Luke Donald always pictured himself going into the weekend with the lead in the Masters. But in his dreams, he played two complete rounds under sunny Georgia skies.
Instead, the former Northwestern star goes into Saturday having slogged through two rainy days of stop-and-go golf that barely netted him 20 holes. It has been a test of patience more than a sweet dream.
So Donald isn’t getting too caught up in the fact he went to sleep Friday night sharing the top spot at Augusta National. He made the most of what golf was offered to him, completing his opening round with a 68 in the morning. Then he moved to 5 under through two holes of the second round when the rain hit.
That left him tied for the lead with Chris DiMarco, who completed only one hole, and David Howell, who made five birdies in the eight holes he played. Vijay Singh is one shot back after shooting an opening-round 68.
Singh didn’t even complete the first hole of the second round as the weather became the story again. The sky opened early in the afternoon. Though the rain didn’t fall steadily, the threat of strong storms in the area with lightning deterred officials from resuming play. Eventually, they called it a day at 4 p.m.
So Saturday becomes a marathon. Officials will try to complete the second round in the morning, then catch up by playing the third round in the afternoon. That means Donald is looking at 34 holes, giving him ample reason not to get too far ahead of himself.
“There’s a lot of golf to be played, and there’s danger lurking around every corner at Augusta National,” Donald said. “So I’m going to try and put it in the back of my mind tonight and not think about it. I’ll come out [Saturday] and be fresh. If I keep playing the way I’ve been playing, then I’ll start worrying about it come Sunday.”
The way he’s playing, Donald could be there. With the possible exception of Phil Mickelson, who had a 70, he could be the hottest player in golf. Donald hasn’t let up after finishing second at the Players Championship.
Donald doesn’t seem flustered playing in his first Masters. He admitted to having some nerves on the driving range while warming up Thursday. But they began to disappear once he began play.
“I felt pretty comfortable,” Donald said. “I got off to a steady start and then I was away and feeling good about my game. . . . I came into this week playing as well as I ever played.”
Donald finished the last four holes to wrap up a virtually flawless first round in the morning. Then he dropped an 8-footer for birdie on the par-5 second to go into a tie for the lead.
“I played very solidly and didn’t really put myself in much trouble,” Donald said.
That’s Donald’s game. Howell, his teammate on the European Ryder Cup team, is among the players who have taken notice.
“He’s obviously playing fantastic,” Howell said. “You can see he’s confident at the moment, and he’s swinging the club really well.”
Nobody swung better than Howell during the opening part of the second round. Beginning his round on the back nine, the 29-year-old Englishman birdied 10, 11, 13, 15 and 16. Clearly, with that kind of momentum, Howell didn’t want to stop after parring No. 17. But he took it in stride.
“That was all I could do, and I managed to play well,” Howell said. “You don’t know what’s around the corner in golf. It might turn out to be a great thing for me that we stopped. Who knows?”
Now the entire field has to regroup for Saturday. Donald went through this drill at the rain-soaked Players Championship. He said he got through it by “switching off my brain when I’m on break.”
“The hardest thing is wondering if I have enough outfits,” Donald said. “You have to change every two hours.”
Friday, Donald sported bright green Polo slacks that had little golf clubs on them. Saturday, he said he might wear orange, although it won’t be in tribute to Illinois. If he’s in position, Donald will pick out something Sunday that goes with a green jacket. But he won’t allow himself to think that far ahead.
As has been the case in every tournament this year, there’s always a long way to go.
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esherman@tribune.com
