AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Sergio Garcia started out with thelead. That didn’t last long. Dustin Johnson
seized the top spot. Then hedunked his ball in the water. Here comes Fred Couples, still chuggingalong at
age 53. Look out, who’s that charging up the board? TigerWoods, of course.But hold on, we’re not done yet.
Remember JasonDay, the guy who almost won the Masters a couple of years ago? Now he’sthe front-runner.Hang
on, folks, it looks like another wild weekend at the Masters."My favorite tournament of the year,"
Day said. "I love this place."Easy to see why.Day was at 6-under 138, but 18 players were within
four shots of the lead after a blustery Friday.Thecrowd includes Woods, who moved into a share of the lead
with atwo-putt birdie on the eighth hole, his game looking to be as sharp asever. Perhaps too sharp. Right
when it looked like he might take theoutright lead, Woods hit a lob wedge that was so perfect it hit the
flagon the par-5 15th and caromed backward off the green and into thewater.Instead of having a short birdie
putt, he had to scramble to save bogey.Woodsposed over another shot on the 18th and was stunned to see it
hop ontothe upper shelf, leading to his second three-putt bogey of the week. Hehad to settle for a 71,
though he was still only three shots out of thelead."My score doesn’t quite indicate how well I
played," Woods said.Day,a runner-up at the Masters two years ago, can be one of the mostexciting
players in golf when his game is on, and he was firing at flagsfrom everywhere Friday. Even from the pine
straw under the trees on thedangerous 11th, the Aussie took dead aim at the pin and set up a rarebirdie to
join the leaders.His only blunder was hitting into thewater short of the 12th, though he still managed to
escape with bogey,and then he fired a 4-wood low enough to stay below the trees and avoidthe wind on the
13th, setting up a two-putt birdie.He wascognizant of the guys behind him — Woods included — though just as
muchpressure comes from trying to be the first Australian in a green jacket."Obviously,there’s a lot of
pressure on my shoulders, being from Australia and noAustralian has ever won the event," Day said.
"They have been very, veryclose, but I’ve just got to try to get that out of my mind and justplug
away."Couples, who shared the 36-hole lead last year at theMasters, birdied the 18th hole for a 71 and
will play in the final groupwith Day on Saturday.Tied with unheralded Marc Leishman at 139, Couples was
asked what he might do if he becomes golf’s oldest major champion?"I’m going to quit when I win this
thing," he quipped. "It’s probably not ever going to happen, but I’m going to
retire."FormerMasters champion Angel Cabrera birdied five of his last six holes for a69 and was in the
group two shots behind, along with former U.S. Openchampion Jim Furyk (71) and Brandt Snedeker (70). Woods
was at 141 withsix others, including Adam Scott (72), Lee Westwood (71) and Justin Rose(71).And still in the
mix was Rory McIlroy, who turned hisfortunes around with a 5-wood from about 275 yards that set up a
shorteagle putt. He added three more birdies on the back nine and had a 70,leaving him only four shots out
of the lead going into the weekend."Anything under par was going to be a good score," McIlroy
said.Thehole locations were severe in spots, with one pin tucked on top of amound toward the front of the
fifth green. The par 5s played into anopposite wind on the back nine, and they were not easy to reach.
Furykgot home in two on the 15th hole Thursday with a hybrid. He used thatsame club to lay up on Friday.Such
tough conditions made the performance of 14-year-old Guan Tianlang that much more impressive.Hebecame the
youngest golfer to make the cut in a PGA-sanctioned event,despite a one-stroke penalty for slow play that
almost sent the Chineseyoungster home early.Guan, playing with Matteo Manassero and BenCrenshaw, was
informed his group was out of position as it left the 10thgreen. They were on the clock on the 12th hole,
meaning players wouldbe timed to make sure they hit their shots within the 40-second limit.The teen got his
first bad time with his second shot on the 13th hole,and it was clear he was in trouble after his shot into
the 17th whenJohn Paramor, chief referee in Europe, walked out to speak to him."You give him the news,
the best you can," Paramor said.FredRidley, the head of competition at the Masters, did not say how
longGuan took to hit his second shot on the 17th, only that it was a"considerable margin" over his
time. Guan still managed to make par onthe 17th, and if he was shaken by the news so late in the round,
itdidn’t show. He made one last par, finished with a respectable 75 andwas at 148.His game is well beyond
his years, and so was hisattitude over the first slow-play penalty in a major since GregoryBourdy in the
2010 PGA Championship."I respect the decision theymake," said Guan, who spent nearly 90 minutes
talking with officialsafter the round. "They should do it because it’s fair to
everybody."Thepenalty looked ominous because Johnson was running off birdies everyway imaginable, the
only player to reach 7-under par in nastyconditions. His round imploded, however, when he played the final
fiveholes in 6-over par. That included a double bogey on the 15th when hehit his third shot into the water.
He had a 76 and plunged down theleaderboard, though he was still only five shots behind.Day’s 68 was the
lowest score of the round, with conditions so tricky that only five players broke 70."Itjust feels like
every shot is the biggest shot you’ve ever hit in yourlife out there," Day said. "It’s really,
really difficult. I’m just gladto be in the clubhouse right now."Sounds like the makings of a great
weekend.___Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963Copyright
2013 The Associated Press.