Kuchar continues latest roll
AUGUSTA, Ga. - Matt Kuchar arrived at Augusta National Golf Club with some pretty impressive recent results under his belt.
The former Georgia Tech standout entered the Masters following a playoff loss to Matt Jones at the Shell Houston Open. Kuchar lost only when Jones holed a chip on the first playoff hole. The runner-up finish followed a tie for fourth at the Valero Texas Open the week prior.
Kuchar channeled some of that momentum Saturday, firing a 4-under-par 68 to move into contention at the Masters.
He is one shot behind co-leaders Jordan Spieth and Bubba Watson and will be paired in the penultimate group today with Jonas Blixt.
“It’s exciting to be in this position, to be close on Saturday, moving day, went ahead and made a move and played some really good golf,” Kuchar said. “I feel like I’ve been playing good, certainly my third week in a row now with some really nice playing.
It’s nice to continue it. I had the great weeks in San Antonio and then Houston, and I’m hoping the trend continues. I felt pretty good that I would keep up the good play. It’s nice to have it really come through and be teeing off late [today] at the Masters. It’s a fun place to be.”
Kuchar started the day at even, following rounds of 73 and 71, but he moved to 3 under with three birdies on the front nine. He made three more birdies in a row on the back, dropping in putts at Nos. 13, 14 and 15 to get to 5 under and tie for the lead at one point. A bogey on No. 18 - he had a 30-foot par putt roll over the top of the hole - dropped Kucharto 4 under.
Kuchar, 35, has finished in the top 10 the past two years, and he led late in the final round in 2012 before faltering late and finishing tied for third while Watson won.
Done after 2015
Two-time Masters champion Ben Crenshaw told the Golf Channel on Saturday that next year’s tournament will be his final Masters.
Crenshaw competed in his 43rd Masters this year.
He has 11 top-10 finishes at Augusta National. But the 62-year-old hasn’t made the cut since 2007. He has missed the cut in 15 of his past 17 Masters appearances.Knox strikes again
Augusta National member Jeff Knox has served as a marker at the Masters the past few years.
When there is an uneven number of players who make the cut, the marker plays with the first pairing so the professional isn’t out there by himself.
Knox has filled that role as the club champion in recent years, and he often gets the best of whomever he plays with, which was Rory McIlroy on Saturday.
Usually, Knox isn’t grouped with a foe as formidable as the one he played with in the third round.
Knox shot a 2-under 70 to beat McIlroy by one shot, the ninth-ranked player in the world confirmed after his round.
“I thought he was going to be nice and three-putt the last, and we would have a halve, but he beat me by one,” McIlroy said. “He obviously knows this place so well. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone putt the greens as well as he does around here. He was really impressive. I was thinking of maybe getting him to read a few of my putts out there.”Ratings game
The TV ratings continue to be down at the Masters, where Tiger Woods is absent for the first time in 20 years.
ESPN said its live telecast of the second round earned a 1.8 household rating (2.5 million viewers), which was down 40 percent from last year’s 3.0 rating (4.2 million viewers) for the second round. That 3.0 last year was the highest for a Friday since ESPN began airing the Masters in 1998.
Over two days, the rating is down 36 percent.
“While viewership was down this year, the Masters has a value to us that goes well beyond ratings,” said John Wildhack, the executive vice president of production and programming for ESPN.
Standing room
Amen Corner is more crowded than a church on Easter.
Augusta National’s famed three-hole stretch is packed 20, 30, 40 deep at most parts, leaving little room to walk between the 11th and 13th fairways.
Everyone there was treated to a lengthy wait Saturday, too.
There was about 40 minutes before Jason Day and Joost Luiten arrived after Rory McIlroy and a marker played through, so fans stood, sat, lounged, drank, ate and chatted.
They had no choice but to fellowship with neighbors since the Masters doesn’t allow cellphones on the course and doesn’t have any televisions or video boards providing updates.
Sports, Pages 33 on 04/13/2014