Sports

Rain softens Augusta

• A 45-minute rain delay makes most players adjust their approach.

Scott Chancey

AUGUSTA — Rain hit the Masters for the first time in two years, causing a 40-minute delay Saturday morning at Augusta National Golf Club.

“The greens are obviously softer, but they haven’t been hard generally,” said Stuart Appleby, who carded an even-par 72 and is at 218 (tied for 28th) through three rounds. “The only shots that were playing hard (Friday) were the third shot like into 15. But (Saturday) everything’s pretty soft.

There’s still a lot of speed out there, but a lot easier the course is playing. But I think you could get into the, you know, comfortably into the 60s (Saturday) if you’re putting properly.”

Former Abraham Baldwin College golfer Boo Weekley, who is tied for seventh overall with a three-day total of 214, could tell a difference.

“I think the rain kind of slowed the greens down a little bit, made them a little softer,” said Weekley, who tied defending Masters champion Zach Johnson and four-time winner Tiger Woods with a third-round low of 68 Saturday. “Of course, you can kind of hit them in there a little closer to the pin. The fairways are a little softer, so the ball, you’ll still get a little roll but a little bit of mud on your ball here and there, so you’ve got to be careful.”

So could Johnson Wagner, who only qualified for the Masters by winning last week’s PGA Tour event.

“It was a lot softer,” said Wagner, who scored a 74 Saturday and like Appleby is tied for 28th. “The fairways were softer and I don’t really get much mud on my balls out there, but it was definitely softer, balls weren’t rolling much and the greens were maybe not as fast as I thought they were going to be. It was very, I mean, it’s a little breezy, but it was very scorable (Saturday).”

And Johnson (tied for seventh), who won last year’s Masters amid dry and windy conditions at 1 over par, had a suggestion for dealing the wet, as well as periodically windy conditions like Saturday’s.

“If you have a wedge, you’ve got to control your spin, because it’s going to spin pretty significantly,” he said.

MUCH BETTER

Justin Rose, the first-round co-leader who struggled to a 78 Friday while even triple-bogeying the par-5 15th, seemed to be going further downhill with two bogeys and a birdie along Saturday’s front nine. After a bogey on the 10th and double-bogey at 11, he birdied the 14th, 16th and 17^th and finished with a 1-over 73. He is tied for 35th with a three-day total of 219.

“I was really trying to make it respectable, I suppose,” Rose said. “I was just trying to work my way back into a position where you could say, ‘Well, it wasn’t really too bad a week or whatever. But we’re always trying to get World Ranking points, Ryder Cup points, etcetera, etcetera.”

READY FOR SUNDAY

Padraig Harrington is no stranger to final-round drama, having edged Sergio Garcia in a playoff to win last year’s British Open.

After following Friday’s 71 with a 3-under 69 Saturday, Harrington feels he can make a charge.

“I’m certainly looking at the guys on the leaderboard at this very moment,” said Harrington, who like Weekley is tied for seventh.“I’m wondering how far away from me they’re going to be at the end of the day.

Who knows, I hear (today) is going to be a blustery day, colder day, so it certainly could make it awkward for people out there leading.

“Certainly, yeah, my eye is definitely on the leaders rather than a finishing position,” he added.

POPULAR HOLE

Robert Allenby eagled the 10th, becoming the eighth person to accomplish the feat at that hole. It was his second career Masters eagle, and it was the tournament’s first eagle at the 10th since 2006 when an eagle was recorded by Brandt Jobe in the second round. He is tied for 28th.

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