Olazabal's Hopes Fade On No. 16

AUGUSTA, Ga., April 9 -- Jose Maria Olazabal, a two-time Masters champion, had the lowest round of the week Sunday, shooting a 6-under-par 66 that launched him into a tie for third place.

Starting seven holes ahead of the last group, the 40-year-old Spaniard kept climbing the leader board with a front nine that included five birdies and a bogey. When he hit a 5-wood from 246 yards out to within three feet at the 530-yard 15th and made the eagle putt, he was at 5 under and only one shot off the lead of eventual champion Phil Mickelson.

Olazabal gave one back at the 170-yard 16th, where he three-putted for bogey from 40 feet, ending any serious hope he had of posting a low enough score to threaten the leaders.

"I thought I needed to go to 6 [under] to put the pressure on those guys, but I couldn't do it," he said. "It was a special moment after hitting that wonderful shot on 15, but I knew I needed one more birdie and those three putts at 16 killed me. I three-putted 6 and three-putted 16, and the rest I played really solid."

For Ames, Wise Choice

Stephen Ames's decision to cut short a two-week family vacation so he could play in the Masters turned out to be a profitable move.

Ames, who was not in the tournament until he won the Players Championship two weeks ago in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., said at the time he would rather go on a planned vacation than come to Augusta. His wife and kids, and probably some of his sponsors, let him know they would prefer that he come to Augusta, so he decided to play.

With a third round of 2-under 70, Ames began the final round two shots off the lead. He posted a 73 in the last round, good for a tie for 11th place, and left Georgia with a check for $161,000.

Ames, a native of Trinidad and Tobago, was asked recently if his victory in the Players Championship would make him Trinidad's sportsman of the year. No, he answered, the honor would probably go to a cricket player. At that point, Bob Verdi, a Golf Digest columnist, couldn't resist.

"What about Tobago?"

Clarke Has No Luck

Irishman Darren Clarke was at 4 under through 14 holes of his third round when he hit two shots in the water at the 530-yard 15th and made a disastrous triple-bogey 8 that helped ruin his chance to win his first major championship. It came two holes after he had made a 50-foot putt to eagle the 510-yard 13th hole, hitting a 3-wood on to the green.

"On 15, I just pushed my tee shot into the first cut," Clarke said. "I thought I could get a 5-wood at it, but it just came out a little soft and went in the water. I weighed both options from the pitching area to the line of where the ball went in, and I thought I'd have more green to work with if I dropped it on the right side [of the fairway]. When I did, I dropped it into a bit of a hole.

"I hit it heavy into the water again and had an eight-footer for seven, and then I holed a good eight-footer for 8, a pretty good solid 8."

Clarke came right back and made a 35-footer for birdie at the 16th and finished the third round only two shots off the lead. He came back in the final round with a 77 and finished tied for 22nd.

Browne Enjoys Finish

Olin Browne had a fabulous time playing in the third round with Ben Crenshaw, one of his boyhood idols, and was thrilled to shoot 74 in the final round of his first Masters since 1999.

"He was one of those guys I admired," said Browne, a St. Albans graduate who finished at 9-over 297. "I used to hop the fence at Riviera to watch him play. He's the best."

And his Masters experience?

"It's the tournament of all tournaments," he said. "If I was ever to win and dropped dead right after, it would be all right with me."