Wind, rain play havoc with Sergio Garcio

A bit of water and wind washed away Sergio Garcia’s share of the lead Friday but didn’t do much to dampen his spirits.

Garcia had four bogeys to finish the day with 4-over 76 and sits at 2-under after two rounds at the Masters Tournament.

“There were some shots that you would hit well and it would make you look a little bit silly, like what happened to me on 15,” Garcia said of the conditions. “But even though with everything that happened today, we’re still in a decent position to hopefully do something.”

Garcia found the water three times – landing short of the green on No. 11, hitting into the trees and falling into Rae’s Creek on No. 13, and again coming up short on No. 15. Only once, on 15, did he save par.

Many times he said that playing partners Angel Cabrera and Adam Scott would shoot with little or no wind only for it to pick up when he swung the club.

The one time he said he compensated for gusts that affected his partners’ tee shots, they stopped just long enough for him to send his ball into the creek.

“The tee shot on 13, I thought it was great,” Garcia said. “Obviously, turning a little bit, the wind hit (Cabrera and Scott’s) balls, and two yards farther right it’s perfect. But it hits the trees and goes in the water and I make a six.”

The wind and rain early in the day led to bogeys on Nos. 3 and 4. All in all, it was a frustrating exercise in compensating for the conditions and overcoming a rocky start, he said.

“When that happens, it’s difficult to get things going,” Garcia said. “It feels like even your good shots, you’re not getting rewarded.”

Despite falling out of his first lead at the Masters, Garcia said he was hopeful to remain close to the front of the pack.

“The good thing is that even with everything that went wrong, I felt like I hit, other than a couple holes, I felt like I hit the ball very well, very nicely, today,” Garcia said. “I hit some good shots, I hit some really good putts that didn’t go in, and I’m still hopefully not too far away by today’s end.”