ESPN.com - Golf Online - Masters 2000 - Rookie Paulson grabs Masters lead

Associated Press
Friday, April 7

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Somebody forgot to tell Dennis Paulson that Augusta National is tougher than ever.

Tiger Woods knew all too well.


	Dennis Paulson got his day rolling with an eagle on the second hole.

On a day when Woods made his first triple bogey in 541 holes and finished behind two guys in their 60s, Paulson's maiden voyage in The Masters turned into a memorable 4-under 68 that gave him a one-stroke lead over Tom Lehman.

"Maybe lack of knowledge is better, not knowing how hard this course is supposed to be," said Paulson, a 37-year-old Californian whose biggest victory came on the Nike Tour.

Or maybe he just was too happy to be in The Masters to care.

Paulson ran into the same kind of trouble that stalled everyone else on a blustery day at Augusta, making a double bogey on No. 11. But he also had an eagle and five birdies that gave him the lead after the first round of the first major championship of the year.

Lehman managed to avoid a train wreck until the end. Playing without a bogey for the first 17 holes, an amazing feat considering the tough new rough and always treacherous winds, he drove into the trees on the 18th and took double bogey to lose the lead.

"If you avoid hitting shots that cost you ... that was the whole key out there," said Lehman, the Masters runner-up in 1994. "But I feel good about the round. It's a tremendous score in these conditions. I'm not going to let one blip on the radar screen bother me."

Make that two blips for Woods, the prohibitive favorite to win his second green jacket. And he wasn't bothered, either.

Andy North's analysis

It was another typically interesting day at The Masters. Anytime the wind swirls at Augusta, interesting things happen. Tiger hits his ball in the water at 12, there are all sorts of balls in the water at 15 -- both long and short. You just never know.

It's tough to judge the wind here when it's blowing 15-18 mph. And it never blows in the same direction. Once you hit the ball and it's up in the air, you have no idea what's going to happen.

That's what makes Nos. 10, 11 and 12 so interesting. You can have a disaster at any moment. On those holes, you can hit shots you think you hit perfectly, and you can miss the green by 20 yards. It's that drastic. And if the wind blows the rest of the week, it will continue to be that drastic.

On Dennis Paulson
He isn't just some young whippersnapper. He knows what he's doing. He had a breakthrough year last year, and he's continued to play well. This golf course is tough, but sometimes, I believe, it's a situation where if you don't know enough about the course, it can work to your advantage. You just play by feel when that happens. He handled it very nicely today. Bogeyed the first, came back and eagled No. 2. That's maturity.

On the relatively soft greens
That was shocking to me. I was out early in the morning, and when the wind is blowing 15 mph at 10 o'clock in the morning, man, you don't want to hit shots into 15 and 17. We saw balls stop within a foot or two of where they land at both 12 and 17. It's not always like that.

On Tiger Woods
Tiger made double at 10, triple at 12 and kept his composure. That's a big deal. He kept himself in the tournament when he could have shot himself right out. That shows a lot of toughness, a lot of game.

Even-par at the turn, Woods three-putted for double bogey on No. 10 and then made his first triple bogey since November on the par-3 12th, hitting into the water and then three-putting from about 12 feet.

He managed two birdies the rest of the way for a 3-over 75, his worst score since the final round of the Masters last year. The last time Woods opened with a 75 at Augusta, he missed the cut. He was also a 20-year-old amateur.

"I think it's fine," said Woods, who now has gone nine straight rounds in the Masters without breaking 70. "It's not easy out there. Look at the scores. Look how many guys aren't under par."

Look at Jack Nicklaus.

Somebody also forgot to tell Nicklaus that a 60-year-old has no business trying to contend for a seventh green jacket. He made 15 straight pars in the more difficult, crusty afternoon conditions until he stumbled with a couple of bogeys and finished with a 74.

Look at 63-year-old Tommy Aaron, who won the Masters two years before Woods was born. Aaron was 1 under with four holes to play and finished with a 72.

"The best I've done the past several years is miss the cut by a stroke," Aaron said.

Paulson and Lehman were the only players to break 70 on a day in which the new, expansive rough was far less a problem than old, devilish winds that change direction on a moment's notice.

Sergio Garcia, playing his first Masters as a professional, recovered from a double bogey on the par-3 sixth hole to finish at 70, tied with Steve Stricker.

The group at 71 included Phil Mickelson, who two-putted for all three of his birdies, and former U.S. Open champion Steve Jones, who was at 5 under until he ran into huge problems in Amen Corner.

Several others could have joined them.

Former Masters champion Craig Stadler was at 3 under until hitting two balls in the water on No. 15 and taking a quadruple-bogey 9.

"I was lucky to hit the green the third time," he said.

Two-time U.S. Open champion Ernie Els was at 3 under until his group was put on the clock on the 15th. He rushed a sand wedge into the 15th green, went in the water for double bogey, and let it gnaw at him the rest of the way.

"You're in the lead in The Masters and you've got some idiot official telling you you're out of position," Els said. "It's ridiculous."

It could have been worse.

Greg Norman, looking to erase 20 years of bad memories in The Masters, had a 43 on the back nine and shot an 80, his highest score ever at Augusta.

Former champions Seve Ballesteros (81) and Fuzzy Zoeller (82) were also among those who had an 80 or worse. Doug Ford, playing in his 48th Masters, had a 94. At least he shaved two strokes off last year's opening round.

None of this fazed Paulson.

The former winner of the National Long Driving Championship isn't as long as he used to be, but he already figured out one secret to Augusta. He played the par 5s in 5-under, including a 15-foot eagle putt on the second hole.

He also picked up a few breaks along the way, such as a nice kick around the bumpy hills guarding the eighth green.

"Every guy who played today got good breaks if he had a good score," Paulson said.

Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979 was the last of only three players to win The Masters on their first try. Paulson, while thrilled to have the lead after 18 holes, wasn't about to lose his perspective.

"It could be the Barn Door open or The Masters. It's the first round," he said. "It's great. It's something I'll always be able to say. But unless I play well for three more days, who's going to care?"

Paulson nearly quit the game while bouncing in and out of Q-School. His first trip to Augusta came two years ago, when he took a detour while traveling from one Nike Tour stop to another. He didn't go down Magnolia Lane, but he dreamed about it.

He turned to his caddie and said, "This is where we want to be."

After one day, even Woods wouldn't mind being in Paulson's position.


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