Masters story: T.I. but no grr

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Trevor and Brandt are setting the pace at the Masters, so everyone expecting something more along the lines of, well, Tiger, let’s just say that’s not the name of the game so far.

But that guy named Phil is definitely in the mix after Friday’s second round.

Trevor Immelman birdied the last two holes to put the finishing touches on a second consecutive four-under-par 68 and a one-shot lead at a much more workable Augusta National Golf Club. He’s at eight-under 136.

Next is Brandt Snedeker, who had more problems keeping his shaggy hair stuck under his visor than he had on the course after his own 68.

And right behind is none other than Phil Mickelson, whose bogey-free 68 puts him at five-under 139 and right in line to make a run at his third Masters title.

Mickelson, tied with Steve Flesch and Ian Poulter, was a quick starter, with birdies on two of his first three holes, and even managed to coax a birdie out of the tough 17th when he rolled in a 30-foot putt, but he had just one regret.

“I would love to be in the lead,” he said.

Tiger Woods would love to be somewhere in the top 10. He had to settle for a tie for 13th, at one-under 143, but he said that’s not necessarily a bad place, especially with an inventive par save at the 18th, where he closed out his round of one-under 71.

Woods, who birdied the 17th hole, hit his drive at the 18th far to the right under some trees. He had no chance to advance the ball the normal way, so he split the gap between two trees and landed the ball on the 10th fairway, which runs next to the 18th fairway. From there, he chipped the ball onto the green, clicked Stuart Appleby’s ball, and eventually made an eight-foot putt to save his par.

Woods, who is only two under on the par fives this week, hasn’t broken 70 at the Masters since the third round in 2005, but he chose to accentuate the positive aspects.

“I’m in good shape,” he said. “Obviously, I’m seven back, but on this golf course, you’ve got to stay patient. This golf course, you can make up shots, so just hang in there.”

Woods may have a little history on his side. The last player to come outside the top 10 to win after 36 holes was Jack Nicklaus in 1986. Nicklaus had been tied for 17th. The most Woods has come from behind to win the Masters after 36 holes was six shots in 2005.

As for Immelman, he feels lucky to be here, but then, he feels fortunate to be anywhere after two upsetting health scares last year. The South African lost 20 pounds after the 2007 Masters because of a stomach parasite, and then later in the year, he had a benign tumor removed from his diaphragm.

“Obviously, this year is pretty special,” Immelman said. “Last year, guys go through that . . . bad timing. To shoot two 68s in the first two days is probably beyond my expectations, so I’m pretty thrilled right now.”

Immelman won the Nedbank Challenge last year, but he is still on the mend from his health scare and has missed four cuts in eight PGA Tour events in 2008. He said he has gained perspective from his experiences.

“I went from winning a tournament to lying in a hospital bed waiting for results on a tumor,” he said. “So it definitely made me realize that golf wasn’t my whole life.”

Snedeker finished the same way as Immelman with back-to-back birdies, the only blemish on his round a three-putt bogey at the par-three 16th.

Snedeker chipped in to birdie the sixth and called it one of the luckiest shots he has ever hit. Chances are, Snedeker could use a little more good fortune the rest of the way.

“If I had told you at the beginning of the week that I thought I was going to be in second place, you probably would have thought I was crazy, and I probably would have thought you were right,” he said.

Snedeker is two shots ahead of fashion plate Poulter, Mickelson and another lefty, Flesch, who has jumped out from behind the Georgia pines and into contention after missing four cuts in nine tournaments this year.

As the weekend starts, there is some rain expected today, and then blustery winds on Sunday. It’s crowded at the top. There are 18 players within seven shots of Immelman, and the major winners in that group are Mickelson, Mike Weir, Retief Goosen, Vijay Singh, Jim Furyk and Woods.

Missing among the top scores is Justin Rose, the first round co-leader, who followed his 68 with a 78. Weir, the 2003 Masters winner, birdied the last hole for a 68 and is tied for eighth at three under with Arron Oberholser and Stewart Cink.

“I’m moving in the right direction,” said Weir, the first left-hander to win the Masters.

The most well-known left-handed Masters winner made a nice move. Mickelson put together a string of eight straight pars until his long birdie putt at the 17th and said when that one fell, it improved his feelings about the day considerably. After beginning the round tied for 11th, he didn’t want to lose touch with the leaders.

“You want to stay close,” he said. “You don’t want to make any big mistakes and get way out. I was fortunate where I was not too far back and I didn’t have to make a lot of tough decisions.”

Those decisions are being made on a course that’s now a lot different than in its recent past, principally because of its length. It’s about 500 yards longer than when Jose Maria Olazabal won in 1999, and that has changed the dynamics of how it’s played, plus how it’s seen.

“It’s always fun, don’t get me wrong, but after the changes a few years ago, we don’t see the same type of excitement and birdies that we’re used to seeing,” Mickelson said.

“And because of that, I have to address or look at the round differently. I can’t think about it in aggressive terms. I have to pick and choose what holes I can try to make birdies on.”

Paul Casey’s 69 moved him from a tie for 11th to a tie for sixth with Stephen Ames at four-under 140, and a birdie at the 18th made it all possible. Relieved, grateful, that’s how Casey felt afterward, but certainly not frightened.

“You always have to be slightly wary of this golf course,” he said. “Scared is probably an extreme word, but cautious. There are some scary golf shots out there, but they’re scary golf shots when the wind is not blowing and the greens are nice and soft.”

And what’s up for the weekend?

“I don’t think it’s going to be any easier,” Casey said. “Put it that way.”

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thomas.bonk@latimes.com