It started like a morning in Dublin, Ireland, gray, cool and breezy. It stayed that way until shortly after noon when the names of Rory McIlroy, Fred Couples and Sergio Garcia joined a leader board topped by Lee Westwood and Peter Hanson.
Where it goes from here, nobody knows.
The good news is the sun is expected to remain, the winds should diminish tonight and the weekend looks almost as perfect as Augusta National's greens.
McIlroy's name somehow looks bigger on the boards than any of the others, Westwood's included. When he closed with two birdies in Thursday afternoon damp, gathering darkness, it seemed a hint of things to come. Marching steadily around Augusta National today, McIlroy is right where he needs to be.
Phil Mickelson is still sputtering, Webb Simpson is flirting with the cut line and there's no magic to Bubba Watson's game today.
The afternoon belongs to Tiger Woods. If he hits it like he did Thursday, the weekend will belong to someone else.
The sun has arrived -- and so has the feeling that something big is brewing.
