European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 7, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 38 stars and stripes saturday april 7 2007 round 1 goes to Augusta Rose Wetterich Lead on worst masters scoring Day in 4 years by Eddie Pells the associated press Augusta a for excite ment there was a Short burst when Rich Beem made a Birdie and an Eagle cruising through amen Corner for laughs there was the time when Gary player reached in his pocket and realized hed forgot ten his Ball Marker As for the rest of the first Day of the masters Well it Felt More like a us open with Low scores hard to find and barely a Roar to be heard rippling through the Georgia Pines Justin Rose and Brett Wetter Ich finished at 3underpar 69 on thursday to take the first round Lead they were two of Only nine players to break Par on a dry Windy Day in which the average score was 76187 the highest in four years youre not going to go Low said Tiger Woods who bogeyed the last two holes to finish with a disappointing 73 Low is Only 69 today that s some pretty Good playing indeed hardly anyone was out of this tournament and scores didst figure to improve much Given the forecast fridays Sec Ond round began with tempera Tures in the upper 30s arid a steady North Breeze that was fore cast to get stronger As the Day went on it meant there was Hope for everyone including Beem who finished 1 under thanks to his Birdie Eagle combo on nos 12 and 13 and defending Champion Phil Mickelson who was staying optimistic after a windblown 76 if i can shoot a 68 or better i could get myself Back to Par and get Back in it said Mickelson who had an afternoon tee time never mind the fact that no one has won the masters after shoot ing worse than 75 in the first round who other than the 12 players who failed to break 80  hold out at least a Glim Mer of Hope after this Day Ernie Els shot 78 but thought he still had a Chance Jim Furyk the Dis Tant second in the world behind Woods shot 75 and was also look ing at the Bright Side pius3 int out of it Furyk said i didst do anything Well today Dean Wilson shot a 75 that didst include a Birdie but when you look up and no one else is doing it it gives me a boost he said i didst hear the roars Augusta National is famous for there were some guffaws when player realized he had mistakenly forgotten his Ball Marker on the first Green he had to bum a dime off Amateur Julien Guerrier of France you just kind of chuckle about it and play on said Vaughn Tay Lor the other Man in players threesome who shot 71 after his 83 the 71yearold player proclaimed beefed up Augusta National to have moved onto his list of the three toughest Golf courses in the world along with Carnoustie and the links in his Homeland of South Africa the recently added length at Augusta combined with this kind of weather was supposed to Knock All the old timers into oblivion funny then that names like Craig Stadier fuzzy Zoeller 74 and Tom Watson 75 spent a Good Deal of time on the Leader Board Washington Road is softer than the no 1 Green Zoeller said that s the hardest Green i think Ive Ever seen Els opened with a double bogey then took bogey on me par5 second he shot 42 on the front nine us open Champion Geoff Ogilvy was some 50 Yards in front of the Green on no 2 when he hit wedge Long into a Bun Ker then hit that shot Back to Ward the Fairway finally pitched up to about 8 feet and three putt de for an 8 he also took a double bogey on the par3 12th but still managed a 75 you feel like the course is David defending masters Champion Phil Mickelson struggled on thursday Mickelson birdied two of his last four holes to finish off a 4over 76 going to get you somewhere Ben Crenshaw said after a 76 it Doest matter who you Are Woods said the greens were crusting out As badly As they did during a particularly dry year in 1999 but the pin positions were easier than he a Bow to the Windy weather but All that was secondary to Tiger who was steaming after he grinder his Way to below Par Only to give it away on the last two holes i just threw away a Good round of Golf he said others on that Short list in red numbers were David Howell and David Toms at 70 and Tim Clark j j Henry and Zach Johnson at 71 Rose meanwhile returned after five weeks off to take care of a sore Back his round was remarkable for what it lacked bogeys the highlight came when he holed a Bunker shot on no 5 for Birdie in trouble after his tee shot he aimed for the Sand in Back of the Green figuring it would be easier to get up and Down from there than from the front turns out he got up and Down in one shot thais exciting to go bogey free on any course on any Day Rose said first round at Augusta on a Day where obviously the scores Are pretty High makes it a very pleasing round i one that in very Happy v for sure masters scoreboard thursday at Augusta National Gott club Augusta a yardage pan 72 3636 first round Amateur Justin Rose Brett Wetterich David Howell David Toms Tim Clark Vaughn Taylor Zach Johnson Rich Beem Ujj Henry Davis love 111 Henrik Stenson Bart Bryant Tim Herron Jee Milkha Singh Scott Verplank Rory safa Batini Luke Donald Tiger Woods Vijay Singh Arron Oberholser Adam Scott Jose Maria Olazabal Todd Hamilton Craig Stadier Lucas Glover fuzzy Zoeller Trevor Ummelman la Poulter Dean Wilson Bradley dredge Chris Dimarco Kenneth fee Tom Watson Stuart Appleby Mike Weir Koch of Geoff Ogilvy Charles Howel ill Jim Furyk Yong Sunyang Tom Pernice or Jerry Kelly Billy Mayfair Nic Ohern be Crenshaw Colin Montgomerie Fred couples Sergio Garcia Phil Mickelson Arichie Ramsay Carl Pettersson Ben Curtis Jef Sluman Stephen Ames retie Goosen Michael Campbell Mark Calcavecchia Brett Quigley Ajohn Kelly Steve Strieker niclas fasth mar Omeara Chad Campbell Angel Cabrera Stewart Cink Robert Karlsson Rod Pampling Raymond Floyd Johnrow Liris Thomas Bjorn Padraig Harrington Bernhard Langer Ernie Els John Edfors Troy Matteson Sandy Lyle Shingo Katayama Pau Goydos Miguel Angel Jimenez Robert Allenby Lee Westwood Ben Crane Paul Casey Aaron Baddeley Joe Durant Camilo Villegas Fred Funk Shaun Micheel Larry Mize Gary player Julien Guerrier Darren Clarke Dave Womack Hideto Tanihara seve Ballesteros Casey Watabu Ian Woosnam 37 5 i we 394483 424183 424284 404737 another Augusta native hoping to follow in mizes footsteps Scripps Howard news service Augusta a Twenty years after Larry Mize became the first Hometown hero to win the masters Vaughn Taylor is try ing to follow in his footsteps the Augusta native avoided the Dis traction of playing in front of friends and family and shot a 1under 71 Taylor attended his first Mas ters As a 11yearold Spectator in 1987 the year Mize shocked Greg Norman in a playoff obviously growing up in Augusta and even attending College at Augusta state he has always dreamed of winning the masters he never imagined being in the pressroom As the Early first round Leader in the clubhouse tra jul Isles Riotis its a great feeling if s a dream if s a Good feeling to be Here an admittedly nervous Tay Lor said theres a Long Way to go and hopefully i can make it Back in Here despite growing up in town he didst get to play Augusta nation Al until his freshman year in col lege in his first masters appear Ance last year he disappointed missing the Cut he said instead of letting the nerves get the Best of him he used the extra excite ment to his advantage snot of the Day Tim Clark is making it a tradition to pull off amazing shots to finish rounds in the masters last year the South african holed out from a greenside Bun Ker to finish alone in second place on thursday in the first round Clark putted from off the Green and Back off the Green on the other Side on purpose using the Steep slope behind the pin he strategically rolled his 60foot putt past the Hole taking a roundabout approach it reminiscent of Tiger Woods Chip shot on no 16 in 2005 that went up the Hill and Back Down in the Middle of the Hole that putt was Tough As i had to use the slope of the Back said Clark who finished under Par thanks to the dramatic Birdie i putted it and it was like a turn it went just off the Green and came Back it was exciting but not As much As the Bunker shot last year the shot helped Clark to a Fine 1under 71 one of the few rounds under Par All Day balanced Beem its been five years since Rich Beem captured the 2002 pea championship at Hazeltine the 36yearold Hast done much since despite High expectations after shooting a first round 71 he said raising kids moving to a new City aus tin Tex and family caused him to change his priorities i would not take Back any thing that i Ever did or not even remotely said Beem who has finished out of the top 100 on the pea tour Money list in the last four years i Learned from it and what Doest kill you can Only make you stronger theres just so Many things going on in my life and Golf took a Back seat Beem who matched his Ca re Erbest round at Augusta National credits a three week offset son break where he didst touch a Golf club gave him new incentive to work on his Golf game ironically a snowboarding trip to Coeur Dalene Oregon tit the fire for a Long time i was trying to put band aids on my game and get from one week to another and hopefully make a Nice Check Here and there Beem said finally it got time to get going again