Posted 4/14/03 9:57 am ET

Vijay heats up

Singh singes back nine for Masters career-best 65

Arnold Palmer greets his fans as he heads toward the first tee. Todd Bennett/The Augusta Chronicle

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) -- Arnold Palmer tried to say goodbye to the Masters, but he couldn't fade away so easily.

A late-afternoon deluge forced postponement of the second round Friday, with 38 players -- including Palmer -- still on the Augusta National course.

Before the storm rolled in, Vijay Singh blew away a course that was supposed to be provide a much tougher test for the world's best golfers.

Singh, who won the tournament two years ago, shot a 7-under-par 65 -- including 30 on the back nine -- to build a three-stroke lead over Retief Goosen.

The U.S. Open champion still has seven holes to play Saturday morning.

The rain gave Augusta another chance to bid farewell to the King. This 48th tournament appearance will be Palmer's last.

Singh, coming off a 70 Thursday, was headed toward a similar score when he made the turn at 35. Instead, he really got rolling on his way to a 9-under 135.

"I wasn't really thinking about shooting a number out there," he said. "My wife asked me last night what would be a good number for me. I told her 68.

"I thought about it after I finished and I said, 'That's a good score I shot out there.'"

Singh began his round in a drizzle, but the sun emerged for a while in the afternoon. Once he was done, the heavy stuff moved in, flooding a course that already was saturated by several days of rain.

The system blew through quickly, and workers used squeegees to soak up water on the greens. But it was a futile effort. More showers moved in, forcing Augusta National to call it a day.

Defending champion Tiger Woods, who teed off in the next-to-last group of the day, didn't make an immediate charge.

After an opening-round 70, he parred the first six holes Friday before a birdie at No. 7 left him six strokes off the pace. The rain caught Woods on the course, forcing him to play his last eight holes Saturday.

Padraig Harrington shot 70 and was at 139. He was tied with Sergio Garcia, who struggled with his putter but managed 71, and Angel Cabrera, who also signed for 71.

Singh had birdie putts of less than 10 feet at both the 12th and 13th holes, then sank an eagle from 25 feet at No. 15 after launching a 7-iron over the water.

"I didn't get a good read on it. I was just trying to lag it up," he said. "It was a good sight to see it go in."

Singh didn't let up. Two more pinpoint irons left him with birdie putts of 15 feet at No. 17, and 8 feet at the 18th. He made them both for his lowest score ever at the Masters.

"I made 30 on the back nine. I wasn't even aware of that until I was filling in my scorecard and realized that I only shot 1 under on the front," Singh said. "Wow, it came in quickly."

Singh's previous best was 67 in 2000, when he went on to claim his first green jacket.

"I'm a better player than I was two years ago," he said. "I think that will carry me through just fine."

While Singh looked ahead to the weekend, Palmer was saying goodbye. Augusta wouldn't let go so easily -- the rain came with Palmer on the 13th hole, making this farewell a little longer than expected.

The four-time champion played 147 rounds at the Masters before deciding that he simply can't compete with the young guys on Augusta's larger layout.

"Enough is enough," the 72-year-old Palmer said.

Palmer arrived at the club just before noon, pulling up in a white Cadillac. A massive crowd gathered around the first tee for a glimpse at history.

Palmer knocked his drive down the left side of the fairway, far behind the other two players in his group, amateur Robert Hamilton and Japan's Toru Taniguchi.

Palmer's second shot landed short and left of the green, and he chipped past the flag. A 12-footer to save par slid by the cup, leaving him with a bogey.

He was 9 over for the round and 26 over for the tournament. On Thursday, he shot 89 -- his worst round in all those years at Augusta National.

Still, there were plenty of moments to savor. Palmer was cheered on nearly every step around the course, and he clearly enjoyed the attention. As he walked through a narrow pathway to the first tee, he slapped hands with patrons hanging over the ropes.

"You ARE the man, Arnie!" one man yelled.

The leaderboard was dominated by foreign-born players, including Singh (Fiji), Goosen (South Africa), Harrington (Ireland), Garcia (Spain) and Cabrera (Argentina).

For good measure, Thomas Bjorn of Denmark set a Masters record with five straight birdies to begin the round on his way to 67. He was at 141 overall.

"I'd say a couple of times a year, you get on a streak like that," Bjorn said. "But hardly ever at the start of a round, and never on a course like this. It was almost too easy."

The damp weather softened greens that were supposed to be especially treacherous on the newly expanded course. Augusta National added nearly 300 yards to the layout this year in an effort to reign in players who kept pulling wedges from their bag on the par-4s.

One of the few Americans to crack the leaderboard was Phil Mickelson, trying to shake the burden of being the best player never to win a major.

Lefty briefly grabbed a share of the lead, but struggled coming in with bogeys on three of the last seven holes. He finished at 72 for the day and 141 overall.

"So-so," Mickelson said, assessing his round. "I need a good round tomorrow -- as we all do."

Davis Love III, who led Thursday after a bogey-free 67, wasn't the same player in the second round. He struggled to a 75, totaling a 142 that pushed him seven strokes behind Singh.

Love was so upset he wouldn't even stop to talk with reporters as he came off the 18th green, having finished with a bogey.

 

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