That's the cliche: "The Masters doesn't begin until the back nine on Sunday." So here we go.
At this point, nothing would surprise me. I certainly wouldn't even be shocked to see Tiger Woods pull it out, even though he really hasn't done anything today. He started his back nine with a bogey that dropped him to 4 under, six behind Trevor Immelman. But who knows? A lot of guys have been leaking oil and springing leaks.
Brandt Snedeker looked great when he eagled No. 2, but he has taken a nosedive since then, making the turn at 6 under (he was 10 under after 2). Poor Paul Casey was right in the hunt at 8 under after three, but he made the turn at 2 under, having dropped six strokes in five holes.
The cliche about the back nine starting the whole thing goes back to a time when Augusta was more of a birdie wonderland, when players could go after pins and even chase eagles. These days, especially with a little wind blowing, it's a matter of who's going to back up the least. Immelman gagged a 30-inch birdie putt on 7 and stumbled to a bogey on 8, but did have a nice par save in 9.
Still interesting, though