Golf:A double-bogey at the last cost Lee Westwood the clubhouse lead in the US Masters at Augusta National and left Jason Dufner and 1992 champion Fred Couples in the lead on five under. It looked likely Rory McIlroy and Sergio Garcia would join them before bogeys at the 17th and 18th respectively.
The final hole caused plenty of problems today, despite a favourable pin position and Dufner would have led on six under had he not bogeyed it.
Westwood never reached the heights of yesterday, but he didn’t need to for the most part and only really slipped up when he pulled his second to the 18th green and three-putted.
“Yeah, it’s not the ideal way to finish but I’m still right there in the tournament so it should be a good weekend,” he said afterwards.
Couples carded a 67, 20 years after his Augusta win, but playing partner and Open champion Darren Clarke will not be around for the weekend after a disappointing 81 left him 10 over.
“I hit the ball very well, I felt like it was hard day on the range and I told my teacher ‘I just want to hit it solid’”, said Couples. “Today I ht the ball really solid and I putted really well, obviously.”
McIlroy got to four under from one under by the seventh but a bogey at 10 saw him slip back to three under. A birdie at 13, and another 15, saw him move upwards again before he found trouble of the tee on the penultimate hole, pitched to the left of the green and failed to get up and down in two. He may well be playing with Bubba Watson again after the American went in on four under as well.
“I drove the ball a lot better which was the key for me today,” said McIlroy. “I felt a lot more comfortable out there today than I did yesterday.
“In majors, you just have to play your way into and I felt I did,” he added. “I’m right where I want to, only one off the lead going into the weekend with chance to put myself in a position to win this tournament again.”
Garcia had a wonderful round of 68 but, as was the case with Westwood, he shot left on his approach to the last and took three to get down from there. Afterwards, he appeared relieved to get off the course.
“I played nicely, a couple of shots here and there I would have liked to have played better," he said. "There are two or three holes out there I don’t like and I don’t feel comfortable playing them."
Asked what his hopes were for the weekend, he added: “I don’t know. I’m just doing to go out there and play and try to shoot two good rounds. I don’t know, I wish I could see the future."
Dufner described his round as “solid, but admitted it was “tough to end with a bogey”, adding: “Nobody likes to do that.”
Louis Oosthuizen was level with Swede Peter Hanson overnight on four under, and both struggled. The South African, however, managed to recover on his back nine to sign for a 72 and remain in the mix.
Hanson was co-leader at one stage but went the wrong way after the turn and finished two under, alongside Phil Mickelson, who shot six birdies in a 68 to move from two over to two under and right back into contention.
Scotland's Paul Lawrie was also well placed after three closing birdies rescued his round and brought him back to where he started on three under.
Pádraig Harrington teed off on one under and picked up a shot at the second before giving it back on the sixth and dropping two more at the eighth and ninth, to turn on one over.
Graeme McDowell should be around for the weekend after a 72 left him three over, dangerously close to the cut of 10 shots off the lead.
Tiger Woods opened with birdies at the first and third to move to two under, but dropped shots at two par threes to move back to level par, before another at the ninth left him struggling at the turn.
