Top four players not as dominant as weather

Updated: April 8, 2005, 10:02 PM ET

By Jason Sobel | ESPN.com

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AUGUSTA, Ga. -- We should be halfway through The Masters, but instead we're only halfway through half of The Masters, so it might be time to look at who's been causing all this commotion on the PGA Tour this year.

AP Photo/Amy SancettaEven Tiger can't win when it's raining out.

Nine events delayed by weather issues. Three of them finished on a Monday.

And still, all golf fans want to talk about are ... golfers?

Still, the Big Four was the talk of the town entering tournament time, with most people expecting one of the elite players to be wearing a green jacket come Sunday.

Well, without much golf to speak of here at Augusta National, there's no better time to look at who has been more dominant -- the celebrated quartet of Vijay Singh, Tiger Woods,Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson? Or Mother Nature, heretofore known on tour as the Big Pour?

The Big Four has won major championships a combined 15 times.

The Big Pour has been a major pain in the neck nine times this season.

The Big Four is struggling to keep Retief Goosen out of their foursome.

The Big Pour knows Goose struggles anytime someone even mentions the thought of lightning.

The Big Four make for exciting final-round finishes (see: Doral).

The Big Pour makes for exhausting final-round finishes (see: just about everywhere else).

Ah, but there is one large difference between the Big Four and the Big Pour. Golf fans -- uh, patrons, this week -- actually enjoy watching the players, and for good reason: Vijay's noted work ethic, Phil's electric smile, Ernie's easy swing and Tiger's ability to, well, hit the ball really, really far.

Then again, the Big Pour never putted a ball into a water hazard. Ouch, Tiger.

Woods' slip-up on Augusta National's 13th hole on Thursday notwithstanding, we've been left, well, high and dry, waiting for the superstars to towel off and get in gear.

When they've played, each has been terrific at times; the Big Four has combined for eight wins worldwide this season. But when they're all washed out, there's nothing left to do but watch the greens get soft.

So what does Woods have to say to current climate conditions which are, um, trying to steal his thunder, so to speak?

"You have to accept it and be patient and ... be ready to play when your name is called," he said at the overly waterlogged Players Championship two weeks ago.

Either way, it beats watching the raindrops fall.

Or as some like to call it, the Big Bore.

Jason Sobel is ESPN.com's golf editor. He can be reached at Jason.Sobel@espn3.com

Hensby sees highs and lows of golf

Updated: April 8, 2005, 9:29 PM ET

By Ivan Maisel | ESPN.com

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AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Hidden among the princes of the game, with their pedigreed swings and their jet leases, there is a ringer. There's a guy who worked as a mailman during the day and washed restaurant dishes at night, a guy who came to America and slept in his car rather than return to Australia.

Andrew Redington/Getty ImagesHensby shot a 69 Thursday in his first career round at Augusta National.

That guy is Mark Hensby, and he's two strokes out of the lead at The Masters. Hensby shot a 69 in the opening round, and made seven pars Friday before rain suspended play. That's steady golf, and when you've heard the 33-year-old Aussie's story, steady fits him like a new Dry-Joy.

"I see a lot of the guys out here, and they've never worked a day in their lives," Hensby said. "I see how they treat people. That's not right. They've never seen a different side of how people have to make a living."

Hensby grew up in Tamworth, a town of 32,000 about 4½ hours northwest of Sydney. "It's the country music capital of Australia," he said, which could be like a town known as the kangaroo capital of Texas, but never mind. His dad Jim was in the Air Force. His mom Enid still manages a restaurant.

Hensby learned to play golf at age 12, and three years later, his handicap was plus-two. But when he finished school at age 17½, he put his clubs away for three years. "I always wanted to play golf," Hensby said. "I just didn't have time to do it the way I wanted to do it."

For one thing, it would have interfered with his day job with Australian Post (the mail service, not a newspaper). He worked in a restaurant at night, but it took four attempts to get him to own up to dishwashing.

"Don't you dare print that!" he said.

When the lure of the golf course proved too much to resist, Hensby quickly established himself as one of the top amateurs in Australia. He came to the United States, to Chicago, where his mates Ray and Julie Magill lived, in the spring of 1994. One week later, he stood outside the ropes at the Augusta National Golf Club, watching and dreaming.

Hensby went back to Chicago and continued practicing. He caddied three days a week at Butler National, the male-only club that once hosted the Western Open, and he practiced at Cog Hill, one of the best public courses in the nation.

Soon he had a couple of grand to his name, which seemed like plenty, until the Magills moved back to Australia. The only place Hensby knew to go was Cog Hill, so he practiced there by day and slept there by night.

In his Mercury hatchback. In the practice range parking lot. In October and November. In Chicago.

The biggest problem? "Keeping warm," he said.

When he got cold underneath all his jackets, Hensby would wake up, drive a few laps around the parking lot until the heater kicked in, then turn the car off and go back to sleep.

"You think, 'What am I doing? Is it really worth it?,' " he said.

Eventually, one of the range managers busted him, and told him his nights in his Motel V-6 would have to end. But the manager got him a spare room in the condo of an employee at Cog, a guy named Tom Paxson. Hensby stayed in the United States, turned pro, and went to the PGA Tour Q School.

Hensby made it onto the Nationwide Tour in 1997, and after seven seasons, he got on the PGA Tour for good a year ago. He won the John Deere Classic, had eight top-10 finishes, won more than $2.7 million, and the only dishes he washes any more are his own.

This week, he returned to Augusta National for the first time since his second week in America. His five-year-old son Chase caddied for him in the Par-3 Contest. He's on the leaderboard.

And he drives a Mercedes, which he has yet to sleep in.

Ivan Maisel is a senior writer for ESPN.com. He can be reached at Ivan.Maisel@espn3.com.

What will the weekend hold at Augusta?

Updated: April 9, 2005, 10:19 AM ET

By Bob Harig | Special to ESPN.com

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AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Tiger Woods knows how fast the greens are at Augusta National, but surely he never thought he could putt a ball off of one and into the water. Certainly not a surface saturated by rain. Even if the putt was downhill.

Coverage from The Masters

• The rains have passed and conditions Sunday should be nearly pristine. The National Weather Service forecast calls for mostly sunny with highs in the mid 70s and northeast winds of 5 to 10 mph. • Leaderboard | Recap | Full coverage ESPN.com at Augusta National • Harig: Pressure's on for DiMarco • Maisel: DiMarco in the driver's seat • Sobel: Tiger roars back to life • Wojciechowski: Jack's fond farewell • Alternate Shot: Will DiMarco win? More from Augusta National • Golf Digest: Day 3's winners and losers • Golf World: The rainy season • Golf Digest: Day 3 photo gallery ESPN Motion • Woods chases DiMarco  • Highlights from soggy Day 2  • A bizarre Day 1 for players  SportsNation • Give us your take on the Big Four

But it happened, and the blunder remains one of the lowlights of what little golf has transpired through two days but far less than two rounds of The Masters.

The example, however, points out just how treacherous things could have been had the rain not made a mess of things.

Just how much faster would those greens be? And how much more difficult would the course play?

The practice rounds suggested a fearsome test, but that will not be the case this weekend when the second round resumes and as players go after the green jacket to be awarded, hopefully, on Sunday.

The rain has made the place different, and that, sadly, has been the case for a couple of years.

"My first Masters was in '02," said Charles Howell, an Augusta native, "and it hasn't really played firm and fast except for the practice rounds."

Even Masters officials were lamenting the situation.

"We had a magnificent golf course on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday that you all saw," said Will Nicholson, chairman of The Masters competition committee. "Unfortunately, Mother Nature has not treated us too well since then."

Following the 2001 Masters won by Tiger Woods with a score of 272, 16 under par, Augusta National endured major changes.

Over a three-year period, nine holes were either lengthened or altered. Some 300 yards were added to the course, along with a second cut of rough. Bunkers were moved, trees added.

The idea was to try and negate some of the technological advances in the game. Long drivers would have to hit the ball straighter. And the hard, fast conditions would make it more difficult to keep the ball in the fairways and on the greens.

But it has yet to really play that way, and likely won't this weekend.

That doesn't mean it will be easy, but ...

"It just makes the golf course a lot more receptive to wayward shots," said No. 1-ranked Vijay Singh, who trails leaders David Howell, Luke Donald and Chris DiMarco by one stroke.

Singh said the conditions were much more demanding during the practice rounds.

"If you [didn't] hit it precisely where you want to land the ball, it's going to roll off the green," he said. "If you're hitting in with a longer iron, then it's almost impossible to stop it on the green. Things like that are a big factor."

While the course plays considerably longer when wet, it is easier to keep the ball in play and hold it on the greens.

"I still think it favors the long guy," said 2003 champion Mike Weir. "A player who can hit it high and long and straight now, because there is a little bit of rough out there, is going to have a huge advantage."

Perhaps that means that players such as Tiger Woods and Ernie Els can mount a comeback. Both players shot over par in the first round.

Of course, it also means that some of the players near the top of the leaderboard might have an easier time staying there. More birdies are possible because of the softer conditions.

Jay Haas believes the scores are a bit better because the conditions are softer.

"You're hitting shorter shots in," he said. ""The greens were very, very quick [during the practice rounds]. They're good now, but at least you can hold the ball with chip shots and things like that. I don't think the scores would have been as good as they are."

"When it gets really fast out here, you're not sure where your ball will end up," said Adam Scott.

There are many who believe that harder, faster conditions bring more players into contention. The theory is that much of the course's length is negated, and even shorter hitters can hit the ball far enough to put it in position.

It is unlikely those kind of conditions will present themselves by Sunday, but that doesn't mean it will be easy.

"When the course is this wet, it's very tough," said Darren Clarke. "The course will probably play as difficult as can be."

We'll see.

Bob Harig covers golf for the St. Petersburg Times and is a frequent contributor to ESPN.com. He can be reached at harig@sptimes.com.

Wiratchant takes lead

Updated: March 25, 2005, 3:47 PM ET

Associated Press

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JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Colin Montgomerie was way off the lead Friday at the rain-delayed Indonesia Open, a tournament he needs to win to qualify for the Masters.

Montgomerie, who seven times was Europe's No. 1 player, was at the projected cut mark of 3 under par after 13 holes. He is among 64 players who need to complete the second round Saturday. The Scotsman was ranked 54th entering the tournament and must re-enter the top 50 to qualify for the Masters, which begins April 7.

Thaworn Wiratchant of Thailand shot a 7-under 63 Friday to take the clubhouse lead. His eagle-3 on the ninth hole gave him a two-day total of 14-under 126, a stroke ahead of Belgium's Nicolas Colsaerts, who had a 62. Wiratchant also had to play six holes to finish his rain-delayed first round in 73.

First-round co-leaders Arjun Atwal of India and Michael Hoey of Northern Ireland were at 10 under. Atwal had completed 13 holes and Hoey nine when lightning flashed and play stopped.

Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press

Second-round Indonesia Open scores

Updated: March 25, 2005, 8:55 AM ET

Associated Press

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JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Scores Friday from the second round of the $1 million Indonesia Open at the par-6,851, par-70 Cengkareng Golf Club (64 players were unable to complete the round because of rain.):

Thaworn Wiratchant, Thailand        63-63--126  14-under



Nicolas Colsaerts, Belgium          65-62--127  13-under 

Terry Pilkadaris, Australia         67-64--131  9-under
Rapha Jel Jacquelin, France           64-67--131
Adam Fraser, Australia              66-65--131

Satoshi Tomiyama, Japan             69-63--132  8-under
Darren Griff, Canada                70-62--132
Terry Price, Australia              66-66--132
Daniel Vancsik, Argentina           66-66--132

Unho Park, Australia                67-66--133  7-under
Hennie Otto, South Africa           67-66--133
Mahal Darren Pearce, New Zealand    66-67--133
Stephen Browne, Ireland             67-66--133

Clay Devers, United States          67-67--134  6-under
Thammanoon Srirot, Thailand         68-66--134
Zhang Lianwei, China                67-67--134

Ted Oh, South Korea                 67-68--135  5-under
Kao Bo-song, Taiwan                 70-65--135
Paul Marantz, Australia             66-69--135

Jeppe Huldahl, Denmark              69-67--136  4-under
Benoit Teilleria, France            65-71--136
Mike Capone, United States          68-68--136
Scott Strange, Australia            69-67--136
Alessandro Tadini, Italy            66-70--136
David Orr, Scotland                 65-71--136
Marcus Both, Australia              67-69--136
Gerry Nordquist, United States      70-66--136
Lu Wen-teh, Taiwan                  70-66--136
Jochen Lupprian, Germany            67-69--136
Philip Walton, Ireland              67-69--136
Sam Walker, England                 65-71--136
Richard Moir, Australia             66-70--136
Pablo Del Olmo, Mexico              67-69--136