{"id":373269,"date":"2011-04-07T22:39:29","date_gmt":"2011-04-07T22:39:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/04\/07\/tour-report-leaderboard-update-yang-in-with-67-pgatour-com\/"},"modified":"2011-04-07T22:39:29","modified_gmt":"2011-04-07T22:39:29","slug":"tour-report-leaderboard-update-yang-in-with-67-pgatour-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/07\/tour-report-leaderboard-update-yang-in-with-67-pgatour-com\/","title":{"rendered":"Tour Report: Leaderboard update: Yang in with 67 (PGATOUR.com)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

AUGUSTA, Ga. \u2014 Thanks to three birdies in a four-hole stretch in the middle of the back nine, Y.E. Yang is just two shots back of the lead after an opening-round 67 Thursday.<\/p>\n

Yang posted birdies on Nos. 13, 15 and 16 and finished the day with seven birdies in all. He also matched his career-low score here \u2014 he shot 67 in the opening round last year before finishing in a tie for eighth, which was also his best finish in the Masters.<\/p>\n

That was also the only other time Yang broke 70 in 10 previous rounds at Augusta National.<\/p>\n

The only other player on the course with a chance to catch Rory McIlroy is Alvaro Quiros. He\u2019s 5 under with three holes to play. He\u2019s made six birdies and one bogey so far.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Ricky Barnes is three shots back, along with Matt Kuchar, after just finishing off a 68. Eight others are currently at 3 under with play winding down.<\/p>\n\n

Kaymer shoots 78, puts No. 1 in play<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n

By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM Chief of Correspondents <\/i><\/em><\/p>\n

AUGUSTA, Ga. \u2014 Martin Kaymer didn\u2019t exactly play like the No. 1 golfer in the world on Thursday during the first round of the 75th Masters Tournament.<\/p>\n

\n
<\/p>\n

Kaymer<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The 26-year-old German shot 78 \u2014 his highest round ever at Augusta National. So suddenly the perplexed Kaymer is in danger of missing his fourth straight cut at the Masters.<\/p>\n

In fact, only four players shot higher than the enormously talented German did, and two of those play the Champions Tour.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me it was very difficult,\u201d he said. \u201cEvery day that I played here was a tough day so far. So, yeah, \u2026 I was disappointed, because there\u2019s some golf courses that suit you and some they just don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

Should Kaymer make another early exit, there are plenty of players waiting in the wings to take over the No. 1 spot in the world. In fact, five could end Kaymer\u2019s reign at six weeks come Sunday and here are the scenarios.<\/p>\n

* Lee Westwood needs to win.<\/p>\n

* Phil Mickelson needs to win and have Kaymer finish lower than solo second.<\/p>\n

* Luke Donald has to win and have Westwood finish lower than solo second and Kaymer finish outside the top three.<\/p>\n

* Graeme McDowell needs to win and have Mickelson finish lower than solo second, Westwood finish outside the top four and Kaymer finish outside the top 55 or miss the cut.<\/p>\n

* Tiger Woods needs to win and have Mickelson finish lower than solo second, Westwood finish outside the top four and Kaymer finish outside the top 18.<\/p>\n

Kaymer, who has won five times in the last 15 months \u2013 including the PGA Championship, is at a loss to explain his lack of success at Augusta National.<\/p>\n

He decided to change his preparation this year \u2013 taking the last two weeks off. Kaymer spent the first back on the practice range back home in Scottsdale and the second in the Augusta area playing golf with his father and his brother.<\/p>\n

Still, the frustration continued. In seven rounds now at Augusta National, Kaymer has only broken par once and he has never shot in the 60s.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was trying to hit good golf shots today and not playing very well,\u201d Kaymer said. \u201cMy putting was okay, I think my short game was definitely better than the last three, four, years, but I just didn\u2019t hit the ball as good as the last two or three years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

So what\u2019s next for the frustrated Kaymer? To be honest, he\u2019s not really sure. But he might see if he could pick the brain of his countryman Bernhard Langer, who has won two Masters.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s not really a game plan,\u201d Kaymer said when asked about Friday\u2019s second round. \u201cI think that I don\u2019t really know how to play the golf course. I don\u2019t know, I can think about another hour or hour and a half or two hours, and I just don\u2019t really find a solution.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that maybe I got to sit down with Bernhard Langer later and ask him. \u2026 I think that I can only get good advice from him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Kuchar keeps the hot hand going<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n

By Mike McAllister, PGATOUR.COM Managing Editor<\/i><\/em><\/p>\n

AUGUSTA, Ga. \u2014 In his first eight starts on the PGA TOUR this season, Matt Kuchar has six top-10 finishes. While he hasn\u2019t yet won an event in 2011, no other player has put himself in contention more times through the first three months.<\/p>\n

\n
<\/p>\n

Kuchar<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

So anybody surprised that Kuchar went out Thursday in the first round of the Masters and shot a 4-under 68 to put his name on the front page of the leaderboard \u2026 again?<\/p>\n

Certainly, Kuchar isn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

“I feel like that\u2019s the way my golf game has gone,” Kuchar said. “I feel like I\u2019ve put in great word with (coach) Chris O\u2019Connell and he\u2019s made me a better, more consistent player.<\/p>\n

“I feel like I don\u2019t have to go to the range and hope I can find it. I feel like I can, most of the time, know where it is and know where the ball is going. It\u2019s a great feeling.”<\/p>\n

Kuchar started quickly on Thursday, finding himself 4 under through eight holes. A bogey at the ninth derailed his momentum but he put together consecutive birdies at the 14th and 15th holes before finding himself between clubs on the par-3 16th and guessing wrong on the wind.<\/p>\n

Still, so solid was Kuchar that he “didn\u2019t feel like I was doing a whole lot of grinding; it felt like a lot of good opportunities,” he said.<\/p>\n

A Kuchar win at Augusta would be a popular one, since he was a star golfer at Georgia Tech, the alma mater of Bobby Jones.<\/p>\n

But in four previous Masters appearances, Kuchar has never finished inside the top 20. His 68 on Thursday was just the second time in 15 career rounds at Augusta National that he\u2019s broken 70.<\/p>\n

Still, he\u2019s never had quite the hot hand as he does now. He finds himself three shots behind Rory McIlroy.<\/p>\n

“I\u2019m really pleased with where I finished,” he said. “It\u2019s a great spot. Played solid golf. Rory is 7 under \u2014 that\u2019s fantastic.<\/p>\n

“The conditions were there. \u2026 If ever you could shoot a good score, it would be today. But 7 under is pretty amazing.”<\/p>\n

So would a seventh top-10 finish be for Kuchar this season. Of course, a win would be better.<\/p>\n

Click here for Kuchar\u2019s scorecard<\/a><\/strong><\/i><\/em><\/p>\n\n

“Out of body experience” slows Wilson<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n

By Melanie Hauser, PGATOUR.COM Correspondent<\/i><\/em><\/p>\n

AUGUSTA, GA \u2014 It was a four-hole stretch like no other.<\/p>\n

A little run of craziness that took a while for FedExCup points leader Mark Wilson to get out of his system.<\/p>\n

There was that four-putt double bogey at Augusta National\u2019s eighth hole. Then the tree he hit off the tee at the ninth hole. Another bad drive and a mud ball at the 10th and an errant drive at No. 11, too.<\/p>\n

\n
<\/p>\n

Wilson<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

So after making par on his first seven holes, Wilson suddenly found himself 5 over after 11 in the first round of his first Masters.<\/p>\n

“Just kind of had an out-of-body experience for me from 8 to 11, that kind of derailed me,\u201d Wilson said. “But I hung in there.<\/p>\n

” \u2026I played really good coming in there, so \u2026 I was just surprised what I did on 8. So normally I was able to put that behind me and I didn\u2019t do a good job of that today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

AUGUSTA, Ga. \u2014 Thanks to three birdies in a four-hole stretch in the middle of the back nine, Y.E. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-373269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\nTour Report: Leaderboard update: Yang in with 67 (PGATOUR.com) - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/07\/tour-report-leaderboard-update-yang-in-with-67-pgatour-com\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Tour Report: Leaderboard update: Yang in with 67 (PGATOUR.com) - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"AUGUSTA, Ga. \u2014 Thanks to three birdies in a four-hole stretch in the middle of the back nine, Y.E.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/e97bday_day_1_2011.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ghanamma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ghanamma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/07\/tour-report-leaderboard-update-yang-in-with-67-pgatour-com\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/07\/tour-report-leaderboard-update-yang-in-with-67-pgatour-com\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\",\"@id\":\"\"},\"headline\":\"Tour Report: Leaderboard update: Yang in with 67 (PGATOUR.com)\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-04-07T22:39:29+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/07\/tour-report-leaderboard-update-yang-in-with-67-pgatour-com\/\"},\"wordCount\":1255,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/07\/tour-report-leaderboard-update-yang-in-with-67-pgatour-com\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/e97bday_day_1_2011.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/07\/tour-report-leaderboard-update-yang-in-with-67-pgatour-com\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/07\/tour-report-leaderboard-update-yang-in-with-67-pgatour-com\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/07\/tour-report-leaderboard-update-yang-in-with-67-pgatour-com\/\",\"name\":\"Tour Report: Leaderboard update: Yang in with 67 (PGATOUR.com) - 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