Now for a few tap-ins and gimme observations.

With a distinctive walk that accentuates his loose arms and with his dashing looks and flowing hair, 6'1" Aaron Baddeley evokes memories of a young Johnny Miller. But Baddeley still has long ways to go to match Miller's game although the 25-year old did make a million on tour last year.

It seems as if Freddie Couples never get flustered or piqued even when he messes up. After having muffed a bunker shot that he left in the sand, Couples reacted with hardly a hint of irritation. The fact that he went on to make a nasty double-bogey on the hole barely registered. Couples recovered enough to make the cut but ended up way back at +3.

From the failing apart department comes Jerry Kelly. Faced with a tricky pitch over a bunker and with just a sliver of green to work with, Kelly lofted a plop shot that landed as soft as can be and found its way right into the hole for an amazing birdie. It was a magnificent effort and it elicited enthusiastic applause from the gallery.

It was Kelly's 66th and final shot of the day, giving him a world of momentum heading into his next round. He seemed poised and primed to make a strong run. But somewhere between that sublime pitch and when he teed off the next day, the magic left him. Totally negating his splendid outing the day before, Kelly completely lost it, skied to a brutal 78 and failed even to make the cut. Talk about your blown opportunities!

My only sighting of Tiger Woods came on the practice green after he had recorded a rather uneventful 71. His gallery was so massive that I had no desire to fight the mob that was tracking his every move.

Woods spent mere moments on the green, stroking about six 5-foot putts of which he sank four. It was a perfunctory endeavor at best and I thought why even bother. But he's the man so who can really question him. By the way, Woods won the event.

Finally, I got my foreign contingent fix by watching two of Europe's enduring stars, Bernhard Langer and Jose Maria Olazabal.

Langer, his sandy-blond locks tucked under a black visor, appeared smaller than his listed 5'9", 155-pounds.  The German isn't exactly an imposing physical specimen.

I was fascinated to see if Langer, reputed to be slower in his play than Fat Albert in a 100-yard dash, was really as ultra deliberate as his reputation indicated. On the fairway, Langer was definitely on the methodical side but in my opinion, not outlandishly so. When putting, Bernhard again took his time and though perhaps a bit excessive, he wasn't really pushing the envelope.

Using an extended putter, Langer knocked in a 4-foot birdie putt on his final hole to open with a 69. But a shaky 75 the next day left him one over the cut line. Maybe he should have taken more time after all.

Which leads us to Olazabal. Like Langer, the veteran Spaniard projects an air of cool sophistication and composure.  But "Oly" can on occasion get steamed and emotional and I happen to witness one of his rare outbursts.

Dressed in nothing but black except for a pink shirt that spilled out from his sweater, Olazabal made a routine par -4 at the fifth (South) before hiking up a small hill to reach the tee at the par-5 sixth hole. Hitting first, Olazabal took a bit of a hurried swing and blocked his shot to the right, not exactly an ideal spot for your ball to come to rest.

There was nothing but trouble to the right with shrubs, bushes, hard dirt and even a canyon lurking in that vicinity. It appeared as if Jose Maria had landed in jail. Seeing that his shot was directionally challenged, Olazabal angrily grabbed his tee and flung it with a vengeance.

Walking towards his ball, the now fiery Olazabal could be overheard castigating himself and dropping a few four-letter words along the way.

But upon reaching his ball and seeing that he at least had a shot, Olazabal quickly quieted down and began to focus. He proceeded to hack his way  out of danger and into some marginal rough. From there,  Jose Maria dropped a solid pitch onto the green and narrowly missed a 20-foot birdie putt. He tapped in for a workingman's par.

Olazabal would card a disappointing 74 that day but on Friday he went real low with a blazing 64. Eventually, the battler from Spain made it to the top of the leaderboard, only to fall to Woods on the second hole of a playoff.

As always, Torrey Pines and the men who tested her, provided plenty of story lines and much at which to marvel.

It was indeed a great day to play hooky from work!