Where Most Panic, McCarron Relaxes

Scott McCarron, who has a share of the first-round lead at three-under-par 69, hasn’t placed higher than 22nd in nine tournament starts in 1999, but that was before he arrived in Augusta, his favorite stop on the tour. In three previous appearances at the Masters, McCarron has two top-16 finishes--tied for 10th in 1996, tied for 30th in 1997 and tied for 16th in 1998.

“For some reason, I get here and start relaxing and feel comfortable,” McCarron said. “I drive the ball farther and feel more powerful. It’s kind of a mystical place for me.

“I’ve really enjoyed it from the first time I stepped up and played Augusta, finishing 10th my first year. You know, I always look forward to coming back here.”

*

McCarron got a mention from Fred Couples as somebody to look out for at the Masters.

Said McCarron: “He said that because I took money from him yesterday.”

*

Brandel Chamblee made his Masters debut at 36 Thursday, stared at the fabled course and scarcely flinched, scoring 69 in his first round at Augusta to finish the day with a share of the first-round lead.

“Best round I ever played here,” Chamblee quipped.

Chamblee, here courtesy his victory at the 1998 Vancouver Open, is a St. Louis native who grew up on a ranch, where he roped calves and aspired to ride horses competitively.

“But I had a few rear up on me,” Chamblee said, explaining how and why he made the career conversion to golf. “You can get hurt doing that. I quit once I took up golf.”

*

Trevor Immelman, the 1998 U.S. Amateur champion, broke even with Augusta in his first Masters round--he shot an even-par 72--but better than that, the 19-year-old South African got to play in the same group with countryman and idol Gary Player.

“I couldn’t have asked for anything more,” Immelman said. “Playing with Mr. Player was unbelievable. He was complimenting me all day. He edged me on and kept telling me I could do it. He’s an unbelievable man.”

Player, who shot a seven-over 79, said of Immelman: “I saw a future champion.”

Immelman admitted he was a bundle of nerves as he approached the first tee.

“I was so nervous on No. 1 that I was hoping I would just get it airborne,” Immelman said. “The moment came quickly. I was just really trying to keep my nerves under control.”

Eighteen holes with Gary Player, even par at Augusta . . . it doesn’t get much better for a young golfer, does it?

“The last 10 days aren’t heaven,” Immelman said with a grin, “but you can see it from here.”

*

John Daly has been sober for two years, and Thursday’s even-par 72 was another step back to respectability for a player once considered among the game’s biggest talents.

“Patience is a goal for me,” said Daly, now 32. “That’s a goal for me to work on.”

Winning used to be Daly’s second-biggest priority, after either drinking or gambling. He recently admitted in an article in Golf magazine that he was drunk for much of his victory in the 1991 PGA Championship, and for the three tour wins that followed.

It was during Daly’s first period of sobriety that he won two tournaments, the BellSouth Classic in Atlanta in 1994 and the British Open at St. Andrews in 1995. He sought treatment at the Betty Ford Clinic after a drinking binge at the 1996 Players Championship.

“I’m a little more focused than I used to be,” Daly said. “I don’t think I hit the ball any better than I’m hitting it now. I’m trying to take the big numbers out. I haven’t shot any real low numbers this year, but I’ve had a chance.”

*

Steve Pate has played in five other Masters and owns two top-five finishes--a tie for third in 1991 and a tie for sixth in 1992--so his opening round of one-under 71 wasn’t something to complain about.

Pate saved that for the setup.

“The pins are brutal, the greens are hard . . . it’s just not that easy,” he said.

The 37-year-old former UCLA star is off to the best start of his pro career, which began in 1985. He has already won $806,303.

*

Four-time champion Arnold Palmer set a Masters record by playing in his 45th consecutive tournament, breaking a tie with Sam Snead. The 69-year-old Palmer, who hasn’t made a cut since 1984, shot an 11-over 83. . . . You would have thought it had happened more often, but Thursday’s disruption of play because of weather was the first one at the Masters in six years.