Blast from the past

AUGUSTA, Ga. — All signs pointed to this being a Masters for the ages.

This wasn’t what anyone had in mind — 52-year-old Fred Couples, silver hair and still cool as ever, drawing the loudest cheers Friday on his way to becoming the oldest player atop the leaderboard going into the weekend at Augusta National.

“Very shocking, and it was a great day,” Couples said after a 5-under 67, which gave him a share of the lead with Jason Dufner. “There was a lot going on there, and for me to be a part of it, it’s really amazing.”

The buzz going into the Masters was built around all the best players on top of their games, and that element was very much in place. Rory McIlroy charged up the leaderboard. Lee Westwood is right there. So is Sergio Garcia and even Phil Mickelson.

Missing from the mix — another surprise — was club-kicking Tiger Woods.

Just two weeks after Woods won Bay Hill by five shots and became an instant favorite for a fifth green jacket, he couldn’t make a putt and then hit only two greens on the back nine. He kept dropping the club out of his hands in disgust, and it reached a boiling point on the par-3 16th when he turned and kicked his 9-iron some 15 yards.

Woods didn’t make a birdie after the third hole and shot 75, his highest score at Augusta since 2004.

“I can do this,” Woods said. “I’ve just got to be patient.”

The eight-shot deficit was not nearly as daunting as the 39 players ahead of him — especially McIlroy, who was only one shot back.

The 22-year-old U.S. Open champion started this tournament with a double bogey and has been trending upward ever since. McIlroy made two early birdies and was on his way. He drove the ball with authority, allowing him to take on the flags. With a tough par save on the 18th, he shot a 69.

“I wouldn’t say I’m in a position to win yet, but we’ll see what happens tomorrow,” McIlroy said. “I feel like I’ve played solid golf the last two days — could have been a couple shots better, like probably everyone in the field is thinking. But I’m in a nice position, and I definitely would have taken it after the start yesterday.”

Couples won the Masters in 1992 — McIlroy was not quite 3 back then — for his only green jacket, though he seems to give himself a chance whenever he shows up at Augusta.

His back has been ailing him for close to two decades. It was so chilly when he teed off Friday that he had every reason to believe he was at the British Open.

But he loves this course more than any other. He knows his way around. He knows how to score. No one — not even Jack Nicklaus — has a lower scoring average at the Masters of those who have played at least 100 rounds.

“Can I win?” Couples said, repeating the question. “I believe I can. Yes.”

Couples and Dufner, whose bogey from the bunker on the 18th hole gave him a 70, were at 5-under 139.