Mark O'Meara's chances of repeating as Masters champion may be over.
He admits that.
``I don't think I've got much of a chance, to be honest with you,'' O'Meara said. ``It depends on what the leaders do. Unfortunately, I needed to get it to about 3- or 4-under for total to have a shot at it.''
The 1998 Masters champion rebounded from a disappointing 4-over-par 76 round Friday with a 69 Saturday to move to 1-under for the tournament and six shots off the lead. O'Meara birdied Nos. 8, 9, 13 and 14, before faltering at the 17th hole.
``I'm disappointed I didn't play 17 better, but I made a good save on 18,'' he said. ``I managed myself pretty well. I feel like my game's at 75 to 85 percent. But I'm not firing on all cylinders.''
On No. 17, O'Meara's drive found the right rough. From 157 yards out, his approach bounced through the green and ended up by the 18th tee. After leaving a pitch shot on the fringe of the green, he missed a 12-footer for par.
``(Saturday) some of the greens were softer, and they were a bit more receptive,'' he said. ``But the last two greens were absolute concrete. I know they want to make the golf course tough, and I kind of go with lengthening the hole 25 yards. But the (17th) green is harder than the L.A. Freeway, when no other green on the golf course is that way. In my estimation, that's not really fair. Not that golf should be fair, but you've got to reasonably have the greens in the same condition.''
Last year, O'Meara played No. 17 at 1-under for the tournament with a birdie and three pars. With the hole playing 25 yards longer this year, however, he is 2-over on the hole with a pair of bogeys in the last two rounds.
``It's a big advantage for the long hitter,'' O'Meara said about No. 17. ``If a guy hits a good drive, the Eisenhower tree doesn't come into play and he's got a wedge into the green. The way it is right now, it would be hard to hold the green with an 8-iron. That's just a difficult hole now.''
Regardless, O'Meara was impressed with the play of Steve Pate on Saturday.
``I saw where he birdied seven in a row,'' he said. ``Basically around here you're dealing with landing areas of about maybe 2-3 yards. You hit a good shot and you think it's perfect, and it comes up short. Then you hit a good shot, it hits by the pin and it goes over the green. That's the challenging thing, and that's what was so impressive about Steve birdieing seven holes in a row.''
Whether O'Meara makes a charge today or not, he remains content with one thing -- he hasn't missed a cut in a major championship since 1994, a string of 16 straight.
``I'm proud of the way I've played so far this week,'' he said. ``I've tried to defend my title pretty solidly, and I've kept my string alive in making cuts at major championships. That's pretty impressive in my book.''
O'Meara knows title slipping away fast 
