Amateur's day counts, even if round doesn't

Augusta amateur Jeff Knox knew exactly what it meant when Robert Allenby bogeyed the 18th hole in Friday's second round of the Masters Tournament.

It meant Knox, an Augusta National Golf Club member, would be playing the weekend as a noncompeting marker. His playing partner Saturday was Ernie Els.

Knox will be paired with Korean pro Kyung-Tae Kim in the first group off the tee in today's final round.

A marker is used so a player doesn't have to play by himself, and it helps in pace of play. The PGA Tour generally doesn't use markers, which is how Mark Calcavecchia once played a round in two hours, seven minutes by himself.

Off in the first group Saturday, Els and Knox played in three hours, 39 minutes.

A marker can also help the Masters participant's game. Els had Knox tee off first on every hole to gauge how the hole was playing.

According to family and friends, Knox shot 5-over-par 77 with bogeys on the final two holes. Els, a three-time major champion who shot 75-70 to make the cut, had 76 in the third round.

Knox was an interested observer Friday as Allenby, in the second-to-last group of the day, played No. 18. Had he made par, he would have made the cut. He looked like he would after a good drive, but his second shot flew the green and he couldn't save par. The weekend field was an uneven 49, which meant a marker would be required.

Knox, who has been "on call" as the club's marker since the early 2000s, knew to be ready to play Saturday.

"I got on the tee and Jeff was there and we played," said Els, who had never met Knox. "We played about the same."

As a marker, Knox's round is unofficial and he doesn't post a score.

He's also played as a marker with Craig Stadler (twice), Sergio Garcia, Jim Furyk and Miguel Angel Jimenez. The pairing with Jimenez was in 2008, the last time Knox was needed.

The 48-year-old, who is the executive director of the Knox Foundation in Augusta, isn't allowed to speak to the media about club matters, such as being a marker, but his family and friends who followed him have no such restrictions.

"It was awesome, especially the fact he got paired with Els. That was pretty cool," said son Lee Knox, a University of Alabama golfer and the Georgia Amateur champion. "He didn't play as well as I know he would have liked, but it was fun to watch, that's for sure. "

Lee Knox said Els "has always been one of my role models because he's always up there in majors. I like his swing a lot. It's fun to see my dad shake his hand and see him talking to him walking down the fairways."

Was his dad nervous?

"I know he was," Lee Knox said. "He went to bed early last night. I can tell when he's nervous, he's a little fidgety."

Augusta's Tripp Kuhlke, who has known Jeff Knox for "close to 30 years," watched his friend and golf partner play every hole Saturday.

"It's just fantastic," Kuhlke said. "There's nothing like it, to root for him. It's a lot of fun to come out here and watch somebody you know be able to play.

"I don't see how he does it to tell you the truth. It's incredible. It's amazing what he's able to do -- to keep his nerves intact and not hit anybody. There could not be a better guy to do what he does. He knows it (the course) like the back of his hand. He plays good. Crowds don't bother him."

Also in Knox's gallery was North Augusta's Eric Wiggins, who knows Knox only through newspaper accounts of his golf achievements, such as two Georgia Mid-Amateur titles.

"He's getting the thrill of playing in the Masters without all the stress," Wiggins said. "It was awesome watching him play."

Knox holds the course record from the member tees, an 11-under-par 61 he shot in 2003.

"That is pretty impressive from any tee," Els said.

Reach David Westin at (706) 823-3224 ordavid.westin@augustachronicle.com.