He (Tiger Woods) has to make the third day his day, or it won't be his major. It will be cold in the early morning and probably only around 50 degrees when Woods begins his round. There is no time left to take the temperature or smell the azaleas.

Woods can't expect to win this tournament by playing defense or by missing two out of every three fairways. He has been merely surviving so far, which is a big reason this Masters feels about as special right now as the Greater Milwaukee Open.

Tiger and the rest can blame the course if they want, but that's the way it goes.

- Filip Bondy, New York Daily News

I went to a nice dinner on the night before the Masters golf tournament began. Ozzie Smith and Mike Schmidt, a couple of baseball Hall of Famers, were seated with me. Tiger Woods sat two tables away.

After accepting an award with a short and sweet speech, Woods was called right back for a second one.

"Hi again," he said.

The instant Woods spoke the words "thank you," his wife and mother stood up to leave. Out the door the three Woodses went. Fast. Gone.

We watched them go. Smith turned to Schmidt and said with a smile, "Wow, they moved fast."

Friday morning during the tournament's second round, I thought that for the second time in three days I was going to see Tiger Woods split early.

I would be in a hurry to go home if I owned a $38 million, 10-acre compound on Jupiter Island, Fla., and a $20 million, 155-foot yacht. Wouldn't you?

- Mike Downey, Chicago Tribune

The U.S. Open, formerly known as the Masters, has skewed the way we look at scores at Augusta National.

In other years here, Paul Casey's 79 in the first round would have had him making plans for the weekend. But a second round of 68 had him thinking about making a concerted run at the green jacket Saturday.

In other years, if Tiger Woods opened with the dreaded 73-74 combination, he barely would have made the cut. But when he walked off the course Friday, he still found himself in position to win his fifth green jacket.

The slate has been changed for what is shaping up to be a most unusual Masters. The U.S. Open-like scores have compressed the field, offering myriad possibilities for the weekend.

- Ed Sherman, Chicago Tribune

This weekend is especially gratifying for (Vaughn) Taylor. He's often referred to as the "other guy" from Augusta. Charles Howell gets the reputation. Too bad he doesn't have the top 10's to keep up with the endless press clippings regarding untapped potential.

- Drew Sharp, Detroit Free Press