The ugly weather arrived just in time to match the leaders' performances. While the players took shelter to collect their thoughts and search for a magic elixir to fix the faulty swings, appreciation for the Tiger grew with every passing minute. Too much pressure. I exaggerate the futility only slightly. Some of the shots hardly looked like the work of proven professionals.
Pressure can be an awesome burden.
Only three of the world's top 10 players took the opportunity to spend this post-Masters week at this South Carolina playland, and the highest of the ranked in attendance, Singh, led the parade to plunge off the cliff. Singh lost the lead, then suffered through a bogey, double-bogey nightmare without total disaster and somehow moved back into a share of first place. Predictability, he drove poorly and made bogey on the next hole. Coceres, the week's feel-good story, looked alternately strong and stunned. The Argentine who grew up in poverty and learned the game by hitting rocks with clubs carved from tree limbs could not stand prosperity and followed Singh on the elevator down.