Huber Blog: Augusta National escapes storms unscathed

TNT's Emmy Award-winning essayist Jim Huber is in Augusta for the Masters, and each day he will report on what he saw, heard and felt at storied Augusta National Golf Club. This is his Saturday edition.

By Jim Huber, Special to PGA.com

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- A quick survey shows no sign of damage to Augusta National after heavy storms roared through over the area Friday night.

"Yeah," said one long-time observer, "but they could lose an entire forest here and they'd never let anyone know it."

And so we go to the weekend with only half as many former Masters champions left in the field as started the tournament. Seven play on while a dozen missed the cut.

Boo a good-luck charm?: Boo Weekly isn't around for the weekend after shooting 73-76 but I'm betting there are a few guys who might think about hiring him just to walk with them. Boo played the first two rounds this year with midway leader Chad Campbell after playing the opening half of last year's Masters with eventual winner Trevor Immelman.

"Just must be me, I reckon," he laughed when asked if he was a good luck charm.

Interesting factoid: If Campbell or Kenny Perry wind up winning Sunday evening, they will be the first men since World War II to capture the event after having failed to qualify the year before.

Pick up the pace, please: They continue to be concerned with pace of play here. While the first three threesomes Friday played in under 4 hours, 46 minutes, the fourth group -- Aaron Baddeley, Bubba Watson and Graeme McDowell -- took 23 minutes longer and it just got worse from there.

Twosomes over the weekend will help.

Perhaps.

Hard on the ears: To steal unabashedly from Sports Illustrated: The true sign of the apocalypse is the startling and very sudden emergence here at Augusta National of the loudmouth patron. Where in the past we never, ever heard an encouraging word ("Get in the hole!!"), we hear it now on almost every hole. Even three-time champion Nick Faldo is angered.

"Pulleeeze," he muttered on air after one startling cry, "this is…Augusta."

Nine ain't fine: Oddly, on a day when the winds swirled and scoring was tough, Friday yielded only five "others" for the entire field, including that awful 9 at the par-4 10th by the amateur Danny Lee (he six-putted). But quickly Saturday, another horrifying 9 was posted at the par-5 second by Padraig Harrington.