By Melanie Hauser, PGATOUR.COM Correspondent AUGUSTA, GA
--When Tiger Woods eagled the eighth hole, you could feel the
roar 100 yards away. An eruption. An unmistakeable outburst that
. . . well, used to be the norm around here. Back in the day,
you could tell an Arnold Palmer roar from a Jack Nicklaus roar from
a Greg Norman, Tom Watson or Ben Crenshaw roar. You could stand
under the tree, listen and know -- before the score went up --
whether it was a birdie, an eagle or an ace. Sunday in 1986 was one
of those days filled with them -- all starting with back-to-back
eagles at the eighth hole by Tom Kite and Seve Ballesteros. Then a
birdie at the ninth by Jack. Then . . . It was an amazing day when
the ground really did shake. Honest. A shootout. A magic run. As
leader Rory McIlroy -- he's seen a 4-shot lead at the start of the
day shrink to 1 -- and playing partner Angel Cabrera make the turn,
the back nine has all the making of a rip-roaring shootout. McIlroy
by one over Cabrera, K.J. Choi and Charl Schwartzel. Tiger backing
up with a bogey at the 12th and a poor chip at the 13th. Luke
Donald and Adam Scott tied with Tiger two back. And now the back
nine. Could it rock like it did in 1986? We're all wondering. Like
we said, a blast from the past. And just maybe a peek at the
future.