Different starts for Stadlers

AUGUSTA, Ga. - The first father and son to play in the same Masters ended up on opposite ends of the scoreboard Thursday.

Father Craig Stadler shot 10-over 82 in the opening round and has work to do to make the cut today. Kevin, who teed off 40 minutes earlier in his first Masters, had a much more enjoyable round. Kevin shot 2-under 70 and was near the top of the leaderboard.

“I played like a moron,” said Craig, who is exempt for life after winning the 1982 Masters. “I actually hit a lot of decent shots. I just three-putted five or six times or missed a green and made bogey, and it added up to a heck of a lot. It was ugly.”

Craig didn’t get a chance to see his son hit a single shot. Barring a huge turnaround, he will get to see plenty of Kevin’s game this weekend.

“I’ll take 2 under all day, every day, for the rest of my life,” Kevin said.

Eating alone

The biggest disappointment of the week might belong to Casey Nicklaus.

She is the 18-year-old granddaughter of six-time champion Jack Nicklaus. She caddied for him in the Par 3 tournament and was on the first tee when he hit the ceremonial opening tee shot.

Sounds like a pretty cool week, right?

Except that she was on her own for dinner Tuesday night.

On the flight up to Augusta, the teen had heard that Adam Scott would host the Champions Dinner that her grandfather has attended every year since 1964.

“She was on the airplane.

She said, ‘Oh, we’re having dinner with Adam Scott tonight,’ ” Nicklaus said.

The dinner is only for Masters champions and club chairman Billy Payne.

“That was the only disappointing thing for her is she didn’t get to have dinner with Adam,” Nicklaus said. “I don’t know whether her boyfriend liked that comment.”Blixt’s best

Jonas Blixt gave the Masters an international presence on the leaderboard for most of the opening round.

The Swede was in the third group off the tee Thursday morning and shot a 2-under 70.

“I just need to play smart and aggressive,” said Blixt, a Masters rookie who lives in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

“Augusta, the thing is you never know what’s going to happen tomorrow. I feel like I can shoot really low out here, and I really like the golf course the way it sets up. But you could have a really awful day when you catch all the bad breaks.”

Blixt is one of 52 international players from 17 countries in the Masters.

The tournament record for international players was set in 2009, when 55 players from 22 countries participated.

Baseball break

John Schuerholz stepped away from his duties as Atlanta Braves president to take in a little golf.

Schuerholz is frequently seen around Augusta National during Masters week, especially since he gave up the general manager job after the 2007 season. For the opening round, he was joined by his wife Karen.

With the Braves in the midst of a homestand - they had a game Thursday night against the New York Mets - Schuerholz said Thursday would be his only day at the Masters. Atlanta is about a two-hour drive from Augusta.

Famous follower

It’s pretty hard for tennis star Caroline Wozniacki to just be a face in the crowd at the Masters.

Wozniacki followed her fiance, golfer Rory McIlroy, around Augusta National for the opening round - and her bright pink hair stood out.

Wozniacki also drew stares when she caddied for McIlroy in the Par 3 tournament Wednesday. Her colorful locks were the talk of the famed course, and that was with them partially tucked beneath a ball cap.

On Thursday, her hair wasn’t covered a bit.

She may have been overdressed, though.

Wozniacki wore tight-fitting jeans and a black jacket -hardly the perfect outfit as temperatures rose into the mid-70s.

Opening shots

The tee shot is ceremonial, yet there was a sense that competition still exists between the “Big Three.”

Or at least two of them.

Arnold Palmer, 84, hit the opening shot Thursday morning down the middle of the first fairway, barely up the hill. He was followed by 78-year-old Gary Player, who hit his tee shot some 40 yards past Palmer. Last to hit was Jack Nicklaus, the six-time Masters champion who turned 74 this year. Nicklaus hit a tee shot on the same line as Player, and it took one last bounce and rolled about a yard or two by Player.

TODAY’S TEE TIMES

All times Central; a-amateur

6:45 a.m. Kevin Streelman, D.A. Points

6:56 a.m. Larry Mize, Branden Grace, a-Michael McCoy

7:07 a.m. Sandy Lyle, Matt Jones, Ken Duke

7:18 a.m. Jose Maria Olazabal, Lucas Glover, a-Garrick Porteous

7:29 a.m. Nick Watney, Stephen Gallacher, Darren Clarke

7:40 a.m. Vijay Singh, Thomas Bjorn, Ryan Moore

7:51 a.m. Matt Kuchar, Louis Oosthuizen, Thongchai Jaidee

8:02 a.m. Trevor Immelman, Graham DeLaet, a-Oliver Goss

8:13 a.m. Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, Derek Ernst, Sang-Moon Bae

8:24 a.m. Bernhard Langer, Francesco Molinari, Chris Kirk

8:35 a.m. Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Henrik Stenson

8:57 a.m. Bubba Watson, Luke Donald, Sergio Garcia

9:08 a.m. Joost Luiten, Marc Leishman, Hunter Mahan

9:19 a.m. Keegan Bradley, Victor Dubuisson, Peter Hanson

9:30 a.m. Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els, Justin Rose

9:41 a.m. Harris English, Lee Westwood, Russell Henley

9:52 a.m. Stewart Cink, Tim Clark

10:03 a.m. Ian Woosnam, John Huh, Kevin Stadler

10:14 a.m. Ben Crenshaw, Y.E. Yang, Jonas Blixt

10:25 a.m. Mark O’Meara, Steven Bowditch, a-Jordan Niebrugge

10:36 a.m. John Senden, Boo Weekley, David Lynn

10:47 a.m. Craig Stadler, Scott Stallings, Martin Kaymer

11:09 a.m. Tom Watson, Billy Horschel, Brendon de Jonge

11:20 a.m. Mike Weir, Matt Every, Robert Castro

11:31 a.m. Angel Cabrera, Gary Woodland, Ian Poulter

11:42 a.m. Fred Couples, Webb Simpson, a-Chang-woo Lee

11:53 a.m. Graeme McDowell, Rickie Fowler, Jimmy Walker

12:04 p.m. Zach Johnson, K.J. Choi, Steve Stricker

12:15 p.m. Miguel Angel Jimenez, Bill Haas, Matteo Manassero

12:26 p.m. Hideki Matsuyama, Brandt Snedeker, Jamie Donaldson

12:37 p.m. Charl Schwartzel, Jim Furyk, Thorbjorn Olesen

12:48 p.m. Adam Scott, Jason Dufner, a-Matthew Fitzpatrick

12:59 p.m. Jordan Spieth, Patrick Reed, Rory McIlroy

Thursday’s scores

At Augusta National Golf Club Augusta, Ga.

Par 72 (36-36), 7,435 yards

First of four rounds

a-amateur

68 (-4)

Bill Haas ......................................34-34

69 (-3)

Adam Scott .................................33-36

Louis Oosthuizen ........................33-36

Bubba Watson .............................35-34

70 (-2)

Kevin Stadler ...............................35-35

Jonas Blixt ...................................33-37

Gary Woodland ...........................36-34

Jimmy Walker .............................36-34

K.J. Choi ......................................36-34

Brandt Snedeker .........................33-37

Marc Leishman ...........................36-34

71 (-1)

Fred Couples ...............................34-37

Rickie Fowler ...............................36-35

Miguel Angel Jimenez .................32-39

Matteo Manassero ......................34-37

Rory McIlroy ...............................35-36

Jordan Spieth ..............................35-36

Stephen Gallacher .......................33-38

Francesco Molinari......................35-36

72 (E)

John Senden ...............................36-36

Graeme McDowell ......................36-36

Steve Stricker ..............................34-38

Kevin Streelman ..........................37-35

Nick Watney ................................37-35

Bae Sang-moon ..........................36-36

Bernhard Langer .........................36-36

73 (+1)

Stewart Cink ................................35-38

Boo Weekley ...............................36-37

Roberto Castro ............................37-36

Mike Weir ....................................36-37

Jamie Donaldson ........................37-36

Charl Schwartzel .........................37-36

Patrick Reed ................................35-38

Thomas Bjorn .............................37-36

Thongchai Jaidee ........................38-35

Matt Kuchar.................................36-37

Henrik Stenson ...........................37-36

Russell Henley ............................37-36

Lee Westwood ............................36-37

74 (+2)

Steven Bowditch .........................37-37

Brendon de Jonge .......................37-37

Webb Simpson ...........................35-39

Jim Furyk ....................................37-37

Thorbjorn Olesen ........................36-38

Larry Mize ...................................35-39

Matt Jones ..................................36-38

Jose Maria Olazabal ....................37-37

Darren Clarke ..............................39-35

Sergio Garcia ...............................35-39

Hunter Mahan .............................37-37

Victor Dubuisson ........................36-38

Harris English ..............................37-37

John Huh .....................................39-35

75 (+3)

Ken Duke ...........................39-36

Mark O’Meara .............................36-39

Martin Kaymer ............................38-37

Scott Stallings .............................36-39

Billy Horschel ..............................39-36

Lucas Glover ...............................35-40

Vijay Singh ..................................37-38

Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano .......39-36

Chris Kirk.....................................36-39

Jason Day....................................37-38

Joost Luiten ................................37-38

Keegan Bradley ...........................39-36

Ernie Els ......................................39-36

76 (+4)

Ian Poulter ...................................37-39

a-Matthew Fitzpatrick ..................37-39

Sandy Lyle ...................................35-41

a-Garrick Porteous* ....................40-36

a-Oliver Goss* ............................39-37

Derek Ernst..................................42-34

Phil Mickelson .............................39-37

Justin Rose .................................40-36

77 (+5)

Ian Woosnam ..............................36-41

Y.E. Yang .....................................39-38

Matt Every ...................................38-39

Ryan Moore ................................36-41

Dustin Johnson ...........................38-39

78 (+6)

David Lynn ..................................38-40

Tom Watson ................................38-40

Angel Cabrera..............................39-39

Zach Johnson .............................40-38

D.A. Points ..................................40-38

a-Michael McCoy* ......................38-40

Peter Hanson ..............................37-41

79 (+7)

Tim Clark .....................................41-38

Trevor Immelman........................41-38

Luke Donald ................................43-36

80 (+8)

a-Chang-woo Lee ........................39-41

Hideki Matsuyama ......................40-40

Jason Dufner ...............................36-44

Graham DeLaet ...........................42-38

81 (+9)

a-Jordan Niebrugge* ..................39-42

82 (+10)

Craig Stadler ...............................42-40

83 (+11)

Ben Crenshaw .............................41-42

84 (+12)

Branden Grace ............................41-43

* played in the Western Amateur at The Alotian Club in Roland in 2013

Sports, Pages 26 on 04/11/2014