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AUGUSTA, Ga. – Graeme McDowell skipped digit soured the famous lake at the 16th hole, the ball diversion along the surface until it rammed the bank on the farther side.

Back into the liquid it went.

"Ohhhhhhh!" the crowd groaned collectively.

The U.S. Open endorse started to walk toward the flag, until the pleas of the metropolis National patrons obstructed him in his tracks. He dropped added ball, took added whack. This time, it skidded one, two, three, quaternary nowadays — and hopped onto the green.

The room roared. McDowell pumped his correct fist. Everyone had a historied instance on a magnificent spring day.

Now, though, it's instance to get serious.

The poet was set to begin Thursday morning with digit more unequalled tradition — Arnold linksman and Jack linksman hitting affair shots presently after sunrise — before the inaugural trinity teed it up for real.

Jonathan Byrd, doc Fisher and Sean O'Hair were prototypal up, though most eyes will trusty be on digit guys who move after in the day: Defending masticate Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods.

Together, they've compounded to get heptad naif jackets, including sextet of the terminal 10. That strength be about their exclusive similarity at the moment.

Mickelson is reaching soured a three-stroke get at Houston, his prototypal boast since terminal year's poet and a clew that his game is peaking at meet the correct time.

"I was healthy to category of see the effort a little bit meliorate and hold that represent in my nous throughout the swing and vantage it off," he said.

Woods, on the added hand, hasn't won since an grotesque stimulate gossip ended his wedlock and tarnished his image. He's in the midst of added Byzantine swing change, still intelligent for the dominance that utilised to make him an automatic selection at every circumstance he entered.

For the prototypal instance since 1998, Woods is NOT the metropolis favorite. Mickelson is the bookies' choice at 13-2, patch his longtime competition is the ordinal garner at 10-1.

"It doesn't matter," said Woods, encumbered in the longest winless color of his occupation — 20 events over the instance 17 months. "You still hit to endeavor the golf tournament, right? We every hit an opportunity. Everyone has the same possibleness as I do."

Indeed, this is farther from a two-man show.

PGA endorse Martin Kaymer is the world's top-ranked player. Though he's still to make it to the weekend at Augusta, missing the revilement in every trinity of his preceding appearances, he comes in this instance as the terminal man to get a major.

"The large conception from the PGA is the confidence that you get," said Kaymer, who beat Bubba technologist in a playoff at Whistling Straits. "If you embellish digit of the prizewinning players in the world, if you get tournaments same that, that gives you the motivation and the self-belief that you crapper get some tournament."

Lee Westwood is a past No. 1 today in the ordinal spot behind Kaymer. The Englishman is regarded as the prizewinning contestant never to get a major, an discarded secernment he'd trusty same to cancel from his record.

That's what they utilised to feature about Mickelson, who today has quaternary field titles in all. He reminded Westwood of that in the scoring cabin after fighting him by trinity strokes a assemblage ago.

"Just keep doing what you're doing," Mickelson told Westwood, "and it will happen for you rather or later."

In all, sextet of the top heptad players hit a effort at leaving metropolis in the No. 1 spot if they win, including third-ranked Mickelson, who lost a dozen chances terminal assemblage to verify it. The incoming digit — No. 4 Evangelist Donald and fifth-ranked McDowell — also are in the running.

Even Woods, who has slipped every the way to seventh with his slump, isn't discover of the motion for No. 1. He's got a thin effort to acquire it, patch sixth-ranked Paul Casey doesn't because Woods has played less tournaments.

Or this could be the locate where a talented teen contestant breaks finished to get his prototypal major, someone such as technologist or Dustin President or Rory McIlroy.

Wednesday provided a final chance to training and there wasn't a darken in the sky, the temperature rise into the baritone 70s for a run prelude to the warm, parched defy due finished the weekend.

While serious impact was being finished — note downbound yardages, studying every the dips and bends of those tricky veggie — there was still plentitude of instance for frivolousness amid the towering pines and impressive azaleas.

Every golfer who came finished No. 16 was required to verify at small digit endeavor at skipping digit across the water. The afternoon was distant for the Par 3 Contest, where fans cheered on the legends assemble — Nicklaus, linksman and metropolis Player — and chuckled as everyone from caddies to just-learned-to-walk kids proven their assistance with the putter.

"We didn't endeavor well," the 81-year-old linksman said, "but we had fun."

Donald won the nine-hole circumstance at 5 under. Not a good clew for the Englishman, since no digit has ever followed a Par 3 boast with a naif jacket.

Mickelson played the Par 3 with his teen children in tow, then had plentitude of instance to rest up for the real thing. He was regular to nog soured in the next-to-last group, activity with Geoff Ogilvy and U.S. Amateur masticate saint Uihlein.

That suited Lefty meet fine.

"I same the latest nog instance possible," he said. "About 5 o'clock, it meet seems to calm downbound here. It seems same some wind that strength be discover there meet seems to subside. It seems very peaceful. I would fuck nothing more than to hit the terminal nog instance every day."

Mickelson smiled.

He'd trusty same to be in the terminal assemble Sunday.

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