Changing Conditions Could Rein in a Runaway

Tiger Woods grew up a Lakers fan, an allegiance he carried into adulthood. Watching the championship teams during Phil Jackson's era in Los Angeles, Woods learned from Jackson, the master, how to work the officials to level the playing field. He channeled Jackson on Friday after shooting a 3-under-par 69 at Augusta National Golf Club. (Anirban Lahiri makes the cut at Augusta Masters)

At 2-under 142, Woods is 7 strokes behind Charley Hoffman, a surmountable deficit. The problem is Hoffman is in second place. The leader, Jordan Spieth, is 5 strokes clear of the field at 14-under and threatening to run away with the tournament like another 21-year-old, Woods, once did. (Jordan Spieth extends Masters lead with record-breaking performance)

With rounds of 70 and 66, Woods took a 3-stroke lead over Colin Montgomerie into the third round in 1997. After a 65 on Saturday, his lead was 9. Woods closed with a 69 to win by 12, with a 72-hole score of 18-under. (Spieth's age: 21. Score - 14. Emotion: 0)

Should the other players' caddies exchange their white coveralls for white flags of surrender? Is the tournament over before the final day music is cued?

Rain softened Augusta National's greens this week, making them less treacherous, more receptive. A birdie binge has ensued. In 36 holes, Spieth collected 15, five more than Hoffman, who also has an eagle. Dustin Johnson had a record three eagles (along with three birdies) in his round of 67.

Woods, who produced four of his total of seven birdies Friday, signed for his first sub-70 score on the PGA Tour this calendar year. He is tied with the world No. 1, Rory McIlroy. Woods then sent a message to the tournament committee by suggesting it might be a good time to activate the greens' subterranean turf-conditioning system, which absorbs moisture by pumping air into greens from underneath.

"If they want to make this golf course a little drier, I was telling the guys earlier, it's quiet out there, there's no SubAirs going," Woods said, referring to the system's name. "If they turn the SubAirs on, they can suck the moisture out of this thing and get them firm, or they can live with it like it is and we can go out there and make a bunch of birdies."

Asked if he was lobbying for firmer greens, Woods said: "It is what it is. You have to make the adjustments. You've got to go get it or you've got to play a little more passive."

Ernie Els, who chased his opening 67 with a 72, is 9 strokes behind Spieth. He could be forgiven for feeling as if he still has a chance. At the 2012 British Open, he was 6 strokes behind Adam Scott with nine holes left. He ended up beating Scott by 1 to win his fourth major. At the 2004 Masters, Els closed with a 67 and was preparing for a playoff when Phil Mickelson birdied the final hole to win by 1.

"I'll tell you what I'd love to do," Els said. "I'd love to go and shoot two 67s and see where that takes me.

It would leave Els, 45, at 15 under, which is better than the winning score of the past four Masters.

"I think experience will help me over the weekend because I've seen what can happen," Els said, adding, "There's some scars but it's about 10 years away now so I think I'm over it."

Seung-Yul Noh, the 23-year-old from South Korea, has no scars from Augusta National. He is at even-par 144 in his Masters debut. His strategy is simple.

"Don't care what anyone else is doing," he said. "Just play for fun the next two days."

Noh is tied with three other players, including the Australian Geoff Ogilvy, who knows how suddenly a lead can unravel in a major. At the 2006 U.S. Open, Mickelson led by 2 with three to play. He lost by 1 to Ogilvy, who said at the time, "I think I was the beneficiary of a little bit of charity."

"The way he's been playing," Ogilvy said, referring to Spieth, "I'm sure the course won't catch up to him, but Augusta seems to get its own back at some point."

He added: "You never know. People have shot 12-under on the weekends before."

The worst strategy any of Spieth's challengers could adopt, Ogilvy said, would be to come out Saturday and go for every pin, as if they had nothing to lose.

"You can't force anything around here, because if you do it's going to go really badly," he said.

Ogilvy added, "As the course gets presented, I'll play it the Augusta way, and if I hit good shots and make the putts, I'll have a good weekend."

How it will be presented, of course, is out of the golfers' hands. Or is it? Not if Woods had any say in the matter.

"With 36 holes here to go, anything can happen, you know," Woods said, adding: "There's so many holes to play and so many different things can happen. And as I say, we don't know what the conditions are going to be tomorrow, what the committee is going to do."

© The New York Times 2015