2006 US Masters Report

Phil and Fred battle over the jacket

The build-up to the Masters was bigger and better than ever, so the anticipation had spectators licking their lips and players chomping at the bit to get the tournament underway.

The first round saw Vijay Singh taking an early clubhouse lead as he shot a superb bogey free round of 67. His shot selection around the greens was impeccable and surprisingly for Vijay (considering his recent form) his putter behaved itself. The silky putting of Ben Crenshaw was the days surprise performer as he put himself in contention with a 71.

Round two saw Vijay falter (74), giving Chad Campbell a chance to take the bull by the horns and stride three shots clear of the field at -6. The chasing pack included Fred Couples and the top 5 ranked players in the world, with Tiger Woods struggling for consistency, Phil Mickelson and Vijay hanging in there, Retief Goosen quietly going about his business, and Ernie Els back on form.

Day three was interrupted by rain, but when it got back underway Phil Mickelson started racking up the birdies in a talented display. Tim Clark (the South African) also started making things happen with irons and his long putter, and when play closed for the night he had left himself a short birdie putt to polish off in the morning to put him in contention.

The final round of the '06 Masters was to be a nail-biting marathon, with all the top players in contention and still with a round and a half to play their way to victory. Two early bids for the top spot were made by Miguel Angel Jimenez, who had a good run of birdies and Jose Marie Olazabal who had a superb comeback round of 66 to finish at -4.

A tired Ernie Els made mistakes to drop out of the running and his compatriate Goosen failed to make the leap to the leaders either. Tiger Woods was the surprise of the day. His round was a battle against emotions as he struggled for distance control with his irons and found it difficult keeping his composure on the greens.

The final day belonged to the pairing of Phil Mickelson and Fred Couples. Couples had been playing beautiful all week and his form appeared to be continuing. Mickelson had been consistent througout the tournament and had an air of confidence about him.

The enjoyable camaraderie between Fred and Phil was a fine advert for the game, as they jovially walked and talked together between shots, seemingly oblivious to the pressure of the Masters title being on the line.

The battle for the lead was always in Phil's favour but Fred hung in there, even recovering after a poor tee shot on 13. The writing was on the wall, however, as Mickelson was hitting great shot after great shot and even when he missed greens he didn't short-side himself. Couples disappointingly missed some short putts and that was that, Phil Mickelson got to wear the famous Green Jacket for the second time.