He's labeling his tee shots, attacking greens and putting with confidence. And with a 2012 Masters championship to draw from, his focus is sharp. But the 35-year-old said Friday that his real key lies in exhaling and staying steady hole after hole, not getting caught up in birdie binges or slip ups, the latter of which there have been few.

'We're still professional golfers, so we're still nervous,' Watson said. 'It doesn't matter if you've won it 42 times in a row, you're still nervous about it. You're still wanting the best. So for me, yeah, you're nervous.

'And that's why I'm keeping my head down, just to stay focused on what I'm doing. Not looking at leaderboards, just play golf. That's really what you're trying to do and what I'm going to try to do the next two days. It might turn out to be horrific, but at least I have that shot at it.'

Scott, meanwhile, survived a roller-coaster second round, following a Thursday 69 with a round of even par that included three bogeys on the front nine followed by a three-birdie rally on the back. When the early struggles crept in, Scott thought back to his second round a year ago when he had to be patient and battle for an even par 72.

He later won the tournament and hopes he has another similar surge in him. He also knows the speed of Augusta's firm and drying greens are going to be a major factor.

'When the greens are like this,' he said, 'you've got to be so precise - whether it's putting or with your iron play. It's going to be a demanding weekend if we continue to have this nice dry weather.'

tgreenstein@tribune.com

Twitter @TeddyGreenstein

Twitter @danwiederer

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