Notebook: Quiros tops his expectations by staying near top
AUGUSTA -- Alvaro Quiros arrived at Augusta National Golf Club just hoping to hang around for the weekend.
The 28-year-old did that and more through two rounds in his third Masters.
Quiros couldn’t match his lofty first-round performance, but he did enough Friday to remain in contention to win his first major championship. The Spaniard is tied for fifth place at 6 under, four shots behind leader Rory McIlroy, after shooting a 1-over-par 73 in the second round.
Quiros was tied with McIlroy heading into the second round after shooting a 65 on Thursday. Quiros’ second round was the opposite in terms of consistency.
Quiros bogeyed the opening hole before gaining some momentum with consecutive birdies on Nos. 7 and 8. But his final 10 holes included a birdie, a bogey and a double-bogey.
“I was looking forward to the challenge, but the challenge was to make the cut,” Quiros said. “I know that’s difficult to believe, but it’s true. But I know, the margin between the good score and the bad score here at Augusta is very close. It’s difficult to believe, but I played good golf (Friday), and I shoot 1 over. It’s eight shots more than (Thursday), and the level of game doesn’t change as much as the score said.”
Westwood in the hunt
Lee Westwood’s second-round charge didn’t receive the same attention that Tiger Woods’ run did, but the second-ranked player in the world put himself in the hunt with a 67.
Westwood sat at 2 under for the round (and the tournament after an ever-par first round) when he got to the par-5 holes on the back nine Friday evening.
The 37-year-old made a tap-in birdie putt on 13 and then rolled in a 30-foot eagle putt on 15 to get to 5 under for the tournament. He made par on the final three holes to finish in a five-way tie for seventh. “You know, I sort of decided at the start of the day instead of Saturday being my moving day, I’d better make it Friday and try and get into contention,” Westwood said.
Westwood held the 54-hole lead at the Masters last year before Phil Mickelson passed him and won the tournament. Westwood finished second, only his second top-10 finish at the Masters.
Amateur problems
Only one of the six amateurs in the field made the cut to play into the weekend.
Hideki Matsuyama will play into the weekend following rounds of 72 and 73. The Asian Amateur winner landed on the cut line of 1 over.
The top two American amateurs in the field -- Peter Uihlein and David Chung -- appeared to be safe bets to make the cut after they both shot even-par rounds on Thursday.
Chung shot 76 on Friday, and Uihlein finished at 77. British Amateur champion Jin Jeong was at 1 over after the first round but missed the cut with a 77 on Friday. “I’ve got a lot to work on,” said Uihlein, the world’s No. 1 ranked amateur player.
Familiar faces
Tiger Woods and K.J. Choi saw quite a lot of each other at last year’s Masters.
They played together in all four rounds, and they will find themselves together again in Saturday’s third round.
Woods shot a 66 on Friday, while Choi carded a 70. They are both tied at 7 under for the tournament, three shots back of McIlroy.
“We had a lot of fun last year,” Woods said. “Never, ever seen a putting display like we saw (from Choi) last year. Best putting display for a 72-hole event I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Both players finished tied for fourth in 2010. Choi averaged 28.5 putts per round, good enough for fifth in the field. Woods was actually better, ranking third with 28.25 putts per round.
This story was originally published April 9, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Notebook: Quiros tops his expectations by staying near top."