Masters Digest

Lehman victim of drive-by shootingTom Lehman, the US Ryder Cup captain for the match with Europe at the K Club in September, endured a horrific build-up to the Masters when he was the victim of a drive-by shooting that left a bullet hole in his car.

The incident occurred on Tuesday night when Lehman was driving along an Augusta motorway on his way to the airport to collect family members. "It was a surreal experience. I was 100 yards from the freeway exit when I heard a large explosion. I got to the airport, and there was a bullet in the car," recalled Lehman, who went ahead and played in the Masters - paired with Europe's captain Ian Woosnam - and opened with a 76.

"It was pretty crazy, a random thing. You open the papers every day and you read about these things that happen to people. I think he was full of Jack Daniels, a guy who'd had a bad day at work," said Lehman.

A man suspected of committing the shooting was apprehended by police after Lehman informed them of the incident.

Police in Augusta have charged 26-year-old Troy Smith with aggravated assault. It was believed to have been a random attack, although Lehman's wife, Melissa, said detectives told her the accused had a grudge against Cadillacs. "It was nothing against Tom," she said. "He was just an innocent victim in all of this."

Lengthened first hole takes its toll

The plan worked, it would seem. Already a tough opener, the lengthened first hole bared its teeth even more fiercely in yesterday's first round. A year ago, it ranked as the seventh most difficult hole on the course with an average of 4.23 strokes over the four days. On this evidence, it is set to play much tougher this year - which was the intention when it was stretched to 455 yards.

Yesterday, the par four played to an average of 4.38 strokes, with just five birdies which were more than offset by 50 pars, 30 bogeys and five double-bogeys.

Only the 11th - the toughest hole last year and made even more difficult this time round - played harder, with a stroke average of 4.53.

Crane believes he can break hoodoo

If history is anything to go by, Ben Crane's win in the pre-tournament Par 3 contest saddled him with a jinx. In the Masters' history, no player who has won the fun competition has gone on to claim the big prize itself. Crane - who had Dallas Cowboys quarterback Drew Bledsoe as his caddie - claimed he wasn't superstitious as he headed out for yesterday's first round. "I don't believe in luck, any time I have a chance to win I am going to take it," he said. Crane opened with a 74.

As a past winner of the Par 3 contest, Padraig Harrington was probably happy enough to finish with a hole-in-one rather than take the actually top prize.

"I clubbed him perfectly," quipped his mother, Breda, who was on Harrington's bag. The shot? A three-quarter wedge, that pitched 12 feet past the hole and spun back in. Harrington's reward was a piece of crystal.

"It's too difficult for me," says Faldo

Nick Faldo, a three-time Masters champion, didn't blame his son Matthew - who is caddying for him this week - for his woes in yesterday's first round. "It's just too difficult for me . . . and I am not playing well enough. You need a lot of self-confidence for this place and I ain't got the guns (any more)."

Fearsome course made for youth

Twice winner Ben Crenshaw, who has not made the cut at the Masters since 1997, produced a superb display of chipping and putting to return a 71.

"There were a few miracles out there," the 54-year-old Texan said after mixing four birdies with three bogeys. "It's quite a test and one hard course. It's one difficult hole after another. You must hit a long ball here. This is definitely a young man's course," added Crenshaw, Masters champion in 1984 and 1995. "That's where we are with the game right now. We're lengthening courses all over the globe."

Augusta National has been stretched to 7,445 yards since last year's tournament, making it the second longest course in major championship history.