Robust Augusta turns into quite a challenge

Yes, someone is going to have a nice green jacket when this week ends. But it?s hard to imagine anyone saying they got the best of Augusta National.

Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson were nowhere to be found atop the jumbled Masters leaderboard Friday after a second straight round of tough winds, tougher greens and scores that haven?t been this high in 25 years.

And when the third round began Saturday, the chances of things improving didn?t look promising. Temperatures were in the low 40s and wind was blowing 10-15 mph from the north.

?I think over par is going to win,? Mickelson said. ?If you made the cut and shoot in the 60s, you?re right back in it.?

Brett Wetterich and Tim Clark were on top at 2-under 142, joining Vaughn Taylor (143) as the only players to break par at the halfway point. They all had afternoon tee times.

Woods, set to tee off at 1:20 p.m., was 3 over after a wild day of left-handed shots and spectacular saves from the water that resulted in a 2-over 74. Mickelson was two shots behind him after spending much of his day flirting with the cut and scrambling in the woods en route to a 73.

The only real winner so far: the golf course.

?The unfortunate thing about this place is you can hit some great, great shots, and get absolutely nothing out of it,? said Henrik Stenson, who was 4 over and one of at least two dozen players who figured to have a decent shot at this title.

Lesser players would have been going home had they been in the trouble Woods and Mickelson were in.

Tiger hit a left-handed escape shot after getting stymied near a tree on No. 9, but saved bogey.

He plunked it into the water twice at Amen Corner, but lost only one stroke, making a long putt to save bogey on No. 12 and a nifty up-and-down for par on the next hole.

He buckled over in disgust after airmailing the 15th green, but got up-and-down for a birdie.

There was also the shot he didn?t hit: He nearly reconfigured his entire lumbar system pulling out of a swing when he got distracted by the shadow of a bird flying over his head.

?I felt like I broke my back, my wrist, my neck, my legs,? Woods said.

But he didn?t get hurt. And he still had a chance.

?I turned basically a 90 into a 74 today, which was nice,? Woods said. ?I?m right there in the ballgame.?

So was Mickelson, who conceded he was worried about missing the cut when he was lost in the woods left of the 11th fairway. He limited the damage to a bogey, played mistake-free over the final four holes and shot 73.

Sixty players made the cut at 8-over 152, the most since 61 in 1993.

As for familiar names, other than Vijay Singh, there aren?t many at the top.

Singh shot 71 and was in a group at even par that included Jerry Kelly (69), Zach Johnson (73) and Justin Rose (75). Johnson was poised to take the lead when he stood over a 4-foot birdie putt on the par-3 16th. He three-putted for bogey, then bogeyed twice more to close his round.

?It?s just the greens,? Johnson said. ?I guess I got `Augustacized.??

At 145 were U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy (70) and Padraig Harrington, whose 68 was the lowest round Augusta National has allowed for two days. Paul Casey also shot 68 while paired with Woods.

?This golf course always gives you a chance to shoot a good score,? Harrington said. ?There are possibilities of making birdies as long as you keep your momentum going and you don?t have a mishap. That?s the great thing about this course.?

The theory that only Tiger, Phil and a few select others could win here is out the window, as is the notion that the older set can no longer contend.

Among the past champions who made the cut were Ben Crenshaw, Sandy Lyle, Craig Stadler and Fuzzy Zoeller.

?Scary, isn?t it?? said Zoeller, the 1979 champion.

Fred Couples saved par from the sand on 16, from the trees on 17 and from the fringe on 18 to finish on the number and tie Gary Player?s record for consecutive cuts at 23.

?I can almost play this course blindfolded,? said Couples, who has been nursing an aching back and played only his fourth competitive round of the year Friday. ?I can get it around, and I think that?s what I did yesterday and today. (But) I would say this course is a little too tough for me.?