UNLV has strong presence at tournament

Adam Candee

Monday, April 11, 2005 | 9:16 a.m.

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- As he shaved six strokes in just 14 holes of his third round, Chad Campbell looked every bit of the player chose by his peers as the next big star.

It's unfortunate, though, that Campbell's third round of 5-under 67 was the highlight of his stay at the Masters, because his play was generally strong.

Campbell stuck that 67 in between rounds of 73 and a 75, good for a tie for 17th at even par.

Ryan Moore and Campbell were not the only players with UNLV ties to get into the hunt during the week. All four of the current or former Rebels in the field made the cut, much to the delight of UNLV coach Dwaine Knight, who was in attendance.

Adam Scott played well at times, but lacked consistency, a natural problem for a player still working on improving his putting. Scott finished at 6-over after being as low as 1-under late in his third round. He carded a double bogey in each of his first three rounds, including a 6 at par-4 No. 9 -- his final hole of the day -- to hurt his third round.

Summerlin resident Chris Riley struggled after standing among the leaders after his first round of 1-under 71. He barely made the cut on Saturday afternoon after shooting 5-over 77, and followed that with a pair of rounds at 6-over 78, finishing 49th of the 50 players to make the cut at 16-over.

After his opening round, Riley posted just three birdies in his final 54 holes -- equal to his number of double-bogeys in that time. Riley declined an interview request Sunday after his round.

The Big Four played down a man this week as Els scuffled to a 10-over total. His final round of even-par 72 was his best of the week and Els, a favorite to win the Masters coming in, owned up to his poor showing.

"It wasn't good, was it?" Els said. "My game wasn't there. That's it. You move on. I can't make any excuses."

Els finished as the runner-up to Phil Mickelson at last year's Masters, missing out on a playoff only when Mickelson holed his dramatic birdie putt at No. 18 to win.

Consistency eluded Els all week. After making the weekend on the cut line at 4-over, Els continued to struggle, making double bogey at the par-5 13th Saturday. He came back Sunday to post an eagle on the same hole.

"Each day, something was wrong," Els said, referencing each aspect of his game.

Couples sneaked past the cut line at 3-over Saturday morning. He had retreated to the clubhouse between his second and third rounds, needing to lie down and then trying out a small back brace on the advice of a friend when he went back out.

Playing well and standing at even-par heading to No. 16, Couples could no longer shrug off the pain of a back that has kept him to a limited playing schedule for 12 years. He closed with double bogeys at Nos. 16 and 17 and a bogey at No. 18 to finish 5-over.

"It was just way too long of a day, to go 31 holes," Couples said of Saturday.

He closed with an even-par 72 Sunday, giving him two rounds at even or better for the tournament and a 7-over total. That's not so bad for a 45-year-old, even if Couples expects more out of himself.

"I'm not ever going to downplay playing on Saturday and Sunday," Couples said. "But this year, it really wasn't doable."

Through a rules official, Singh accused Mickelson of causing and not repairing excessive spike marks on some of Augusta's wet greens Friday, causing Mickelson to confront Singh in the locker room. According to Mickelson, he resolved the issue in that conversation.

And although Mickelson fired an early shot by issuing a statement that caught most off-guard because they were not aware of the situation, he still bristled when questioned on the issue Sunday.

Mickelson said that he and Singh "laughed and giggled" during their round and generally enjoyed each other's company.

"There was nothing there," Mickelson said. "I don't know where you guys come up with this stuff."

Pressed by a reporter about the original spike issue, Mickelson shot back, "I answered it in my statement, so it's ridiculous to even bring it up."