CASEY RIDES BUZZ TO 65, EARLY LEAD
Englishman takes advantage of conditions as many are delayed by inclement weather
AUGUSTA, GA. >> Already seven months behind schedule because of the pandemic, the most unusual Masters was 30 minutes old Thursday when the silence was interrupted by a rumble down by Amen Corner.
No roars this week. Just thunder. And then a weather delay of nearly three hours.
All that, and it was still worth the wait.
Paul Casey matched his lowest score at the Masters with a 7-under 65, giving him a two
shot lead among half the field fortunate to play in perfect scoring conditions. Tiger Woods matched his lowest start, a 68, and kept a bogey-free card in a major for the first time in 11 years.
The course was different than what they expected, a result of the rain and the calendar. The silence was exactly what they expected because majors haven’t had spectators in 16 months.
But it was still the Masters.
“So many people like myself are just excited to play this,” Casey said. “This is a treat. It always has been and always will be a real treat.”
No doubt, the absence of roars was as eerie as the sound of a drone that approached the first tee as Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player prepared to hit their ceremonial tee shots. The Masters is using two drones this year, a first.
Casey found energy from the familiarity of the course, from the history, from the mystique. And it was enough to carry him to a round he needed on a day — a partial day — of low scoring. Twelve of the 48 players who finished shot in the 60s.
Woods, a notorious slow starter despite his five green jackets, had one moment where he thought trouble might lurk. It was the fifth hole, which he bogeyed all four rounds last year when he won the Masters. He hit a low fade off the tee that left him 227 yards to the hole.
“Hit a 4-iron to the back edge and it only rolled out a foot,” Woods said. “That doesn’t happen here.”
The biggest crowd — about 100 people in this case — was two groups ahead of Woods watching Bryson DeChambeau smash shots into trees and one shot into the azaleas bushes behind the 13th green. He was lucky to find it because his provisional shot went into the creek. He still made double bogey, though he managed to scratch out a 70.
So much action, typical of the Masters, and so little volume.
“Yes, it’s clearly a lot less than what we’re used to,” Casey said. “But there’s something about this place. I felt excited to be here.”