Larry Smith, a retired fifth-grade teacher from Pennsylvania, wondered what in the world he did to be so lucky. Smith, on the bag for his son Nathan, took a grand stroll in the company of a legend this week as Arnold Palmer (Stats | Bio) played his 50th and last Masters Tournament. The younger Smith was one of his playing partners.

"What a tremendous honor," Larry Smith said. "What amateur, what pro, what golfer in America, wouldn't want to be in his shoes the last two days?"

The grateful caddie saw every gallery, every standing ovation. He saw every camera focus in on him to prepare for each shot of Palmer.

"When you see it from Mr. Palmer's side, you can see it all," Larry Smith said. "It's sincere. You can see just how much everyone cares for him. You can see that these people treat him like a guest in their home they don't ever want to see leave."

Smith detailed one moment. He didn't know the cameras caught it. Not that it mattered. He witnessed a priceless slice of golf nirvana that would never fade.

Jack Nicklaus (Stats | Bio) had rolled in his putt for par on No. 16. Palmer then teed off on the par-3 sixth hole, hitting it close.

"Palmer knew that the crowd roared, and he also knew who made it roar," Larry Smith said. "He wanted to set it up so his crowd would roar right back. Palmer did. Nicklaus could tell by the roar who answered his roar."

The two legends shared a wave and a tip of their caps across a hill after the exchange.

"I knew as soon as Mr. Palmer got over the ball with a chance it was going close," Larry Smith said. "You knew he was going to make it happen."

He shared a walk alongside Palmer at the 15th hole. It was his favorite stroll of the day.

"I said 'Mr. Palmer, they love you,' " Larry Smith said. "He said 'I know most of these faces out here, and I love them all, too.'"

STROKE DOCTOR PHIL: Phil Mickelson (Stats | Bio) went three shots below par Friday to finish in a tie for fourth place. He missed a 12-foot putt for birdie on No. 18 that would have moved him into a tie for second.

He's geared his play toward trying to stay out of trouble. Mickelson, with seven top-10 finishes in his 11 Masters tournaments, has tried to slice a half-stroke off every round. However, big numbers have been his foil at Augusta National.

Phil's prescription is a lot of patience.

"I think where I have saved the half a stroke that has troubled me here is on the par-5s," Mickelson said. "I haven't birdied that many (2-under so far), but where I am saving that is I haven't made that six or a seven on those that I have in the past on those holes where you need to make birdie. I'm giving myself a chance to make four and if not I am making five, which is a big key for me."

A CHAT WITH AN ELDER: Lee Elder, who in 1975 became the first black golfer to play the Mastters, spoke for a few minutes about Augusta National's past and present. He returned to the course after missing Mike Weir (Stats | Bio) 's victory last year.

"I try to stay away from some of the hot-button issues because of my relationship with the tournament," Elder said. "It's one I enjoy and would not like to change."

Elder did have a thought or two about Martha Burk's campaign against the Masters last year.

"I told Martha last year that she might have went about her stance the wrong way," he said. "This should have been a closed-door discussion and not a public airing of dirty laundry with Mr. (Hootie) Johnson."

Elder's opinion was that a female member at Augusta National would be good for the PGA Tour and the tournament.

"But that's not my call," Elder said. "I will go along with whatever the people and the committees here decide."

Elder had Darren Clarke (Stats | Bio) , who missed Friday's cut after a 7-over par round, as his choice to win the tournament.

"That was this year, though," Elder said. "I still think that Tiger will win in excess of 10 green jackets by the time he's through with this tournament."

DIMARCO DROPS: Chris DiMarco (Stats | Bio) began the day in second place and got as low as 6-under par and a tie with Justin Rose (Stats | Bio) .

Then came the bad.

"I hit one poor shot all day, and it wasn't even a shot," DiMarco said. "It was a chip shot, but it cost me two shots on 13."

DiMarco couldn't regain his composure after chipping into the water and ending with a double bogey, finishing the back nine with 40. He carded 33 on the front nine. His bogeys on the back came at Nos. 14 and 16. His end result, 1-over par for the round, was a bit of a surprise.

"That's probably one of the most solid days of golf that I have played," he said. DiMarco started his Masters with 30 bogey-free holes.

COUPLES AND CUTS: Fred Couples (Stats | Bio) has now made 20 consecutive cuts at the Masters. He's 2-under and tied for sixth place in the tournament. It's the longest active cut streak at the Masters.

"There's no score that I am trying to shoot," he said. "I'm trying not to make too many blunders. I get geared up to play. It's the 20th time now. I think I could have won another one here, but there are a lot of good players who haven't played well here."

Couples said Thursday that the more impressive feat in his mind would be if he made the cut 20 consecutive years at the U.S. Open.

QUICK HITS: Paul Casey (Stats | Bio) birdied Amen Corner on Friday and finished with 69. He's at even par and tied for 14th place. ... Ernie Els (Stats | Bio) had the yo-yo round Friday with four bogeys and four birdies. He's in a five-way tie for sixth place, four shots behind Rose. ... Kirk Triplett (Stats | Bio) 's day took a turn for the worse with a double bogey on No. 18. He's 1-over par after 36 holes. ... Tiger Woods (Stats | Bio) and Jay Haas (Stats | Bio) will be one of the more interesting pairings today. Augusta native Charles Howell will play with Mickelson, and Els is playing with Davis Love III (Stats | Bio) .

BIG DIFFERENCES: Mickelson said it was a day to save some strokes, as opposed to Thursday's opening round.

"Because the greens have been somewhat receptive, there are some pins that you can attack," he said. "But there are a lot of pins you have to just be patient on. We saw almost every pin yesterday that you could not attack and almost every pin today you could attack. So there was a big difference, I thought, in how the course played yesterday to today."

Stewart Cink (Stats | Bio) , despite a great ball-striking round, shot 1-over par for the day. But he went through the pin placements after his round and regarded Nos. 2, 3, 6, 8, 9, 12, 13, 15 and 17 as scoring holes Friday.

Reach Jeff Sentell at (706) 823-3425 or jeff.sentell@augustachronicle.com.