By Andy North
 Special to ESPN.com
 Friday, April 6
AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Conditions were perfect conditions Friday, and the players took advantage of it. There was a little bit of breeze and it warned up, but the greens were fairly receptive and the players shot some really good numbers.

 Tiger Woods
Tiger Woods had eight birdies and two bogeys to match the low round of the day.
The low scores were shot by the top players: Tiger Woods, David Duval, Mark Calcavecchia, Ernie Els. Guys with track records in major events. It's what you'd expect at The Masters, and it looks like it will be a great weekend with a lot of the big names at the top of the leaderboard.

Chris DiMarco held up remarkably well. He took bogey on the first hole and then went on and birdied No. 2. That was terrific for him. And then he hit a wonderful putt on the last hole to save par. He's handling himself really well, and there's no sign of any nerves.

Woods shot 66, but he could have gone even lower. He's in complete control of his game, and Friday he made some putts. On this golf course, you don't need to make everything, but you need to make that 10- or 12-footer that breaks about six inches. Woods was able to do that today.

Woods looks like he's in exactly the position he wanted to put himself into.

It's not surprising to see Duval on the leaderboard. Duval's very comfortable on this golf course and very confident in this event. He had some time off, which probably didn't hurt him. He came in rested and relaxed, and there's no reason to think he won't continue to play the way he's playing.

It all sets up to be a great weekend. How it plays out depends on the golf course. If it's warm and windy, and with the leaders playing in the late afternoon, it could get very difficult. If the wind doesn't come and it just gets warm, the greens will get faster, but these players will be able to adjust.

Two-time U.S. Open champion Andy North is providing analysis for The Masters for ESPN.




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 DiMarco hangs tough as big names charge