Clark, Wetterich prove that experience isn't everything
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Experience at Augusta National Golf Club isn't what it's cracked up to be; at least, not through two rounds of the 71st Masters Tournament.
Brett Wetterich, Tim Clark and Augusta-area resident Vaughn Taylor are shooting holes in the theory that only grizzled veterans and former champs named Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson can win here anymore.
First-round co-leader Wetterich is seeking to become only the fourth player in tournament history to win in his first appearance, while Clark is playing in his sixth Masters and Taylor his second.
Wetterich shot 1-over-par 73 in Friday's second round and is at 2-under 142 for 36 holes. So is Clark, last year's Masters runner-up who had 71 and will join Wetterich in today's final pairing.
Taylor, who had 72 and is one shot off the lead in third place, missed the cut last year in his debut. Now, on the 20th anniversary of Larry Mize's victory in the Masters, Taylor is one shot off the lead after 36 holes, just as Mize was in 1987.
Taylor, 31, attended the Masters for the first time the year Mize won.
"It was pretty special," said Taylor, who recently moved to nearby Evans.
Justin Rose, who shared the first-round lead with Wetterich, bogeyed the 18th hole for 75 and is tied for fourth place at 144 with Vijay Singh (71), Zach Johnson (73) and Jerry Kelly (69).
The newcomers at the top have left fans wondering where the established stars are and whether they will emerge to challenge for the title this weekend.
Mickelson, the defending champion, has shot 76-73 and is tied for 27th place, seven shots off the lead. Woods, the world's No. 1 player and a four-time Masters champ, has shot 73-74 and is tied for 15th place, five off the lead.
Of the top 14 players through 36 holes, the only former Masters champion is Singh.
Singh, a three-time major winner and the 2000 Masters champion, is the only player among the top seven with a major victory (he has three of them). Among six golfers tied for eighth is U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy, after 70 left him three shots off the lead.
"It's not an easy golf course, and it's not going to get any easier unless they water the greens more than they are," Singh said. "Even par (as the winning score) is looking very good right now."
Fred Couples, the 1992 Masters champion who made the cut for a record-tying 23rd consecutive year, believes experience will be vital over the final 36 holes.
"Experience helps; it helps to be playing in majors," said Couples, who tied for third place last year. "It helps to play this course for a lot of years. Last year it really helped me. I knew every pin and every shot. The good guys are always going to be lingering. You're always going to see Tiger and Phil."
Three-time Masters champion Gary Player, who was paired with Taylor in the first two rounds, is now one of Taylor's fans. He thinks Taylor can win the green jacket this year. As they were walking to the scorer's tent after their round Friday, he told Taylor just that.
"I said to him, 'You played so well. Just hang in there and believe in yourself. You can go out there with a chance of winning.'" Player said.
The leaders' 2-under 142 total is the highest score through two rounds since 1982, when 144 led the way.
Another scoring record will remain intact no matter what happens the rest of the week. With Wetterich and Rose failing to break 70 on Friday, that means no one in tournament history has shot four rounds in the 60s.
The cut told the story of how difficult the firmed-up course is playing. It fell at 8-over 152, which is the highest since 1982's 154. Sixty of the 96 starters will play this weekend, thanks to the 10-shot rule (all players 10 shots within the lead make the cut).
The leaders will be keeping an eye on Woods today. The third round is historically his best round, with six of his 14 rounds in the 60s coming on Day 3. In his winning years, he shot 65, 68, 66 and 65 in the third round. However, he has gone seven consecutive rounds without a round in the 60s at Augusta National.
Clark, who has battled neck problems for the past two months, is feeling fine this week. In two rounds, he has six birdies and only two bogeys and one double bogey.
Now he would like to get the respect he believes that he deserves.
"I guess no one's ever picked me to do well anywhere," said Clark, 31. "I've had a third at the PGA, a third at the U.S. Open, and a second here, so my major record is pretty decent to people that haven't won a major.
"Even after yesterday, I was on the leaderboard and no one mentioned me. Everyone was looking at everyone else to do well. Maybe that will give me a little more incentive ... it will probably take me winning a major tournament for people to sort of recognize me."
Wetterich, 33, started to gain recognition last year when he won his first PGA Tour event and made the Ryder Cup team. Then he finished second to Tiger Woods two weeks ago at the CA Championship.
Wetterich, a long hitter with a gambling nature on the course, has changed his approach this week by playing it closer to the vest.
"I wanted to make a lot of pars; you always hear the great players say that pars are great in majors," Wetterich said.
Magnifying the problems the course presents is today's weather. Temperatures in the 30s are expected to greet the early starters, and the high will be in the 50s, with northwest winds gusting to 20 mph.
"If we got a little wind and a little cold, this place is going to be very, very difficult," said Jim Furyk, the world's No. 2 player, who shot 75-71 and is four off the lead.
In cold weather, a ball becomes less compressed when struck by the club.
The result is a shot that won't travel as far as it does in warm weather.
"It doesn't have the rebound effect," explained Tom Watson, who shot 75-78 and missed the cut by a shot. "It's like hitting a rock instead of a super ball.
"You kind of get a feel for how things are playing," Furyk said of the cool weather. "The first couple of holes you see how short or how long the ball is going. You lose some feel. You're stiff, and you're not able to swing at the same speed. You're not making the turn to generate the same club speed."
Reach David Westin at (706) 823-3224 or david.westin@augustachronicle.com.
