Justin Rose is the youngest pro in the field. Alex Cejka made a harrowing escape from Communism. K.J. Choi set a Masters record.
And don't forget Charles Howell, who grew up five minutes from Augusta National. Or Phil Mickelson, again chasing that elusive major championship.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Arnold Palmer took one final stroll through the azaleas, retraced the steps of Bobby Jones one last time, and called an end to a Masters career.
PHOTO: REUTERS
There wasn't a dry eye in the place Friday -- and that includes Palmer, who couldn't contain his emotions after his 50th and final tournament at Augusta National.
"I'm sort of a sentimental slob," Palmer said, breaking down in tears. "It's not fun sometimes to know it's over."
Rose is having plenty of fun. The 23-year-old Englishman played a steady hand under an increasing spotlight and maintained the two-stroke lead he had after the first round.
He signed for a 1-under 71 after a superb save from the bunker at No. 18 -- not only keeping his cushion over Cejka and Spain's Jose Maria Olazabal, but effectively knocking out 13 other players who would have made the cut if he stumbled.
Anyone within 10 shots of the lead got to play on the weekend.
"I knew there were plenty of guys wishing me not to make up-and-down on 18," Rose said.
Among those sent home: Mike Weir, the first defending champion in four years who didn't make it to the weekend.
The Canadian lefty bounced back from an opening-round 79, when he dunked a couple of balls in the water, to shoot 70. But he missed a 5-foot putt to save par on the final hole, leaving him with nothing to do on the weekend except hand out the green jacket to his successor on Sunday.
Tiger Woods managed to hang around, shooting a 69 that left him six strokes behind Rose. One good round from being a legitimate threat.
"I'm still here," Woods said, a subtle dig at those who suggested he might not extend his record cut streak to 121. "You have to take baby steps. I got back to even, and that's viable."
Olazabal, a two-time Masters champion, renewed his hopes with an eagle-birdie-birdie stretch on the back nine and a 3-under 69. He and Cejka (70) each bogeyed the 18th hole and were at 140.
Mickelson got into the mix for his first major, getting a huge break on the par-5 13th when his ball stopped short of going into Rae's Creek. He turned a bogey into a birdie and shot 69, three shots off the lead.
Cejka shot his second straight 70 with some brilliant putting, then recounted his flight from Communist Czechoslovakia at age 9, tagging along with his father.
"If I would stay in the Czech Republic, who knows?" Cejka said. "I may end up working in a factory like everybody for US$200 a month."
Choi, of South Korea, tied a Masters record with a 30 on the front nine, only to follow that with a 40. Still, he was at 3-under 141 with Mickelson.
But the day belonged to Palmer.
The gallery was 10-deep before he even arrived on the 18th tee, and it seemed as though everyone -- players, caddies and dozens of Augusta National members in green jackets -- was there for the end.
the legend
The climb up the 18th fairway never felt so steep to Arnold Palmer.
The King closed out his competitive career at the Masters on Friday with one last sentimental stroll around Augusta National -- a five-hour journey that left him in tears and his army of fans feeling empty.
"It's not fun sometimes to know it's over," he said afterward, choking with emotion.
Palmer wanted to make it an even 50 years at the tournament he carried straight into American culture, and he succeeded.
Once the final round was over -- once the rippling, rolling standing ovations had ceased and the final putt had dropped -- Palmer conceded it was time to go.
"I've had it. I'm done, cooked, washed up, finished, whatever you want to say," Palmer said.
He'd get some arguments about that because, really, it's not about the golf anymore.
He shot 84 on Friday, but like his age -- 74 -- that was just a number. What the thousands who watched him really cared about was that time he looked their way, or said "Hello," or gave them one of those trademark winks, or that famous thumbs-up sign.
"He has a way of making everybody think he's looking at them," said Colonel Joe Curtis, who has followed Arnie for 49 years at Augusta, the last few in an electric wheelchair. "That's called charisma."
Back in the day, when Palmer had the game to go with the charisma, he brought golf, a sport for blue bloods and the country-club set, straight to the average man.
Arnie's Army
He won the Masters four times, and it was during the first win, in 1958, that the phenomenon known as "Arnie's Army" began.
"They were holding up signs," Palmer said.
He recalled a meeting the next year with then-chairman Cliff Roberts, who "came up to me and said, `We're going to ban signs. You caused us a problem with those signs.' I told him I didn't have any problem with that."
And really, it didn't take signs to spot a member of the army. That was as clear back then as it was in his finale.
"He's a boyhood idol of mine," said 49-year-old Dave Bockorny, who caught Palmer's eye during the round. "I just respect him so much."
Bockorny said he loved watching Arnie go for broke and take big chances in spots where other players would have played it safe.
That's what helped Palmer win here in 1958, when he went for the shot across the stream and made eagle on No. 13. It was also one of the hundreds of memories racing through Palmer's mind as he took his long, final walk up the 18th fairway.
"If you just use your imagination, you'll understand the emotion," Palmer said. "I think about how many times I walked up that 18th fairway. I think of the four times I won the Masters, and the couple times I didn't when I should have won. I think of the fans who've supported me, and I listen to them."
They were out there all day, enjoying every little nugget Palmer offered.
The best picture may have come on No. 6, when he hit a perfect tee shot down to the green on the little par-3. Jack Nicklaus was playing on the adjacent hole, No. 16, and the Golden Bear took note, giving Arnie a thumbs-up sign. Palmer replied with a bow to Nicklaus and there they were, the King and the Bear enjoying golf together, however briefly.
On No. 9, Palmer stopped to give his oldest granddaughter, Emily Saunders, a hug. It wasn't the only time he went to the ropes to greet a family member. He said this was the first time his entire family had been there to see him play.
Palmer's family extends well beyond blood, though.
He helped make the game popular at a time when televised sports were just taking hold. Fathers passed on their love of the game to their sons, and many a boy -- and girl -- learned to play the game simply because they wanted to be like Arnie.
His fans got a two-year reprieve from when Palmer said farewell to Augusta National in 2002. Back then, he felt he was being pushed out by the club, which was trying to weed out past champions who weren't competitive anymore.
Arnie and chairman Hootie Johnson conferred and agreed it just didn't feel right.
"The fact is, the one thing I wanted to do is what I did today, and that was finish 50 years at Augusta," Palmer said.
Sensing the history, a handful of players and caddies and pretty much all the members with green jackets hung around late to watch him finish.
Thousands of fans crowded the 18th green, standing 10 and 15 deep -- craning their necks, teetering on tiptoes, doing anything to get a glimpse.
What they saw was a reminder of their hero's present, not his glorious past. His second shot on the long par-4 was short and left of the green. Palmer pitched nicely to 4 feet below the hole, only to push the par putt badly to the right. There was no farewell gift from the golf gods to tempt a return.
"It's done," Palmer said.
"I won't say I'm happy it's done, but it's time for it to be done for me."
Notebook
Talk about being in a rut. Still angry after he didn't get a favorable ruling when his approach shot landed in a tire track, Jay Haas made a double-bogey on the next hole and finished with a 3-over 75 in the Masters on Friday.
After being just two shots off the lead in the first round, he's now six strokes behind leader Justin Rose.
"I didn't shoot myself in the foot too badly. If I can shoot in the 60s tomorrow, I could be back in it," Haas said.
If he doesn't wind up in any more ruts, that is.
Haas was at even-par for the day on Friday and looking at a possible birdie on the par-5 13th, when his approach shot landed in a tire track left by a cart. He thought he was entitled to relief, which would have allowed him to move the ball out of the rut. But a rules official said no, and Haas' appeal went nowhere.
"I think on our tour, I would have gotten relief," Haas said. "In their judgment, they didn't see any damage."
The damage wound up being to Haas' score. He managed to save par at No, 13, but still ``worked up," he made double bogey at the par-4 14th.
ONE MORE TIME
Fred Couples' streak continues. He advanced to the weekend at the Masters for the 20th straight time on Friday with a 3-under 69 that left him four strokes behind leader Justin Rose. Couples is still the only Masters champion who has never missed the cut at Augusta National -- as a pro or amateur.
"I get geared up to play here," said Couples, who won in 1992 and tied for second in 1998. "I think I can do well here. It'd be a miracle if I did well at another major."
But he's selling himself short. The 44-year-old still has more than enough game to be competitive when he's healthy, as Couple is now. He won his first tournament in five years last year, and has been playing solid golf this year.
He opened the Masters with a spotty 4-over 73 on Thursday, but made only one bogey on Friday. He and amateur Brandt Snedeker drew a standing ovation on the par-3 16th when they both put their tee shots within five feet of the hole.
While Snedeker two-putted, Couples made his putt for his fourth and final birdie of the day.
"There's no score I'm trying to shoot," he said. "I'm just trying not to make too many blunders."
YOUNG GUNS
When Brandt Snedeker's ball went into the water on the 15th hole, all he could think about was the cut.
Despite his splashdown on Friday, the US Amateur Public Links champion is hanging around for the weekend at the Masters. So is fellow amateur Casey Wittenberg, runner-up at the US Amateur.
Both are at 4-over 148, 10 strokes behind leader Justin Rose.
"Relieved. Relieved is the best way to put it," Snedeker said, a smile crossing his face, when asked how it felt to make the cut. "I haven't really been playing that well, but I seemed to come through with a good shot when I needed it, a good putt when I needed it.
"Now I've got two days to work on it and try to get something going."
Snedeker got his first Masters off to a quick start on Thursday with birdies on all three holes of the treacherous Amen Corner en route to a 1-over-par 73. He couldn't duplicate that Friday, but he did get a standing ovation.
Snedeker had to settle for a bogey after dunking his approach shot in the water on the par-5 15th. That would have unnerved some veterans, but Snedeker calmly rebounded, putting his tee shot within 5 feet on the par-3 16th and bringing the fans to their feet.
"That's something I'll definitely remember for the rest of my life," Snedeker said, beaming. "It gives me goosebumps just to think about it."
Wittenberg had perhaps the toughest draw of any of the amateurs, playing his first two rounds with Tiger Woods. Not only was he playing with the No. 1 player in the world, but he had hundreds, if not thousands, of people watching his every move.
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