Calling all Tigers

Absolutely no offense to Brett Wetterich, who has played 2 wonderfully smart and skilled rounds here, but... could whoever stole the Masters please bring it back?

This has been coming for years, ever since T. Woods went 18-under in '97... rather than see their toonamint become a shooting gallery, the lords of Augusta grew rough, magically installed tall trees where none existed the prior year (how do they do that?) and lengthened the course by more than 500 yards. The 1st, 2nd and 11th tees are now in South Carolina.

Combine that with four dry days in a row (a first since The Changes) and you have what you have now: The US Open in April. What is lost is the sort of go-for-it sex appeal that made the Masters, well, the Masters. "You just plod along'' is how T. Woods describes it. "Just don't have any wrecks.''

Wow, that's exciting.

The possibility exists that above-par could win here for the first time in 41 years. One possibility that doesn't exist: Someone shooting a back-9 30 on Sunday, capping a win with a finishing 65. That's what happened in '86, when Nicklaus won. The hair on the back of my neck stood at attention that day. It's doing it now.

Too bad it'll never happen again. Unless...

The greencoats water the greens and trim the rough and, in the future, consider a "Masters ball'' that doesnt orbit the earth the way current golf balls do. Until then, watch Tiger play the course like a kitten.