On the Green

A half hour before Tiger Woods walked into the first tee box, Trevor Immelman walked off the nearby 18th green with his second consecutive 68, leaving him at 8 under par halfway through the Masters. Thus, Tiger was eight shots down before he began.

Immelman can play. That's an opinion but also an achievement, considering he was so sick here last year he was in an emergency room with a stomach ailment. And that wasn't close to being his worst health crisis of the year. In December, he was operated on for a tumor that turned out to be benigh. But no one knew that for two days, while the mass was being tested. Talk about two days of pressure.

"It was a speed bump, really," Immelman said when he was asked about how the ordeal affected his view on life. "It can be taken from you real fast."

Immelman took advantage of perfectly beautul conditions, making birdies on the tough final two holes. It might have been an even greater achievement than making the cut despite being so sick here last April.

He remained one shot ahead of Brandt Snedeker, who also birdied the final two holes.

And Phil Mickelson is steadily moving along. At the moment, he's 4 under with a bogeyless round through 12.