
The
14-year-old from China is making his mark on this Masters and it is any ones
guess how it will take shape.
Despite
being the first player at Augusta National to get hit with a one-shot penalty
for slow play, 14 tear old Guan Tianlang
still made history Friday as the youngest player to make the cut in a PGA
Tour-sanctioned event.
And it
all came down to the last shot of a wild and windy day.
Jason Day
could have ended his dream early with a birdie from just off the front of the
green on the 18th hole. But the Australian was wide left and tapped in for par,
giving him a 4-under 68 and a one-shot lead over fellow Aussie Marc Leishman
and the ageless Fred Couples.
The par
meant that Guan, who had one shot added to his score on the 17th hole for his
second bad time of the round - made the cut under the 10-shot rule.
"If
I can make it, I would be really happy for it," Guan said some five hours
earlier. "But if I didn't make it, it's still a great week."
But make
it he did and he is now part of a thrilling Masters Weekend.
Tiger Woods
moved into a share of the lead with a two-putt birdie on the eighth hole, and
he was looking to be back to his best. But just when it looked like he would
move into the overall, he hit a lob wedge that was so perfect it hit the flag
on the par-5 15th and caromed backward off the green and into the water.
Instead of having a short birdie putt, he had to scramble to save bogey.
Woods
posed over another shot on the 18th and couldn’t believe when it hopped onto
the upper shelf, leading to his second three-putt bogey of the week. He had to
settle for a 71, though he was still only three shots out of the lead.
"My
score doesn't quite indicate how well I played today," Woods said.
The
53-year-old Couples, who shared the 36-hole lead at the Masters last year,
birdied the 18th hole for a 71 and will play in the final group.
Former
Masters champion Angel Cabrera birdied five of his last six holes for a 69 and
was in the group two shots behind, along with former U.S. Open champion Jim
Furyk (71) and Brandt Snedeker (70). Woods was at 3-under 141 with six others,
including Adam Scott (72), Lee Westwood (71) and Justin Rose (71).
And still
in the mix was Rory McIlroy, who turned his fortunes around with a 5-wood from
about 275 yards that set up a short eagle putt. He added three more birdies on
the back nine and had a 70, leaving him only four shots out of the lead going
into the weekend.
"Anything
under par today was going to be a good score," McIlroy said.
Guan,
playing with Matteo Manassero and Ben Crenshaw, was informed his group was out
of position as it left the 10th green. They were on the clock on the 12th hole,
meaning players would be timed to make sure they hit their shots within the
40-second limit. The teen got his first bad time with his second shot on the
13th hole, and it was clear he was in trouble after his shot into the 17th when
John Paramor, chief referee in Europe, walked out to speak to him.
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