Sports

Weekley in for weekend

• Former ABAC golfer Boo Weekley makes the cut in his first Masters.

Scott Chancey

AUGUSTA — Boo Weekley did not see the difficulty in his shot.

He was at the 18th hole, 2-over par when the projected cut number was 3, and the normally strong driver hit one awry.

No matter.

The former Abraham Baldwin College golfer earned par in the most unusual fashion, carding a 74 and making the cut in his first Masters at 2-over-146 Friday at Augusta National Golf Club. He is tied for 29th.

“Every little bit is a confidence booster, especially on golf courses like this,” Weekley said.

Weekley’s first shot at the par-4 18th landed underneath the trees, and the second landed at the top-left of the green, almost where the patrons stood. Then, with a chip shot, Weekley’s ball caught the slope and rolled around, moving close enough to the hole where Weekley could salvage par.

“Yeah, that was great,” Weekley said. “We hit that putt during the practice round. So we kind of had an idea of what it was going to do.”

The view Weekley had for taking that second shot at 18 isn’t normally one a golfer normally faces. But he had a plan.

“Just had to take it over right behind the leaderboard there, the oak tree there, but I didn’t even see the leaderboard behind it,” Weekley said.

Weekley qualified for the Masters by not only winning the Verizon Heritage at Hilton Head last spring, but also placing among last year’s top 30 money winners on the PGA Tour. He even was 1 under after birdieing the par-5 second with an up-and-down from the greenside bunker.

All three of his birdies at the Masters have been on par-5 holes. Being a long hitter, par 5s likely come easy for the Milton, Fla., native, but it’s a different story once he is on the green.

“Yeah, I struggled (Friday),” said Weekley, who was warned by officials about time management on the course after making the turn. “I struggled with the putter. That’s the reason why I shot 2 over. I hit the ball pretty solid, except up there on 18. But all day, I hit the ball pretty good, I just putted pretty bad. I think I had three or four three-putts.”

Along the back nine, Weekley had his share of birdie chances.

“There was three in a row right there that I felt like I had it with about 12 feet, you know” Weekley said. “And I three-putted there on 15, so, and then on, let’s see. Eleven and 12. I had it about 10, 12 feet and just didn’t get it going, you know.”

Weekley was in the same group as Masters leader Trevor Immelman, who leads after 36 holes with an 8-under 136, and he was more than impressed by his play.

“He’s just playing solid right now,” Weekley said. “He’s playing real good golf. He’s putting the ball well, he’s leaving himself in some good places where he can get up-and-down if he does miss it. So he’s just playing some good golf.”

At the end of the day, however, Weekley was once again full of “Boo-isms.”  A hawk’s shadow went over the ball at No. 17 (which he parred) as he drew the club back.

“Well, yeah, I mean the moment was right when he come over,” Weekley said. “So I just figured I should back away now. If it was an Eagle, it would have been great. Last year, I needed a couple eagles.”

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