Tour Edge has grown from garage club maker to major player

Tour Edge has grown from garage club maker to major player










Tom LaMarre, The Sports Xchange March 28, 2013 5:20 PMThe SportsXchange



For several years after its inception in 1986, Tour Edge did a nice, little business as something of a specialty golf club company.

David Glod, who played college golf at Florida Southern withRocco Mediate and Lee Janzen before becoming a teaching pro, started the company in the garage of his condo in Warrenville, Ill.

"We were a driver and fairway wood company and then we got into the iron business," said Glod, who now operates the company out of a 5,500-square-foot facility in Batavia, Ill. " ... (In the beginning) my garage was the cut room and my bedroom was the finishing and painting room."

How times have changed.

These days you can fill your golf bag, or everybody's in your foursome for that matter, with Tour Edge equipment, which by the way is state-of-the-art and right on the cutting edge.

"I think our product line is as big, or bigger, than any equipment company here," said a Tour Edge rep, waving his arm to include Titleist, Callaway, TaylorMade, Ping, Nike and Adams, all the heavyweights who had booths of varying sizes on the floor of the PGA Merchandise Show in January at Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla.

Don't look for your favorite player on the PGA Tour, LPGA Tour or Champions Tour to endorse Tour Edge equipment on the Golf Channel, because the company does not pay golfers to use its equipment.

It speaks volumes that some of them do, anyway.

Brandt Snedeker won the Tour Championship and claimed the FedEx Cup with the help of a Tour Edge Exotics 3-wood.

"It's definitely one difficult club to find the perfect fit for, but I did with this Tour Edge Exotics CB4," said Snedeker, who was the best player in the world early this season, winning the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in addition to finishing second twice and third once.

"This is a relatively new 3-wood, its a Tour Edge Exotics 13-degree 3-wood (and) its kind of a little bit higher launch for me. It's got a Diamana shaft in it so. It kind of helps me get (the ball) up in the air a little."

Others who are using or have played Tour Edge clubs at one time or another include Tom Watson, Luke Donald, Matt Kuchar, Nick Faldo, Zach Johnson, Lucas Glover, Tim Clark, Brian Gay, David Duval, Chi Chi Rodriguez, Gil Morgan, Hee-Won Han, Stacy Prammanasudh, Mika Miyazato, Sean O'Hair, Spencer Levin, Ryan Moore, Bruce Fleisher and Kevin Streelman.

Tour Edge's first big breakthrough came in 1999, with the Lift-Off Iron-Wood, one of the first hybrid clubs, which was selected as ING's "Breakthrough Product of the Year."

"I remember writing in a press release that this was the wave of the future," said Jay Hubbard, who then was Tour Edge's vice-president of marketing. "I guess I was right, because now everybody has hybrids."

Tour Edge has had success in recent years with its Bazooka titanium woods and its Exotics line, which made its debut in 2005 and includes every type of club you can put in your bag--from driver, to fairway woods, to hybrids, to irons, to putters.

This year, Tour Edge introduced its Exotics XCG6 line, which includes a full set or irons, hybrids and fairway woods, plus the company's first adjustable driver. With the twist of a wrench supplied with the club, golfers can adjust the face, angle, loft and lie.

Just like the big boys.

A Lesson Learned: Balance the Key to Points Win

A Lesson Learned: Balance the Key to Points Win











Scott Cory March 31, 2013 11:43 PM


In talking to the players on the range this week at the Shell Houston Open, the one thing they told me they were working on was balance and rhythm. A few mentioned other minor adjustments -- ball position, alignment cues, that sort of thing -- but the overarching theme was maintaining good balance and consistent rhythm in their swings.


There will be plenty of stories written about D.A. Pointsusing his mother's Ping Anser putter to win at Redstone Golf Club, and rightfully so given the clutch putts he holed down the stretch, including the 13-footer at the last for the victory. But D.A. would never have been in that position if he and his instructor, Gary Gilchrist, hadn't worked hard on restoring balance and rhythm to his golf swing by quieting his lower body.

D.A.'s tendency was to let his legs and hips outrace his upper body. Below the waist, he was already in a finish position before the club ever reached the ball. Not only did that cause a power leak but, to compensate, D.A. had to fling the club at the ball with his hands. Being a coordinated athlete, he was able to get away with that move much of the time, but when his game and his confidence went south, the flaw accentuated his misses.

Gilchrist knew that if could quiet D.A.'s leg action, he could re-center his balance, allowing a fuller release of the golf club through impact. So they began working to keep D.A.'s right foot on the ground longer.

In practice, he still hits a lot of balls with his right heel completely planted on the ground throughout the swing. Now that can produce some vicious hooks on the driving range, but it also promotes a more centered, rhythmic swing that generates tremendous power at impact.

There are plenty of drills to help you with balance and rhythm. Hitting shots with your feet together is one. Taking your regular stance but pulling your knees close together so that your weight remains on the inside is another.

You can hit balls barefooted (if your club will allow it), or place the ball well outside your front foot and step into the shot -- a drill Jack Nicklaus used to work on with Jack Grout -- or pull your right foot back in an exaggerated closed stance and hit shots from there.

A PGA Professional can help you with other specific drills. They might look silly -- certainly D.A. didn't look like a PGA Tour winner hitting balls with his right foot stuck to the ground -- but they work.

And as D.A. Points will certainly tell you, improving your balance and rhythm can lead to some very valuable results.

PGA Professional Scott Cory is the general manager at Cypresswood Golf Club in Spring, Texas

Lateral Hazard: D.A. Points uses mother's putter to deliver clutch win at Shell Houston Open

Lateral Hazard: D.A. Points uses mother's putter to deliver clutch win at Shell Houston Open











Brian Murphy April 1, 2013 12:20 AMYahoo Sports






View gallery.

D.A. Points celebrates after shooting a final-round 66 to win the Houston Open. (AP)



So you were watching March Madness, and you were organizing egg hunts, and maybe you were thinking about MLB Opening Day … and you forgot about the Shell Houston Open.

No worries, amigo. I got your back.

I'm happy to sing "The Ballad of D.A. Points," a wholly likable 36-year-old Midwestern gent with one career win (at Pebble Beach, by the way), a LEGO belt buckle and a previous claim to fame as Bill Murray's not-famous playing partner at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

Now, after making a 13-footer for par on the 72nd hole in the early evening gloaming of Houston for a one-stroke win over Billy Horschel and Henrik Stenson, Points is a double winner on the PGA Tour, and there is nothing sweeter on the golf course than the sensation of validation.

One career win, and a bushel of missed cuts on your résumé makes someone prone to call you a fluke. Two wins, even with a bushel of missed cuts on your résumé? That makes you a guy who backed it up, who can now walk around in life, and when someone asks to talk about your win on the PGA Tour, makes you a guy who can ask: "Which one?"

Much like Kevin Streelman's first career win at Tampa Bay two weeks ago, Points' win at Houston is a refreshing break from TigerMania and RoryMania gripping golf fans everywhere. There are only so many times we can write and talk about Tiger Woods kicking major butt, and Rory McIlroy lost in the wilderness without forgetting that other human beings actually play golf.

[Also: D.A. Points makes clutch putt to win Houston Open]

And truth told, it was getting sort of easy to forget that Points played golf. After his breakthrough win at Pebble in 2011 with Carl Spackler as his amateur partner, Points' career became as mysterious as the living conditions of Spackler's shed/house in "Caddyshack." In 22 events after the Pebble win, Points' highest finish in 2011 was a tie for 10th at the PGA Championship at Atlanta Athletic Club. That stretch was made worse by seven missed cuts.

And 2012 wasn't any better. After a strong performance at the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow – in which he was the "Who's He Again?" figure in a playoff with McIlroy and winner Rickie Fowler – Points plunged into obscurity. He missed 10 of 16 cuts heading into 2013, and, as if to prove that wasn't a fluke, went and missed seven of his first nine cuts this year.





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D.A. Points now has two career wins on the PGA Tour. (AP)D.A. was scoring no FedEx Cup points, one might say.



If you're counting, that was 17 missed cuts in 25 events entering Houston. That's a 68 percent missed cut rate. That's no bueno, as they might say at a Tex-Mex restaurant in H-Town.

But he hooked up with a new swing coach, Gary Gilchrist, two weeks ago, and something clicked. His first-round 64 set the tone, and his final-round 66 proved he could make the swing under pressure.

[Watch: Sunday highlights]

Plus, he proved he could scramble when it appeared his hopes for victory were sinking like the evening sun in the storm-delayed finish. After inexplicably coming up short of the 17th green from the fairway, Points hit a delicate chip to three feet, a gorgeous bit of nerve. And on 18, he had a mighty 231 yards to the green and was able to avoid a greenside bunker with his approach, hit a so-so chip to 13 feet, then make the putt and – yes! – exult like a man who needed, craved and loved the feeling of validation.

It's hard not to like Points. He told Steve Sands on The Golf Channel that his mechanism for staying calm during the round was to "keep giving my caddy cheesy grins … that usually made us laugh." And he used a PING putter he borrowed from – get this – his mother when he was a junior golfer. He'd gotten away from using Mom's flatstick in the past few years, but dusted it off, asked PING to add some weight to it and had it in his hands when he lined up the 13-footer for victory.

[Also: European Tour golfer hits shot – without any pants]

It's like that old song, where they spell out "M-o-t-h-e-r: 'M' is for the putts I make with your putter ...'"

And the final key to victory was a life lesson for all: Zen.

Points told Sands that his only thought over the putt was, "Whatever happens, happens."

He elaborated that it's been a tough year, and to have a putt to win was so overwhelming that he just surrendered to the moment. He let go of the stress, and rolled the putt in. His shout of joy and exultant fist-pump let you know how much it meant to him.

And, like a good Midwestern boy from Illinois, Points made sure to be gracious.

"Thank you for staying!" he shouted at the few gallery members left after the storm. "Thank you for staying, and Happy Easter!"

Same to you, D.A. And thanks for the show.

SCORECARD OF THE WEEK

69-70-70-65 – 14-under 274, Dustin Johnson, tie for fourth, Shell Houston Open, Redstone Golf Course, Humble, Texas.

Oh, so there's Dustin Johnson. I thought we had lost him to the world of Instagrams with Paulina Gretzky.

And that's not entirely a knock on Dustin Johnson. I'm sure, given the option, some of us would shirk our work duties for Instagrams with Paulina Gretzky.

But it's been darn near three full months since we saw Johnson resonate on a leader board. His win at Kapalua in early January was so long ago, Tiger was still a major question mark, Rory was still No. 1 and Manti Te'o's dead girlfriend was real.

Shortly after that win, the Dustin-Paulina romance hit the press, Dustin and Paulina kept Instagramming photos of themselves madly in love and Johnson missed a couple of cuts, threw in a W/D and didn't hang a top 10 until Houston.





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Dustin Johnson tees off on the 18th hole during the final round of the Houston Open. (AP)That leaves us with two options on Johnson, who for three years now has been the most tantalizing major-less talent on Tour:



1.) He's back playing golf seriously now, making good on his otherworldly talent and driving down Magnolia Lane next week, loaded for bear.

2.) It's a blip on the screen, and the maddeningly inconsistent Johnson will be back Instagramming with Paulina as soon as this week.

[Also: Jason Dufner kicks off "Dufnering" trend]

I vote for Option "1," only because it's time to see Johnson join the Majors Club. Nobody on Tour has a more physically impressive presence, given Johnson's 6-foot-4 frame, club head speed and hands.

And yet, his history at Augusta National is not strong. He missed last year because of an injury, and in three prior runs at a green jacket, has finished tie-38, tie-38, tie-30.

Idle question: Will Paulina Instagram a pimento sandwich from the grounds? Only time will tell.

BROADCAST MOMENT OF THE WEEK

"J.P. was the one with the idea. He said to me: If you just play a few more rounds, I think you'll be ready." – Rory McIlroy, to NBC on Saturday at the Shell Houston Open.

And just like that, the Valero Texas Open went from "Honey, I'm Going to Get Some Gardening In This Weekend" to "Hey, Rory's Playing!" for most golf fans.

That is, if McIlroy can contend, for a change. Oh!

Any regular reader of this column knows I'm a monster Rory McIlroy fan, and even named my second son "Rory" for reasons that may or may not have to do with my ManCrush on his golf swing.

By any measure, however, it's been a disastrous 2013 for Rors. A list of highlights thus far:

• A news conference in Qatar announcing his new Nike deal, complete with fireworks. A check of Wikipedia shows Ben Hogan never held a news conference with fireworks.

• He then missed the cut at Qatar. There were no fireworks when he signed his card.

• He took four weeks off, showed up in Arizona with those infernal Nike clubs for the World Match Play, and promptly lost his first-round match to 64th seed Shane Lowry.

[Also: Mark O'Meara congratulates Tiger Woods with text from Augusta]

• He walked off the course at the Honda Classic in the eighth hole of his second round.

• He earned a back-door top 10 at Doral with a final-round 65, perhaps a bit of fool's gold.

• He lost his No. 1 ranking to Tiger Woods.

• He got a text message from Tiger telling him to take his "finger out of his (rear end) and win," which was either very cool of Tiger to encourage his rival, or a passive-aggressive mind-screw of Rory by Tiger's masterful tactics of crushing his enemies.





View gallery.

Rory McIlroy was already in San Antonio Sunday night to prepare for the Texas Open. (AP)• He followed up the text with a tie for 45th at Houston, all with those Nike clubs. Again, no fireworks.



But, hey: I still like his name!

And we're here to spread good news. The decision by McIlroy to change his pre-Masters schedule and play in the Texas Open, detailed in the above quote as originating with caddie J.P. Fitzgerald, is the best thing he could have done.

The game is about repetition and confidence, and McIlroy needs both. So it's refreshing and encouraging that he ditched the advice of handlers, agents, hangers-on and listened to his looper. Rory should go to San Antonio and try to find something in the dirt. As he said, "I need to commit to targets. … I need to have a scorecard in my hand."

I still don't think he's a safe bet to make a run at Augusta National, but maybe by the summertime, we can get McIlroy back into our good graces. Play on, Rors, and to heck with that Nike team that was probably planning a pre-Masters Sunday night grip-and-grin event for you. Play golf!

MULLIGAN OF THE WEEK

Look who started his round birdie-birdie-birdie on Sunday to creep within two shots of the lead – good ol' Phil Mickelson.

And then, on the par-5 fourth hole, Lefty had about 15 feet for eagle. If he made it, he'd tie for the lead and add all kinds of sizzle to Sunday.

Except, he just missed it, settled for birdie, one stroke back – and then played even par the rest of the way for a 10-under, tie-16th finish.

And just like that, he whet our appetites for one of America's favorite springtime shows: "Phil At Augusta."

He's already giving us quality Phil-isms, as if to fire us up. He spoke after the round about switching back and forth between a traditional putter grip, and the "claw" putter grip, saying he needs to incorporate the "claw" more to lessen his forward press. These are things, by the way, you'll never hear Tiger say. But Phil loves being the mad scientist.

Don't forget one of the sport's more amazing statistics before next week: Phil has won two green jackets (2006, 2010) since Tiger last won one (2005).

[Also: Is the new Tiger Woods Nike ad upsetting?]

It would have been great to see him blister Redstone on Sunday to get a pre-Masters win to crank up the buzz, and it would have definitely been kick-started by an eagle on No. 4 to get tied for the lead. Alas, he missed.

So, let's go back out to No. 4, remind Lefty to choose the proper grip, get him to roll in that eagle and make for a newsy Sunday and … give that man a mulligan!

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

Do any of you remember last year's Texas Open? Couple of week after the Masters? Ben Curtis edging out Matt Every and John Huh for the win?

Yeah, I didn't think so.

But this year, the Texas Open becomes the "Pre-Masters Rory Watch," and that's a good thing. If McIlroy hadn't shifted his schedule, the top-ranked players in the field would be Matt Kuchar (No. 9 in the Official World Golf Rankings), Ian Poulter (No. 12) and Charl Schwartzel (No. 15). So, without slagging those fine gentlemen, let's just say the Valero Texas Open just got a cortisone shot.

Masters: Guan Tianlang receives 1-stroke penalty for slow play

Masters: Guan Tianlang receives 1-stroke penalty for slow play












.

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With a one-stroke penalty for slow play on Friday, China's Guan Tianlang shot a 3-over 75. (Getty Images)

PGA.COM April 12, 2013 8:03 PM


AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) -- Guan Tianlang, the 14-year-old Chinese golfer who added some buzz to this year's Masters, was hit with a one-stroke penalty for slow play during Friday's second round, hurting his chances of making the cut.


The youngest player ever at Augusta National was assessed the penalty after his second shot at the 17th hole, turning what would have been a par into a bogey. He finished at 3-over 75 for the round, giving him a 4-over 148 total. The penalty was believed to be the first for slow play at the Masters.

"I respect the decision they make," said Guan, who spent almost 90 minutes after his round talking with rules and tournament officials. "They should do it because it's fair to everybody."

Conditions at Augusta National are notoriously tricky in perfect weather, and the swirling, gusty winds blowing Friday only made them more difficult. Though Guan had played about a dozen practice rounds before the tournament, it often takes golfers years to figure out the best way to play Augusta National and Guan repeatedly sought the advice of his caddie, Brian Tam, who is a regular caddie at the course.

The teenager tossed blades of grass into the air before many of his shots to test the wind and was often indecisive about his clubs, pulling one, taking a few practice swings and then asking for another one.

"I just changed my routine before the Masters and the routine is good, but I think today is pretty hard," said Guan, the youngest golfer to play any major in 148 years. "You need to make the decision, but the wind switched a lot. But that's for everybody."

The Masters follows the Rules of Golf, written by the U.S. Golf Association and the Royal & Ancient. Rule 6-7 requires golfers to keep up "with any pace of play guidelines that the committee may establish." For a threesome at Augusta National, those guidelines set a target of 4 hours, 38 minutes to play 18 holes. Once a group is warned it is "out of position" -- too far behind the group just ahead -- each player is timed and allotted 40 seconds to play the shot.

Guan and his playing partners, Ben Crenshaw and Matteo Manassero, never held up the group behind them. But Fred Ridley, the competition committee chairman at Augusta National, said they were first warned for being out of position at No. 10.

The eighth grader went on the clock two holes later, and received his first warning at the 13th.

"In keeping with the applicable rules ... he again exceeded the 40-second time limit by a considerable margin," Ridley said in a statement.

Guan said he understood the warning, and tried to pick up his pace.

"A little bit," he said. "But I think my routine is good. The only problem is I have to make the decision."

Guan had a long delay on the par-3 16th. After a gust of wind dunked Manassero's tee shot in the water, he spent more than five minutes debating clubs with Tam.

"When the caddie pulls the club for him, I think he's ready. But he just sometimes -- most of the times -- he takes a little too long. He just asks questions that I think he knows, just to be sure, just to be clear in his mind," Manassero said.

"If I would have took more time on 16, I probably would have saved two shots, as well," Manassero added.

John Paramor, the chief referee for the European Tour, said he warned Guan as the group walked to the 17th tee that he needed to speed it up. But Guan had another long delay before his second shot on the hole, and Paramor pulled him aside as the teenager approached the green. Paramor informed Guan he was being assessed a one-stroke penalty, and they had an animated discussion for almost five minutes.

"You give him the news, the best you can," Paramor said.

Guan's father, Han Wen, was following his son, and a friend approached Paramor for the explanation. It was then relayed to Han Wen, who refused to question it.

"A rule is a rule," he said. "It's OK."

But the penalty rattled Guan, who missed an easy birdie putt on 17. He pulled himself together on 18, nearly holing out from a greenside bunker. His father yelled, "Yes!" when the ball hit the back of the cup and bounced a few inches past the hole, leaving an easy par putt.

"No problem," Han Wen said. "No problem."

He waited for his son behind the 18th green, and repeatedly patted Guan's shoulder as they walked together to the scoring building.

"I was a little bit (emotional) on the 17th green and I didn't make that par putt," Guan said. "But on the 18th, I think I did a pretty good job, saved the par. So I still have a chance."

Masters officials met Guan and his playing partners outside the building and had a brief discussion with them before the players entered the building. Crenshaw and Manassero eventually emerged, but it would be more than an hour before Guan came outside, flanked by his parents. He was composed as he spoke with the media, and said he didn't try to talk officials into rescinding the penalty.

"I just want to know why they're going to do that, and they told me," Guan said. "I just learned a lot from them, and they told me how to keep it faster or whatever."

But the ruling could be the difference between Guan playing the weekend or going home. The top 50 players make the cut, as well as those within 10 strokes of the lead.

"It's still a great week for me," Guan said. "I've enjoyed it so far, and I learned a lot."

The last player to be penalized for slow play at a major was Gregory Bourdy in the 2010 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits.

Masters Winners from Day Two

Masters Winners from Day Two











Travis Mewhirter April 12, 2013 8:33 PM




COMMENTARY


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Day two of the Masters has concluded. We saw a teenager make a cut, Tiger take the lead, Sergio collapse, and some old guy named Couples is still hanging around. My winners from Friday.
1. Tianlang Guan

I will never be able to stress this enough: this kid is 14 years old. He was my No. 1 in yesterday's winners for the simple fact that he is an eighth grader playing at Augusta National in the smallest major championship field there is. He is my No. 1 after Friday's round because he is 14 years and 5 months old and made the cut in said major championship. This makes him almost two full years younger than the previous record-holder for the youngest to make a major cut since 1990. What's more, he was assessed a one-stroke penalty for slow play. This, in the end, bumped him up to 4-over-par for the tournament, right on the projected cut line at the time. How did the teenager who is still years away from being legally allowed to drive a golf cart react?

"I respect the decision," he told ESPN.

Guan won on all levels on Friday. He won on the course, off the course, in the media room - everywhere. And he's my winner today.
2. Fred Couples

Couples hasn't won at Augusta in 21 years. He's 53 years old and wakes up most mornings with back pain. On Saturday, he will wake up tied for second in his 29th Masters, knotted up with Marc Leishman and one back from leader Jason Day. He wasn't spectacular on Friday, hitting just 10 greens, but there's no griping over a 4-under-par 68 with a bogey on 18.

"It's a hard course out there," Couples told ESPN. "I felt very good about what I shot. I had a couple of little hiccups out there and did some other good things to shoot my score. But the golf course is winning today."

Fifty-three years old and tied for second, Fred? I'd say you're winning.
3. Australia

How bad do these guys want to win a Masters? Before we get started on Norman's well-documented Masters curse or Bruce Crampton's stymied comeback, let's just take a look at the present. Jason Day and Adam Scott came painstakingly close in 2011, before Charl Schwartzel closed in with a never-before-seen four straight birdies and stole the show, leaving the Aussies once more bereft of a Masters title.

But they sure seem to be making the extra effort this year. Leishman led yesterday and now sits comfortably tied with Couples at No. 2 while his compatriot, Day, leads the field at 6-under-par. Scott, who it seems is only a matter of time before he takes one home, stands in seventh with Tiger Woods, Justin Rose and a host of others.

The last Aussie in the field is John Senden, and he's tied for 14th at 2-under. If this isn't the year it happens, it's difficult to say when, if ever, a bigger opportunity will come along.
4. Angel Cabrera

The four-spot goes to Cabrera, the 2009 champion, because he was one of the scant few without an epic collapse down the stretch. In fact, he did quite the opposite of the likes of Dustin Johnson (two double-bogeys and a bogey in the final four holes) or Sergio Garcia (finished with a 76, 10 shots higher than yesterday). Cabrera closed with five birdies in his final six holes to finish with a total of 140 through two days and earn him a spot tied for fourth with Jim Furyk and Brandt Snedeker.
5. Tiger Woods

Yes, Woods is out of the top five after day two, a position that just one of that past 14 Masters' winners have come back to win from. But at one point, Woods held a share for the lead. That was enough for the golf world to stop, for ESPN to grin from ear to ear, and for twitter to explode. Due to equal parts bad luck and sloppy play, Woods finished three back from Day at 3-under. But if you're Day, and you see Woods in big, red lettering just three shots behind and playing in a later group, are you comfortable? Not a chance. All Woods needs to do is to keep within striking distance. We've seen what can happen on the weekends when he does.

Travis Mewhirter has been working in the golf industry since 2007, when he was a bag room manager at Piney Branch Golf Club in Carroll County, Maryland, and has been involved, as a player, since 2004. Since then, he has worked at Hayfields Country Club, where the Constellation Energy Classic was formerly held, and has covered golf at the high school, college, and professional levels.

Tiger Woods in position for 5th Masters win

Tiger Woods in position for 5th Masters win











Jay Busbee April 12, 2013 9:06 PMYahoo Sports


AUGUSTA, Ga. – The ball had rolled off the green at 14, into the thick fringe and right up to the feet of a young boy and girl. The late-afternoon sun hung low over the tops of the pines, almost directly in their eyes, and so they hadn't seen the ball until it was literally almost in their laps. As the course marshal ushered them out of their seats and away from the ball, their eyes widened. Tiger Woods, who at this moment was leading the Masters, was approaching.



Woods didn't pay attention to the gallery around him; his eyes were focused on the green, which from his vantage point tilted like a table with a phone book under one leg. He set his feet, drew back his club, and … a photographer's shutter clicked.

"Are you kidding me?" Woods sighed, stepping away from the ball and staring daggers into the crowd.

[Related: Tianlang Guan penalized for slow play at Masters]

A deep breath, a re-set of position, and Woods neatly chipped to within a few feet for an easy par. No big deal in the grand scheme of the round, but this was exactly the kind of hole that, in recent years, could have derailed Woods' entire day, if not his entire weekend. This time, though, he worked with adversity rather than merely griping about it, and the result was a reasonable 1-under round to leave him at 3-under for the tournament and three strokes out of the lead. It could have been better, yes, but it could have been so much worse.

Fans and haters alike had plenty to work with on this day. Woods came into Friday in typical Augusta position: rolling off a decent but unspectacular Thursday round. In his 18 previous appearances at Augusta, he's averaged a 72.1 in the first round. Thursday, he carded a respectable 70.

It's the middle two days of the tournament where Woods really gets rolling; he averages 70.6 on Friday and 69.9 on Saturday. And for those hoping for Woods to capture his first Masters since 2005 – and his first major of any vintage since 2008 – Friday provided a perfect example of why Tiger might just run away with this thing after all. It's got nothing to do with "Destiny" or "Fortune" or any of those other amorphous concepts that could double as dancers' names; it's simply the fact that when he's focused, Woods can play within himself in a way that allows him to both gain ground and minimize damage.

[Related: Jason Day takes lead into weekend]

Consider the 15th hole. Just after saving par from the fringe, Woods had a perfect chance at a birdie and an opportunity to open up some space on the field. But his approach was too good, hitting the flagstick and ricocheting into the water. It was one of the roughest breaks Woods has ever suffered at Augusta, and you could understand if he slipped off the track and put up a double-bogey or worse.





View gallery.Only he didn't. His follow-up approach landed within two feet of the hole, an easy tap-in to stop the bleeding. A sand save on 16 later, and Woods entered the home stretch looking like he'd end up no worse than one stroke off the lead.



But Tiger sits three strokes behind leader Jason Day, in part because of a late lapse in concentration on 18. He three-putted the hole and walked to the clubhouse knowing he'd let a crucial stroke slip away.

"I really swung the club well and didn't really get a lot out of the round," he said. "Granted, these conditions were tough. It was swirling all over the place. I got a wrong gust on 12, I almost hit it in the TV tower. … It's tough out there."

The leaderboard around Woods isn't necessarily a terrifying one, but it's solid enough. The players alongside and ahead of him have won a grand total of four majors – two by Angel Cabrera and one apiece by Fred Couples and Jim Furyk.

[Watch: Breaking down Friday at the Masters]

And there are plenty of hungry challengers right on Tiger's Nikes; Rory McIlroy is but a stroke back, and Steve Stricker and trendy Masters favorite Matt Kuchar are within striking distance as well. If Woods is going to win his fifth green jacket – and history suggests he's still in a very good position to do so – he'll have to outdistance every other player in the world top five, and all but two of the world top 10.

"There's a long way to go," he said Friday. "We got 36 holes, and this is a tricky test."

He's good enough to beat anybody at Augusta. But is he still good enough to beat everybody? We're about to find out.