Thu Apr 10 21:22:23 2008

Comment | Email | Print

Masters First Round News & Notes

---

Augusta, GA (Sports Network) - Ian Poulter aced the par-three 16th hole, which, at the time, tied him for the lead at three-under par. He bogeyed the 17th hole to fall back to two-under par.

"You've got a few thousand people on the left-hand side and you've probably got a few more this year seeing as they have cleared some of the trees on the left-hand side, so it was a special moment," said Poulter, who is tied for sixth at two-under 70. "And the hairs on the back of your neck were standing up. It was great."

The last hole-in-one at the Masters came at the same par-three 16th in 2005. Trevor Immelman aced the hole that year, then tied for fifth place.

Poulter is hoping for better and could thank a former Ryder Cup teammate. When Padraig Harrington took the British Open last year, he became the first European to win a major since Paul Lawrie at the 1999 British Open.

"It's given everyone a boost of confidence to go out there and play golf in major championships," Poulter said of Harrington. "There's a certain golfer out there that is winning an all lot of them, and that's who we talk about week-in, week-out, and with Paddy winning the Open, and Zach winning last year, anything is achievable."

Poulter participated in the 2004 Ryder Cup for the victorious European side and is a consistent performer on the European Tour. He has yet to win in the United States and is probably best known for two things.

The first would be his eccentric and colorful wardrobe.

"I quite like it," said Poulter of his style. "It's a nice business to be in, designing clothes and turning it into a business. Greg Norman did it a few years ago and he's a very successful businessman from that."

The other is slightly more notorious. Earlier this year, Poulter was quoted as saying, "Don't get me wrong, I respect everyone who is a professional. But the problem is I haven't played to my full potential yet. And when that happens it will just be me and Tiger."

Poulter later claimed the comments were taken out of context and explained further on Thursday.

"I think I've weathered it pretty good. What I said -- we have to go over it again and again -- you know, I was basically saying how good Tiger was basically and how achievable I really think it is to get to the No. 2 spot," he noted. "Tiger laughs all the time about it. He keeps calling me No. 2, which is nice."

BATE-WHO?

Several players are making their maiden appearance in the Masters. None did better than Brian Bateman.

Who?

Bateman is a 35-year-old LSU grad who won last year's Buick Open. So far this year, Bateman has made only four cuts in nine starts and his best finish was a tie for 23rd at the season-opening Mercedes-Benz Championship.

He birdied the second and third holes, mixed three birdies and three bogeys before a birdie at the difficult 18th. Bateman is tied for third place at three-under 69.

"Our first trip down the first fairway at Augusta, and to birdie the last, yeah, we smiled a lot today," said Bateman, who stated his caddie has never even been to Augusta National either. "And we tried to laugh as much as we could, as nervous as we were. But it was a lot of fun and we're looking forward to the rest of the week."

FREDDIE IN JEOPARDY

Fred Couples, the 1992 Masters champion, has made 23 consecutive cuts at Augusta National. That is a record and Couples has never missed the weekend at the Masters.

That record is in serious peril.

Couples opened Thursday with a four-over 76 and is eight shots back.

"I misclubbed a lot of shots, and they were hard shots," said the newly minted United States Presidents Cup captain. "I didn't hit very good ones, and I didn't make many putts, so when you do that, it kind of adds up to 76, which is very mediocre."

Couples came into the week with some hopes. He tied for fourth last week at the Houston Open and at 48 would be the oldest champion by two years. Oddly enough, Couples was in the final group Sunday when he was 46, but fell down the back nine and Phil Mickelson walked off with the 2006 Masters.

Couples still knows all hope is not lost for a 24th consecutive made cut.

"I just was a little bit off, so tomorrow I'll play in the afternoon, go get some rest, and I hope I'm not back on the same drag where I don't feel good," said Couples. "But I hit the ball well. It wasn't like I embarrassed myself."

* Arnold Palmer hit the ceremonial first tee shot on Thursday. He hit one straight down the fairway, by all accounts. The landing was not seen by most because ...

* There was a one-hour fog delay to start the opening round. Palmer hit the ceremonial ball, then play was halted before Shaun Micheel and Ben Curtis could begin. The last time the start of the tournament was delayed came in 2003.

* Due to the weather delay at the start of the round, play looked like it would be called for darkness. The rule states that if a player in a group tees off on a hole, that group would decide if they wanted to finish the hole in the event of a suspension of the round. According to the CBS telecast, the last group of Lee Westwood, Aaron Baddeley and Camilo Villegas told officials they wanted to play the last even though they weren't yet on the tee. In waning light, Westwood bogeyed that 17th to fall out of the lead.

* The low amateur on Thursday was Michael Thompson, the runner-up at last year's U.S. Amateur Championship. He posted a one-over 73. Drew Weaver, the reigning British Amateur winner, shot a four-over 76 and Tripp Kuehne, the current U.S. Mid-Amateur Champion, carded a six-over 78.

* The Par-Three Curse seems to be holding true. No player that has won the Par-Three Tournament on Wednesday has gone on to win the Masters. Rory Sabbatini, a runner-up last year at the Masters, won on Wednesday and opened with a three-over 75. He is seven off the lead and tied for 52nd place.

* The hardest hole in Thursday's first round was the par-four 17th. It played to an average of 4.3723.

* The easiest hole in the opening round was the par-five 13th. The average was 4.6702 with one eagle.