Tom Watson bids farewell to the Masters
Tom Watson said goodbye to the Masters on Friday.
Playing in his 43rd and final Masters, Watson was greeted warmly by friends, family and Augusta National members after he finished his round.
The 66-year-old two-time champion shot 78 to finish with a two-day total of 8-over 152.
“I’ve been blessed to be able to play here,” Watson said. “I hope I entertained some fans here – or make that patrons here. And I appreciate their applause for me today. Lots of hats off to Tom today. It was pretty special.”
On Thursday, Watson left behind an egg salad sandwich on the bench at the 13th tee to honor his late caddie, Bruce Edwards, who died of ALS before the first round of the 2004 Masters.
Watson started the tradition of eating the green-bagged sandwich in between the 12th green and 13th tee in 2005.
JOHNSON MAKES CHARGE
Irmo’s Dustin Johnson shot up the leaderboard on Friday with a 1-under 71. His two-day total of even-par 144 left him only four strokes off the lead.
Johnson played the four par 5s in 2-over on Thursday, but he was back to his old ways on Friday.
He made birdies on each of the pars 5s – Nos. 2, 8, 13 and 15.
He joined a group of five others at even par.
WHAT SCOREBOARD?
Saving par on the 18th hole after bouncing his second shot off the scoreboard on the right side of the fairway kept Bill Haas in the 80th Masters for the final two rounds.
Haas, who lives in Greer, shot 2-over 74 on Friday for a two-day total of 5-over 149 to make the cut.
Haas hit his drive into the woods right of the 18th fairway and said he was trying to hit his second shot over the trees and onto the green but that he “forgot about the scoreboard.”
He was as surprised as the people watching the shot when the ball clanked off the scoreboard and kicked back toward the fairway. He hit his third shot to within seven feet and made the putt for a par four.
“The way I have been striking the ball, I’m extremely happy to be playing on the weekend,” Haas said. “I putted very well, but I’ve been way off on my longer shots.”
HOW AMATEURS FARED
Amateurs Bryson DeChambeau from California and Romain Langasque from France will be playing this weekend.
The other amateurs did not fare as well. Paul Chaplet, a 16-year-old Costa Rican, shot 83-82 to finish as high man in the field at 165. Sammy Schmitz (Wisconsin) , Cheng Jin (China) and Derek Bard (Virginia) also missed the cut.
This story was originally published April 8, 2016 at 10:54 PM with the headline "Tom Watson bids farewell to the Masters."