A wet and wacky start to the Masters

<p>The rain wasn't a surprise.</p><p>Neither were three of the names on the leaderboard.</p><p>But hardly anything else went according to plan on a wet and wacky opening to the Masters.</p><p>Tiger Woods hit a shot into Rae's Creek with his putter.</p><p>Billy Casper knocked five straight shots into the water at the par-3 16th.</p><p>Ernie Els spent most of his day tromping through the woods.</p><p>"It doesn't matter who you are or who that golf ball belongs to when you're on the tee," said Shaun Micheel, who struggled to a 75. "It makes you look silly at times."</p><p>Chris DiMarco was atop the leaderboard at 4 under par, but he still had four holes to play when darkness settled over Augusta National.</p><p>Mark Hensby was first in the clubhouse with a 3-under 69 in his Masters debut, one of just 24 players who completed the round after heavy rains delayed the start by nearly 5 1/2 hours.</p><p>"It's hard to have expectations on such a demanding golf course," the Australian said.</p><p>Right on their heels were three golfers with high expectations: defending champion Phil Mickelson, top-ranked Vijay Singh and two-time U.S. Open winner Retief Goosen.</p><p>Woods was nowhere to be found; neither was Els.</p><p>Woods hasn't broken par in the first round of the Masters since he won in 2002, and that's where he was headed again, standing 2 over with six holes to play.</p><p>His signature shot came at the par-5 13th, which he reached in two with a risky shot out of the pines. But he misjudged the speed on a 70-foot eagle putt so badly that the ball raced by the hole, tumbled down the bank and went into Rae's Creek.</p><p>Woods left the ball there, replayed the putt and fared much better, two-putting for a bogey.</p><p>Els, the runner-up to Mickelson last year and a perennial Masters contender, spent more time in the trees than the fairway. No wonder he was 3 over through 11 holes.</p><p>Of course, no one looked sillier than Casper.</p><p>At 73, after sitting out the last three years, he decided to return for one more Masters. Not his best decision.</p><p>Casper took a 14 at the par-3 16th _ the highest in Masters history for any hole _ and finished with a 106, 11 strokes more than the previous record for futility. But it won't go in the books because he decided not to turn in his scorecard.</p><p>"I sort of figured before I played that I wasn't going to sign it," said Casper, officially listed as withdrawn. "I only wanted to play 18 holes and get it out of my system."</p><p>The 68 players still on the course when the horn sounded were set to return at 9:45 a.m. EDT Friday to complete the opening round. Barring any more weather delays, the tournament should be back to normal _ if there is such a thing at Augusta _ by the weekend.</p><p>The rain was downright routine. For the fourth straight week, and the ninth time in 15 tournaments this year, bad weather delayed a round.</p><p>DiMarco birdied three straight holes late in the day to claim the top spot. He didn't have much sympathy when told of Woods' misfortune.</p><p>"He's got a few good breaks over his career," DiMarco said. "So you know what? Darn. It's golf."</p><p>Trying to hold down his No. 1 ranking, Singh was a model of consistency. Along with picking up three birdies on the front nine, Singh twice saved par with 10-foot putts. His only bogey came on his final hole, a three-putt from about 100 feet at No. 11.</p><p>"I hit my driver beautifully and had some good saves," Singh said. "It was just disappointing how I finished."</p><p>Mickelson opened with a bogey, but kept himself out of trouble most of the day and gave himself ample birdie chances. He chipped in for birdie on No. 2, stuck a wedge inside 4 feet on the third and twice made pars with beautiful lag putts to within 3 feet.</p><p>Goosen, the forgotten figure in all the hype over the "Big Four," made a rare birdie on the par-3 12th, then recovered from a tee shot into the azaleas on the par-5 13th to escape with par. He was minus 2.</p><p>That was the exception. Only 10 of the 92 players were under par, and already there were five scores at 80 or higher among those who finished.</p><p>Paul Casey, who tied for sixth last year in his Masters debut, took a 10 on the 13th hole and shot 79. David Toms stood over a 20-foot putt on the 14th hole until a gust blew his ball down the slope and into the fairway. He made a double bogey, and shot 41 on his outward nine.</p><p>Still, nothing quite compared with Casper.</p><p>A 51-time winner on the PGA Tour who was overlooked in the Big Three era of the 1960s, he got plenty of attention in his return to Augusta National.</p><p>By the time he finished 12 holes, he already shot his age. Casper left the course with his scorecard in a back pocket.</p><p>"That's going in the scrapbook," he said.</p>

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