ESPN.com - Golf Online - Masters 2001 - DiMarco hangs tough as big names charge

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Friday, April 6

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Chris DiMarco didn't allow all the attention that comes with taking the first-round lead in The Masters bother him.


	Phil Mickelson rallied for a share of second despite a water ball on No. 12.

In fact, he reveled in it. He celebrated with family and friends. And he read about himself in newspapers and watched himself on ESPN.

Then, after Tiger Woods made a run Friday morning, DiMarco went out in the afternoon and shot a 3-under 69 at Augusta National Golf Club to retain his lead for another day.

Attention? Bring it on.

"It's great," said DiMarco, 32, playing in his first Masters. "To be here Friday evening at The Masters, leading the tournament. Yeah, of course you've got to enjoy that."

Thanks in part to a remarkable second consecutive birdie at the treacherous par-3 12th and an 8-foot, par-saving putt at 18, DiMarco posted a 36-hole total of 10-under 134 for a two-stroke lead over Woods and Phil Mickelson.

"I've been there before," Woods said. "I know how to control my emotions and I know what to expect, what to feel, and what I'll probably experience coming down the stretch with a chance to win.

"If you haven't been there, it's tough."

Woods, who made eight birdies, shared low round of the day honors with David Duval, Toshi Izawa and Mark Calcavecchia with 66 under mild conditions. Mickelson shot 67.

"I'm right there in the ball game, and with a great chance on the weekend," said Woods.

DiMarco will get more attention Saturday when he tees off with Woods in the final group. The two haven't played together since a practice round in 1994 at the Buick Classic. Woods was still an amateur.

"It's going to be exciting (Saturday)," DiMarco said. "I can't wait. To tell you the truth, I'm looking forward to it."

Round two at a glance

Leading: Chris DiMarco, who followed his 65 with a 69 on Friday for a two-shot lead over Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.

Following: In addition to Mickelson and Woods, five others are three strokes back: Steve Stricker, Lee Janzen, Angel Cabrera, David Duval and Toshi Izawa.

Record cut: The cut of 1-over tied a record for low cut set in 1995.

Heading home: Among the notables who missed the cut were Davis Love III, Sergio Garcia, Greg Norman, Nick Price, Stewart Cink and Nick Faldo. Also gone are all five amateurs, including James Driscoll, who followed a first-round 68 with a 78.

Going low: Woods shot a 6-under 66, but he wasn't alone. Duval, Izawa and Mark Calcavecchia also shot 66s. There were 41 sub-par rounds, the most since 1992.

Quoteworthy: "Gary Player said a few years back that if they had a golf course in heaven this would be it. This course is the closest thing to hell I can find." -- Nick Price

Woods and Mickelson weren't the only big-name players chasing DiMarco after another mild day led to low scores on the 6,985-yard layout.

Lee Janzen and Duval are tied with Izawa, Angel Cabrera and Steve Stricker at 7-under. Jose Maria Olazabal and Calcavecchia are 6-under. Darren Clarke and Ernie Els are 5-under. Defending champion Vijay Singh is lurking at 4-under.

Does a guy like DiMarco fit with that cast of champions?

"I guess I do this week," he said. "Why not? Everybody ... had to get there somehow, right? Maybe this is my week to get there."

DiMarco actually got off to a shaky start Friday when his errant opening drive cost him a bogey. But he rallied with a short birdie putt at the par-5 second and rolled in a 20-foot putt for birdie at No. 3.

He made eight consecutive pars before draining a 30-footer for birdie at No. 12. He tapped in for his final birdie at 15.

DiMarco narrowly avoided disaster at the 18th. He hit his drive into a fairway bunker, then caught the lip of the hazard coming out, leaving him about 60 yards from the green. Unshaken, he pitched up and drilled his putt for par.

"That putt on 18 was big," he said. "I wanted to put it in the 60s today. Obviously, to go out as the leader and go do it again is big. It's huge for my confidence."

Woods, trying for his fourth consecutive victory in a major championship, wasted little time making his move, sinking a 10-foot birdie putt at No. 3 and a 15-footer at No. 4.

Tap-in birdies at Nos. 6 and 8 got him to 8-under and he seemed on the verge of grabbing the lead. But he three-putted from above the hole at 9, stopping his momentum.

At the 13th, he started rolling again with a 6-foot birdie putt after reaching a greenside bunker with a 7-iron. He added a two-putt birdie at No. 15. But another three-putt cost him bogey at No. 16.

This time, Woods roared right back with sand wedge approaches setting up birdie putts of 4 and 8 feet, respectively.

"I think I've let a couple shots go, but also, I've made my share of birdies, too, and made my share of putts," Woods said. "It all evens out in the end."

Mickelson, No. 2 in the World Golf Rankings but without a victory in a major championship, reeled off four birdies in five holes on the front nine to make the turn at 8-under.

But he bogeyed No. 10, then suffered double-bogey at the 12th after his 8-iron approach spun back off the green and into Rae's Creek.

Mickelson recovered with birdies at Nos. 13, 15 and 16 and saved par from a bunker at the last.

The lanky left-hander has managed to stay patient the first two rounds. And he's gaining confidence.

"I don't think that there has ever been a better opportunity for me to break through and win a major than this event right now," he said. "I've been playing well. The golf course sets up well for me. I feel as though I'm making -- or know -- what decisions to make, and how to manage my game around Augusta National."

Forty-seven players made the cut at 145.

The list of players missing the cut by one stroke included Davis Love III, Sergio Garcia, Greg Norman, Nick Price, Colin Montgomerie and Thomas Bjorn, who putted his ball into the water at the 16th and made triple-bogey.

U.S. Amateur runner-up James Driscoll, who fired an amazing 68 Thursday, shot 78 and missed the cut by one shot.

"Just disgusting," he said, in summing up the day.

Because he didn't make the cut, he will earn no medal as the low-scoring amateur of the five who competed this year. That means he and his entourage of about 40 friends and family will head home early -- a fate they thought they might avoid after Driscoll got on the leaderboard after one round.

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