Unknown Rose takes early lead

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Back-to-back birdies brought out that boyish smile in Justin Rose. The loss of his longtime looper brought a tear to Tom Watson. A suspect swing made Tiger Woods look as vulnerable as ever.

The Masters had a little bit of everything Thursday, starting with Rose shooting a 5-under 67 to take a two-shot lead, and ending with Woods walking briskly to his car in darkness, 4 over par through 14 holes and not much to say.

"I'm done for today," he said. "Thanks."

Watson's score was irrelevant. He was on his way to the course when he learned his longtime caddie, Bruce Edwards, died in Florida of Lou Gehrig's disease.

"I'm relying on his spirit to take care of me," Watson said.

The two-hour rain relay, which prevented 18 players from finishing the first round, took a little edge off the crusty course, but not enough to make it any less intimidating.

Only three players broke 70, and Augusta National was littered with heartache — an 80 by Adam Scott, an 8 on the 15th hole for Vijay Singh, and a double bogey at the end of the day for defending champion Mike Weir.

No sooner had his ball spun back into the pond on the 15th that the siren sounded, and Weir stood in the fairway with his hands on hips, slamming his wedge into the turf.

"It was a weird day," said Ernie Els, who was 2 under with one hole to play. The 18 players resume the round at 8:45 a.m. EDT today.

Rose, 23, had few complaints.

The youngest professional in the field, Rose started with back-to-back birdies to get his name on the leaderboard, then finished with birdies on the last two holes to build a two-shot lead over Chris DiMarco and 50-year-old Jay Haas.

"Unfazed would be my idea mindset for tomorrow," Rose said.

DiMarco, the 36-hole leader three years ago at the Masters, provided the biggest thrill when his 5-iron from 198 yards dropped for a hole-in-one at No. 6. He was the only player to avoid bogey and shot 69.

The cheers, as usual, belonged to the King.

Nothing rocked this place more than when Arnold Palmer rolled in a 40-foot putt that went up a steep slope and crashed into the pin before disappearing into the cup. Never mind that it was for par, or that the 74-year-old Palmer wound up with an 84 in his 50th and final Masters.