GOOD TIMING: Brett Quigley is about to do something to which a lot of fathers can relate.

He boarded a plane Tuesday at 3:15 p.m. to fly home to Jupiter, Fla., to be with his wife, Amy. She's about to give birth to their first child, two weeks early.

He needed to break the course rules about no cell phones to get word of that impending delivery.

Quigley snuck a cell phone into his bag before playing his practice round at Augusta National Golf Club.

After finishing play on the 11th green, Quigley "had a feeling" and turned on the phone in his bag to see whether there were any text messages.

His phone rang. Longtime friend Jason Caron called to let him know that Amy's water had broken and that he should hurry home.

He shook hands with his playing partners, found a cart and took off for the clubhouse.

He hasn't withdrawn from the Masters Tournament. His Thursday tee time sets up nicely for him to return to play.

Quigley is scheduled to tee off in the next-to-last group at 2:03 p.m. with Vijay Singh and Hideto Tanihara.

He could witness the birth of his daughter and play in his first Masters in the span of about 48 hours.

"It's great timing," Quigley told PGA Tour media official Joe Chemycz over the phone from the plane. "I'm very excited. It's unbelievable. My first baby. My first Augusta. It's a very accommodating baby."

Quigley was giddy enough with the thought of competing in his first Masters.

"It's the only place in the world that completely lives up to its billing," he said. "This place, every single time you walk around here, it's the same feeling. This whole atmosphere is simply second to none with every step you take. It's like no place else."

PROGNOSTICATOR: Everyone has an opinion about who will win this week. Gary Player offered an evaluation that one of his countrymen could be a factor.

That's what Player told Ernie Els after playing their traditional Tuesday practice round together.

"I hit it good this morning," Els said. "And you know, he just walked up 17 today and was like, 'You know, this is the best I've ever seen you play. This should be your best chance ever.' So nice words from him."

Els - who has two runner-up finishes at the Masters - said the tradition of playing a Tuesday morning round with Player goes back at least 10 years.

This will be Els' 14th Masters.

AT THE HIP: Shaun Micheel got a kick out of the pairings for the first two rounds. He was again paired with Jeev Milkha Singh.

"We played Saturday and Sunday together in Houston," he said. "We played nine holes on Monday. We're playing the Par-3 together, and now we are playing the first two rounds together at the Masters. People are going to start to wonder about us."

Micheel thinks the first-timer can do well.

"I think first-time players have an advantage," he said. "They have a fallback that it's their first Masters, so there's no pressure. Besides, he's got the game. He's got all the shots and the pitch-and-run shots he needs to score well here. I expect him to just go out and play golf and do well."

FURYK THOUGHT: The No. 2 player in the World Golf Ranking had an opinion about the changing dynamics of the tournament this week.

Jim Furyk said wild Sunday charges might be a thing of the past.

"I don't know if the Masters is really about firing at the stick and making a bunch of birdies anymore," he said. "I don't think you will see guys shooting 31 (on the back nine) to win the Masters. Not that you used to see that a lot. But you used to see a bunch of birdie charges. Right now I think it's a little bit more battling your way in, making a bunch of pars and picking up a birdie here and a birdie there. You go down the back nine, even up with someone and fire a bunch of pars and a couple birdies, and you can really hurt them."