Streelman solid again, cards third 70 round in a row

If talk about the steady Kevin Streelman seems to be quiet – if it exists at all – he would be the first to find it fitting.

“My whole career is like that – just kind of quiet,” Streelman said to laughs. “Quiet and steady, which I’m fine with.”

Yet Streelman’s consistency showed again Saturday, when he posted his third-consecutive 2-under round to get to 6-under for this year’s Masters Tournament and into a tie for fifth place.

Streelman’s strong week included a win in Wednes­day’s Par-3 Contest, when 13-year-old Ethan Couch, who has a benign but inoperable brain tumor, caddied for him. The arrangement came through the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Usually, when someone wins the Par-3 Contest, what follows is all about the curse: no Par-3 winner has ever won the Masters in the same year. Not that Streelman cares about such doom.

“You know, I just don’t believe in anything like that, personally,” he said. “So to me it really had no bearing or not much thought.”

Par-3 Contest winners Raymond Floyd (1990) and Chip Beck (1993) share the record for best Masters finish – second.

Streelman, 37, reached 7-under twice on Saturday, when he birdied No. 8 and then rallied from a bogey at 10 to birdie No. 12. A bogey on 17 dropped him back a shot, but it didn’t knock him out of the top 10.

In three previous Masters, Streelman missed the cut twice and tied for 42nd.

But Streelman had only one under-par round in his first eight rounds at Augusta National Golf Club. In three days this year, he’s three-for-three and feeling good both for himself and Couch.

“He came over Thursday and we signed some stuff for him and kind of said our goodbyes – he was leaving Friday,” Streelman said. “I said, ‘Keep me updated on everything and you’ll be in my thoughts and prayers.’ Just a great kid and a great family and it’s an honor to do that with him.”