Friday, April 09, 2010

Friday Masters Question: What's Next?

The question today is what's next?

It seems unlikely that the second round of the Masters can go thrill-for-thrill with what happened on Thursday at Augusta National but it is, after all, a place where uncommon things occur.

First-round leader Fred Couples just started and Tiger Woods tees off at 10:35, going back to work on their strong starts.

Couples may be 50 but he seems almost bubbly about the state of his game. Throw in his love of Augusta National, his new-found fondness for putting and the good vibes the crowd gives him and I expect he'll hang around at or near the lead today.

It will be interesting to see if Woods can build on his good play Thursday. Had he putted a little better -- a common problem from him at the Masters in recent years -- Woods could have shot a seriously low score in the first round. He talked Thursday about how normal things felt back on the course and that's not likely to change.

Tom Watson tees off at 12:25 p.m. amid legitimate questions as to whether he can sustain the level of play he showed Thursday. Then again, the same thing was being said at the British Open last summer.

Phil Mickelson tees off at 1:42 and will get the prime afternoon television coverage on ESPN but keep an eye on Lee Westwood, another afternoon starter.

Don't be surprised if he winds up on top when the second round is complete.

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