Diary from the 98 Masters
Fourth Round

I shot 75, but I will take away some positives from this tournament: I made the cut, my sixth in six tries at Augusta. Also, I've now made eight straight cuts, a streak I hope to continue this coming week at Hilton Head.

Looking at the round, I wanted to get off to a fast start, and that means the par-5 2nd hole. But once again, I did not give myself an opportunity to birdie the hole. I had four pars there, which is definitely a disappointment.

I hit a huge drive on the fifth hole, hit a decent approach, but missed the putt for birdie. I finally broke through on the seventh hole, the same hole I birdied on Saturday. After I walked off that green, I figured with the par 5 coming up and then the last 10 holes, I could really turn this into a good round.

But I did not take advantage of another par 5. I ended up parring the eighth, which again is disappointing. This is a hole that really seems to have my number right now. Just like the second hole, four pars in four days.

I bogeyed nine when I ended up in the bunker on my second shot, which made it almost impossible to get close enough to save par. I blasted out to 20 feet and two-putted for bogey, making the turn at even par.

Making the turn
At this point, I still though I had a chance to do some scoring on the back, and in reality, I did.

I missed a birdie putt on 10, and then at 11, I had a putt from the right front to the left front, one of the fastest putts on the entire course. It went 10 feet by, and I was happy to nail the 10-footer coming back to save par.

I got to the 12th hole thinking it was time to hit at the flag. If I am leading the tournament, maybe I don't do that with the difficult Sunday pin position, but even par for the day and +3 for the week, I had nothing to lose. I hit a great 8-iron shot to about 12 feet and made the birdie putt.

The nine at 13
The 13th was a big disappointment for me. As it would turn out, it would also be the hole that made the difference between winning and second place for Fred Couples.

I hit my drive left in a very difficult spot. It took us almost three minutes to find the ball, and then I had to decide to either drive again or try to hit it where it was. I figured if I could get a swing at it and get it out, I could at least get close or up in three and still save par.

My second shot caromed off a branch and came straight down. I had an opening on my third shot, but it got deflected by a branch too, and ended up in the creek. I dropped for five, hit to the front of the green, chipped on and two-putted for a quadruple-bogey nine.

I played the 13th, a par 5, in six over par for the tournament. One hole doesn't usually make that much difference in a golfer's performance at a tournament, but 13 did for me this week.

I was disappointed and maybe a little shaken walking off that green, but I hung in.

I parred 14 and two-putted 15 for a birdie. I bogeyed 16 after hitting the tee shot over the green. On 18, I missed a six-footer for birdie that could have ended the tournament on an up note.

On to Hootie and Hilton Head
While I am disappointed in the round overall, as I get further away from it, I'll see the positives. This was my best performance on the greens in my six Masters. And after not playing here last year, to get back and make the cut again, and for the most part play solid golf, it made me realize that there is no place in the world like Augusta National.

Tonight we'll drive to Columbia, South Carolina, where tomorrow I'll take part in a charity tournament run by Hootie and the Blowfish. The guys in the band are friends of mine, and they always make it out to my golf event for the Make-A-Wish Foundation in Memphis in early June.

Afterwards, I'll head to Hilton Head to play the MCI Classic this week and try to keep improving. It's a different type of course, with smaller greens, but I'm playing with confidence, and if I continue to do what I have been doing, it will continue to translate into positive results.

JOHN DALY