April 8, 2007

Scores aren't par for course
Appleby leads the Masters with a 2-over 218 after three rounds.

By J. BRADY McCOLLOUGH
The Kansas City Star

AUGUSTA, Ga. | Maybe this wasn't Vaughn Taylor's most embarrassing moment in his hometown. Maybe the Augusta native tripped while dancing with his date at the Hephzibah High School senior prom. Maybe he forgot his lines in the school play and everybody laughed.

The only difference would be that, on Saturday, a lot more people were watching when Taylor took the lead with a birdie at the 15th hole. That's when CBS host Jim Nantz exclaimed to the world, "Somebody wants it!"

What Nantz forgot in the euphoria of somebody in this field actually making a birdie was that holes 16, 17 and 18 have brutalized one-time leaders all week. Taylor was the next in line. His 1-over par turned into 4 over after he bogeyed all three holes. He certainly stumbled, only nobody was laughing.

Well, Fred Ridley probably was. But not at Taylor. Ridley, the first-year chair of the Masters Competition Committee, would have been laughing at the whole field -- which features a leader, Stuart Appleby, who has shot 2-over par through three rounds.

Appleby couldn't survive the final three holes either. Heading into No. 17, the Australian was leading by 2 shots at 1-under par. He triple-bogeyed 17, dropping out of the lead. Of course, that was only temporary because the competition hadn't hit No. 16 yet.

"At 17, I hit a bad tee shot," Appleby explained. "From where I saw my lie, I thought, 'Well, if I make a 5, that will be pretty good.' And really, the whole day was a bit like that, you know? You extracted par sometimes, in really difficult situations."

If you're wondering why the Masters isn't very fun to watch this year, why it seems more like a U.S. Open, Ridley is a good place to start. Before taking his new post at Augusta, he was the USGA president for two years, in charge of setting up the Open's gauntlet.

Ridley's course tamed Tiger Woods, who also finished poorly, bogeying 17 and 18. Yet, despite not shooting a below-par round once this tournament, Woods is 1 back of the lead at 3-over 219 and playing in the final pairing with Appleby.

What is going on here? Before Appleby came in at 218, the highest score by a third-round leader was even-par 216. The field's 77.35 third-round scoring average was the third-highest in history.

Sure, it was really, really cold. These Georgians didn't know what to do with temperatures in the 40s. They stayed huddled up together and many left the course early. Couldn't take it.

"It felt pretty strange seeing the bleachers kind of half-empty," Taylor said. "I don't think I've ever seen that before. It was so cold. I had a hand-warmer in my pocket, and I think I wore that thing out today."

Then there was the wind. It was like Royal Troon out there. And the greens were so fast they might as well have been greased. There are many theories being floated about, but in the end, the fans should get what they want today. Defending champion Phil Mickelson is 4 back, firmly in contention. There's the hometown hero in the making, Taylor, who is trying to pull a Larry Mize on the 20th anniversary of Mize's Masters title run. And, of course, there's Woods, teeing off in the last group.

That isn't exactly what Appleby, who is trying to become the first Australian to win the Masters, wanted.

"He won't even know I'm there," Appleby said. "I'm sure I'll know he's there."

Appleby was asked if the blustery conditions could be an equalizing factor today. The Aussie didn't take the bait.

"Look," Appleby said, "Tiger has always got an advantage. It's quite obvious. You don't have to say, 'Wow, look, he stepped out on a limb and said Tiger has an advantage.' He has more experience than what's left of this field put together."

To reach J. Brady McCollough, sports reporter for The Star, e-mail jmccollough@kcstar.com

J. Brady McCollough - jbrady@coveringsports.com (email) - 816-868-2621 (cell)