It's up and it's ... no good. (Getty Images)

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AUGUSTA, Ga. — On April 10, 2005, at the 16th hole at Augusta, Tiger Woods crafted the finest highlight of his career, a delicate chip shot that stuck, curled and hung for an eternity on the lip of the hole before dropping in.

Seven years later almost to the day, at the exact same hole, Woods had one of his worst on-course meltdowns as a pro. Sending his tee shot wide right into the bunker that lines the green, Woods dropped his club in disgust, then kicked it out of the tee box. At a course that frowns on an indiscretion as minor as as running, it was the equivalent of wiping your nose on a green jacket.

The irony of the tantrum is that Woods' tee shot wasn't that bad, and he managed to escape the hole with just a bogey. But it was emblematic of a round that began with such promise — two birdies in the first three holes — only to cascade into a cringe-worthy collection of missed putts

Rory McIlroy / Getty Images

There are certain things you expect to see when it comes to the Masters. The azaleas blooming, $1.50 pimento cheese sandwiches and Augusta National's emerald green fairways ... They're all tournament traditions.

Well, you might want to add another to the list of yearly Masters traditions: Seeing Rory McIlroy's name on the leaderboard going into the weekend.

The 22-year-old Ulsterman is still a relative newbie to the Masters scene. He doesn't have Fred Couples' history or Phil Mickelson's local knowledge, but over the past three years, McIlroy's produced some moments of brilliance that made you believe we'd be seeing his name on the leaderboard for the next 20-plus years.

That's why it shouldn't come as a surprise to see him just one shot off the lead after two rounds. His 3-under 69 wasn't special; he didn't produce a shot that made you say, He's going to win this tournament.

[ Also: Fred Couples, 52, fires 5-under 67 to grab a share of the Masters lead ]

But he honestly didn't need one of those shots. He just needed to make up some ground and stay in contention – and he managed to do just that on Friday. McIlroy rarely made a mistake, and when he did, he managed to get up-and-down to save par. He kept the mistakes to a minimum, which is exactly what you need to do if you want to win a green jacket.

Fred Couples / Getty ImagesFather Time has changed Fred Couples over the years. He's given him a bad back, salt-and-pepper hair and a few more wrinkles, but no matter how hard he's tried, he still hasn't found a way to slow Couples' golf game when he steps on the grounds at Augusta National.

The iconic course has been a fountain of youth for Couples over the years. Even at the age of 52, he's found a way to hang with the bombers and the twentysomethings every April, using his local knowledge from almost 30 years spent playing in the tournament (his first Masters start came in 1983) to find a way into the mix on the weekend.

And like a finely tuned clock, he's doing it again this year, firing a 5-under 67 on Friday to grab a share of the lead after two rounds. We're used to seeing incredible storylines at the Masters, but the shot of Couples' name at the top of the Masters leaderboard going into the weekend is the kind of story that makes you shake your head and smile.

Forget Tiger, Rory and Westwood, the most

Ian Poulter is wearing a lovely ensemble. (Getty Images)

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Sometimes it's best just to keep your witty opinions to yourself.

Ian Poulter, above, has a penchant for dressing — well, if we were being uncharitable, we'd say like college-dorm furniture, but we'll be nice and say "distinctively." And on 18, Poulter's attire suddenly became the story, as a patron, possibly emboldened by too many two-dollar beers, decided to take it upon himself to play fashion critic.

According to several witnesses, the patron, who was standing just to the left of the tee box, began mocking Poulter, saying "Your outfit looks stupid" at least twice. (One witness recalled it as "Your outfit stinks," but close enough.) Poulter then pointed at the patron, asked for security to remove him, and just like that, the patron was gone.

[Photos: The women behind the men at Augusta National]

Here's where the story goes from "man, that was stupid" to "man, that was INSANELY stupid." The patron was wearing a badge, not a daily pass — the same kind of Masters badge

Yep, here's this month's beer money.AUGUSTA, Ga. — Savvy patrons at The Masters abide by a single mantra, one more important than "use sunscreen" or "leave the cell phone":

Shop early.

Not everyone watches The Masters from along the 18th fairway or amid the grandstands at Amen Corner. But everyone, everyone makes their way to the souvenir shop sooner or later. And if you wait until the end of the day to grab your prizes, well ... the lines will make the queues at Disney World look like a drive-thru window.

If you've never had the good fortune of winning a lottery, you can have the same experience by getting your hands on a badge and telling everyone you're headed to The Masters. All of a sudden, you find yourself besieged by "simple" requests: pick me up a t-shirt! Hey, can you grab me a golf towel? If you're going to be there, grab me a logo ball ...

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Here's the thing: there are a few people for whom you simply have to buy gifts. Your father, for one. The guy who taught you the game of golf, and you're

The Masters! / Getty ImagesThe second round of the Masters is underway, and while the powers-that-be at Augusta don't make it quite as easy for you to see every shot as some other tournaments, they've nonetheless opened the virtual doors a lot wider. If you have one of those fancy smartphones or pads and haven't picked up the Masters app, you're missing out. Also, be sure to visit Masters.com for constant updates. You won't see every shot, but you'll get pretty close. All times ET.

And if you happen to have access to Masters.com late in the day, Tiger Woods (1:42 p.m. ET tee time) is going to be one of the featured groups, which is always a good thing. The only bad news is his group won't go live online until the other featured groups are off the course.

Friday, April 6
Masters.com:
• 10:45 a.m.-6:00 p.m.; live video coverage of Amen Corner
• 11:45 a.m.-7:00 p.m.; live video coverage of hole Nos. 15 and 16
• 12:00 p.m.-7:30 p.m.; live video coverage of featured Groups 1 & 2
• 3:00 p.m.-7:30 p.m.; Masters

Welcome to Day 2 of our Masters Live Chat/Twitter feed. Can Lee Westwood hang on? Can Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy make a run? Follow along at work and ask questions as you go! Enjoy the day, friends.

Lee Westwood / Getty ImagesIt's Masters week and there are a ton of stories going on all at once, so in an effort to condense things for you a bit, here are five things we learned from Thursday's opening round.

Lee Westwood looks like a good pick to be right there on the weekend — If you were to go down the list of potential Masters winners at the beginning of the week, Lee Westwood wasn't a name being mentioned by many people. Despite behind No. 3 in the world, Westy was an under-the-radar pick ... until he went out and fired a 5-under 67 on Thursday to take a one-shot lead. His round included a couple of careless bogeys, but for the most part, he was head and shoulders the best player on the course. He's still one of the best players without a major championship to his name, but if he keeps putting together solid rounds in the 60s — that was his fifth in his last nine rounds at the Masters — there's a chance he could be slipping a green jacket over his shoulders on Sunday evening. But again, it's only Thursday, and we have to pump the brakes when it comes to Westwood. We'll see what tomorrow holds for him.

Keep an eye on Tiger Woods' driver this week — Prior to the start of the Masters, you could have made the case that the best club in Woods' bag in the weeks leading up to his win at Bay Hill was the driver. For the first time in a while, it seemed like he finally had the big stick under control — so much so that Woods gushed about having some pop behind it earlier in the week. But whatever consistency and pop he had wasn't there on Thursday. He not only hit just six of 14 fairways, but had a couple of awful snap hooks that made you scratch your head. It's hard to tell if this is a major problem or just a one-round hiccup. Either way, keep an eye on the driver this week. If it becomes a bigger issue, watch out.

[Also: Shootout between Tiger and Rory McIlroy has yet to materialize at Masters]

Rory McIlroy's 1-under 71 was beyond impressive — It's rare that we gush about a 1-under 71, but what Rory McIlroy did on Thursday was nothing short of amazing. The talk in the early week was how McIlroy would handle his first round following his Sunday collapse last year. Well, we got our answer in the first round; he's going to be just fine. After doubling the first hole, he came back and birdied three of his next eight holes before giving two back on the 11th and 13th. But McIlroy didn't flinch after the bogeys, going birdie-birdie over his final two holes to finish under par for the day. He showed some serious moxie down the stretch, and that could come in handy if he finds himself in contention on Sunday.