Masters 1999: Notebook: Sutton not amused by Augusta

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Friday, Apr. 9 6:08pm ET
Notebook: Sutton not amused by Augusta
ESPN Golf Online news services
AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Hal Sutton was venting his frustrations to a friend while walking away from the 18th green at Augusta National -- and quite possibly The Masters -- for one last time Friday.

Jeff Maggert
Jeff Maggert won't be around for the weekend after playing the first two rounds at 10-over.
"This place is such a Mickey Mouse course they ought to move it to Orlando," Sutton said, clearly not amused with the course conditions, most notably Augusta's hard and slick greens. "It won't break my heart if I never play here again, to be quite honest with you."
The winner of 10 PGA Tour events, including last year's Tour Championship, Sutton had just endured another disappointment at Augusta National, where 26 of his 29 tournament rounds have been above par. This time, Sutton could only shake his head after several good shots produced consistently poor results. He ended up shooting 76 to finish at 11-over 155.
"I would probably be better off not saying anything, but this place tests the outer limits of fairness," he said after missing the cut for the ninth consecutive time and the 11th in 14 tries.
"But I think that's the way they like it around here. I think they like you having a lot of adversity," he said. "I think they pride themselves on having players say that about it. That's why I really don't want to knock it too bad because I'm playing into their hands when I do knock it."
Who is they?
"Whoever does this stuff around here," Sutton said, glancing toward the clubhouse where several club officials were having lunch. "I hate to give the right credit. I don't know who to give that credit to."
Picking on the King
On the very day Arnold Palmer set a record by playing in his 45th consecutive Masters, Mark Calcavecchia touched off a firestorm of controversy.
"If he can't break 83, he shouldn't be out here," said Calcavecchia, who played in the group behind Palmer both days. "Eventually, you've to end it (the streak)."
Calcavecchia wasn't exactly burning it up either, shooting 75-77. Palmer had a 78 in the second round, including a crowd-pleasing birdie at 18 after another standing ovation from the gallery. He finished at 161.
"He probably beat the crap out of me (Friday)," said Calcavecchia, whose 39 on the front was two shots higher than Palmer's score. "I've not taken any flak yet (for the comments). I need some flak. Flak's good for me."
Palmer, a four-time Masters champion (1958-64) who helped make The Masters what it is, was unaware that anything critical had been said.
"Well, that's his opinion," Palmer said after missing the cut for the 16th consecutive time. "He's welcome to it."
Lefty likes his position
Phil Mickelson is happy with where he stands at the midway point of The Masters. A 3-under 69 on Friday left him at 1-under for the tournament.
"Anything in the red is good going into the weekend," said the man widely regarded as one of the best players without a major championship to his credit.
But Mickelson is not thrilled with how he is thinking at the moment.
"I am thinking about the end result -- the score -- instead of going through the process. I need to think about the process, instead of the final number. If I ultimately want to win, that's what I have to do."
Cut victims
Billy Mayfair missed the cut for the fourth consecutive time, saying "Another Masters let go."
Mayfair's undoing was the back nine, which he shot in 8-over 80.
World Match Play champion Jeff Maggert also missed the cut. He played 16 holes in 2-under Friday, but suffered triple bogeys at Nos. 7 and 12.
"This course just magnifies your bad shots," he said. "Sure, I'm disappointed but it probably won't the last cut I miss here -- or this year, for that matter."
Already assured of a banner year, Maggert would prefer that it be remembered for more than just his Match Play victory.
"That's over and done with," he said. "I've got to get out of here and play some good golf. That's what I'll try to do in the next few weeks."
Also heading home is 1995 champion Ben Crenshaw, who wouldn't talk to reporters after a 79 left him at 9-over 153.
"It's too painful," Crenshaw said, before hurrying away to brood in the clubhouse.
Defending champ hanging on
Defending Masters champion Mark O'Meara is famous for a putter which helped produce two major championships last year.
O'Meara had one of those rare off days when he couldn't putt Friday, and he shot a 4-over-par 76 that left him at 2-over-par 146.
"I never had a good stroke all day," O'Meara said. "I just didn't have the speed of the greens. I even three-putted twice. That's why a 76 popped up."
O'Meara three-putted just once last year when he won The Masters.
"I'm proud of the fact that I was up there on the leaderboard for awhile," O'Meara said. "It will take a lot of birdies for me to get back in this thing."
Par-3 curse strikes again
It's not a good thing to win the Wednesday Par-3 tournament before the Masters. Just ask Joe Durant.
No Par-3 winner has ever won the regular tournament but what happened to Durant bordered on being cruel.
Durant, of Molino, Fla., and the 1998 Motorola Open winner, shot a 15-over-par 87 in the first round.
In the second round, Durant came back with a 79 and missed the cut. The only thing he got was the crystal vase for winning the par-3 tournament with a 5-under-par 22.
"It was my first experience here and I learned a lot," he said. "I learned what not to do. I'd like to earn my way back to redeem myself. "
Divots

Fred Couples kept his Masters streak alive. He has not missed a cut at Augusta in 15 attempts.

Mark O'Meara and Brian Watts, who battled for the British Open title in a four-hole playoff last year, will be paired in Saturday's third round. Each finished 36 holes at 2-over 146.

Four of the six amateurs competing this week made the cut. Advancing to the weekend were U.S. Amateur runner-up Tom McKnight (147), British Amateur champ Sergio Garcia (147), 1998 U.S. Amateur Public Links champion Trevor Immelman (148) and 1997 U.S. Amateur champ Matt Kuchar (148). Reigning U.S. Amateur champion Hank Kuehne (152) and U.S. Mid-Amateur champ John Miller (162) missed the cut.

Tiger Woods stands at even par despite making nine birdies over the first two rounds.