Woods turns clock ahead early

Head down and moving faster than a downhill putt, Tiger Woods entered the back door of the clubhouse of Augusta National Golf Club, crossed through the green-carpeted hallway and was out the front door in seconds.

He looked neither left nor right, and headed straight for the driving range, where he took up his standard position at the far end. Woods didn’t say much, but he listened to the advice of his swing coach, Hank Haney, then grabbed an iron from his bag and started to work.

The shots he hit were three-quarter swings and Woods sent the ball in a low arc toward the flagstick.

He was practicing how he would play in strong wind, because that’s what is forecast for today. So about 15 minutes after completing his 74 in the second round of the Masters, Woods had moved on.

Friday was already so yesterday. Turn the page, change the clock and start again.

Today came early for Woods. It arrived about 4 p.m. Friday, out there on the driving range, a lag putt away from Magnolia Lane, with birds chirping, the afternoon sunlight filtering through the oak trees and Woods getting ready for what he faces next.

Chances are it’s not going to be a simple assignment, and the weather might be the least of his worries. Woods was in a cheery mood after he was through playing, which is understandable because he birdied the 15th and 17th holes. After all, even if Woods is three over par after 36 holes, he’s not exactly shaking in his swooshes.

He is only five shots behind leaders Brett Wetterich and Tim Clark.

“They are not going anywhere, not in these conditions. They are not going to go low here,” he said.

“Five shots back with the weather coming on the weekend, I’m right there in the ballgame.”

This ballgame isn’t very easy to play. The Masters has its great rewards, but it also manages to collect its due, and Woods knows that all too well.

He has not shot in the 60s at Augusta in his last seven rounds.

He has had back-to-back rounds over par here for only the second time as a pro.

He has made nine bogeys in two rounds, the most he has made since he turned pro.

So why does Woods feel all right? A couple of reasons are Wetterich and Clark, who have won a total of zero majors, 12 fewer than Woods. There are 14 players in front of Woods and only three of them have won majors -- Vijay Singh, who is at even par; Geoff Ogilvy at one over and Jim Furyk at two over.

Woods started with a bogey and quickly learned something about his driving. He said he had a two-way miss going.

“I hit it left or right,” he said.

Of course, Augusta National is not the place to perfect the two-way miss. It’s also a miserable place to rinse your golf ball, which Woods did on two occasions.

He spun his tee shot at the 12th off the grassy bank and into the water and wound up with a bogey. Woods also knocked his second shot into the pond in front of the green at the 13th, and even though he saved par, it cost him a chance at making birdie.

Woods wound up with four birdies. Actually, he had a bunch more, but they were the winged types and they bothered him enough that he stopped his club in his downswing at the 13th tee. Woods was unnerved by the shadow of the birds over his ball.

If there is such a thing as bad birdies, then this was it. And Woods said he was lucky to have checked his swing, but felt as though the shaft of his driver would snap, not to mention various parts of his body.

“I felt like I broke my back, my wrist, my neck, my legs, I don’t know how those baseball players do it, with those checked swings,” he said.

Besides the shadows of birds, there are other more tangible problems to avoid at Augusta National. Three-putts come to mind. Woods said “wrecks” are something you just can’t have.

In the meantime, there is the course itself, and Woods said it has never been more daunting. He said it’s drier than he has seen it since 1999, but that was before they added 500 yards to the place.

And now, the wind is coming, or at least Woods is expecting it. That’s why he got over his Friday so quickly and started his Saturday a little earlier than most.

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thomas.bonk@latimes.com