Couples fell off the pace with a third-round 75; Hanson
grabbed the top spot after a Saturday-best 65.
Timeline By Ryan Herrington
6: 48 A.M.
A state trooper pulls into a gas station three miles from
Augusta National to get a cup of coffee. “Starting or
ending your shift?” asks the store clerk. “Starting … I
think,” says the officer. “I don’t know anymore. Been a
long week already.”
“We’re hoping Tiger sees them and it puts the thought in
his head,” Graham says. “We really don’t like him.”
Jennifer and Julie) say it’s getting their picture taken at
Founders Circle in front of the Augusta National club-
house. “Third time we’ve done it,” Tim says. “We keep
the same order, and have the other two on a bulletin
board [at home]. It’s neat to see how we’ve grown.”
9: 15 A.M.
For the second straight year, Jeff Knox has a Saturday tee
time at Augusta National despite not being in the Masters
field. When Kelly Kraft made the cut late Friday, it left an
odd number of golfers ( 63) playing on the weekend. As
a result, the club reached out to Knox, a member who
holds the course record ( 61), to serve as a non-competing
marker. “He got us both in. I thanked him for it,” Knox said
when asked about greeting Kraft on the first tee.
1: 19 P.M.
Peter Catlow strolls near the first fairway in an unusual
pants—one leg is red with white maple leafs and the
other, white with red maple leafs. Catlow confirms he
is from Canada but confesses to bad timing. “I should
have worn these yesterday,” he says. “But I thought
[Mike] Weir would make the cut.”
4: 53 P.M.
Not even on the first page of the leader board an hour
earlier, Phil Mickelson is now atop it, backing up a birdie
on the 12th with a 30-foot eagle putt on No. 13 to move
to six under par, tying Peter Hanson, Matt Kuchar and
Louis Oosthuizen for the lead.
1: 52 P.M.
Billy Parker and his wife, Tracey, stop at the bathroom
near the eighth tee. Billy stands behind two dozen men,
but Tracey breezes right into the building. “This might
be the only place in the world where there’s a line for the
guys and nothing for the girls,” Tracey says with a grin.
5: 25 P.M.
Martin Grover of Augusta is walking with his girlfriend,
Stephanie Stafford along the first fairway despite the
fact no one has played the hole in more than two hours.
Asked why he wasn’t watching the golf, Grover says, “I
promised her last year we would walk the course start
to finish and never did. She just reminded me of that.”
10: 23 A.M.
Wearing a San Francisco Giants cap, Jax Reynolds’
Northern California loyalty is obvious as he takes in his
first Masters. “Hopefully, this is the first of four majors
for me,” said the 38-year-old computer programmer.
“I’ve definitely got a ticket to Olympic Club and I think
I’m set for Kiawah,” he says. “Royal Lytham and the British Open is the tough one. My boss knows I like golf but
might not like me skipping another week of work.”
10: 43 A.M.
Teetering on high-heel sandals, Brittany Alexander, 17,
gingerly makes her way down the right side of the 11th
fairway when she bumps into her mother, Linda, for
the first time, the two having come separately to the
course. “What’s with the shoes?” Linda asks. “Is everything a fashion show with you?” A defiant daughter’s
response: “Yes, Mother, it actually is.”
2:01 P.M.
Hale Irwin and Hubert Green are under the oak tree
by the clubhouse, taking advantage of their status as
Honorary Invitees of Augusta National due to their
major victories. Seeing the pair together is a reminder
the two were formidable Masters competitors in the
1970s. From 1974-80, Green had six top-10s, including
a T- 2 in 1978. Irwin had top-10s every year from 1974 to
1978 (including four top-fives). “It’s nice to come back
each year,” Irwin says. “And it’s nice that they ask.”
6:03 P. M.
Peter Hanson closes out a third-round 65, giving him
the 54-hole lead at nine-under 207. More impressively,
the Swede’s back-nine 31 Saturday is an eight-shot
improvement compared to his play Friday.
2: 57 P. M.
Foreshadowing the afternoon’s events, 36-hole co-lead-er Fred Couples misses the green right on the first hole
and makes bogey after failing to get up and down. The
gasp from the stands behind the green when Couples’
par putt doesn’t drop is audible and foreboding.
6: 12 P.M.
A birdie on the 18th hole from Mickelson gives him
a third-round 66 and puts him one back of Hanson
but in the final twosome. It’s the same spot he has
played in his three Masters victories and a group that
the eventual champion has played out of in 19 of
the past 21 years.
12: 40 P.M.
Thomas Graham and two friends from Augusta stand near
the ninth fairway, each wearing a shirt that reads, “SHANK.”
3: 49 P.M.
What makes a family tradition? The Albrights of
Columbia, S.C., (dad Tim; mom Bridget; twin girls
7: 23 P.M.
Bubba Watson and Oosthuizen bump into each other
in the locker room, each acknowledging their pairing in
the penultimate group Sunday. “We’ll talk about kids
and stuff. I’ve got a lot of questions,” Watson says to
the 2010 British Open champ. “Just don’t ask about
diapers,” Oosthuizen replies.
