Ex-Carolina Basketball Star Following Tiger

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Al Wood still bleeds Carolina blue, but don't be surprised if you see him wearing red this week as he follows his favorite player, Tiger Woods, around Augusta National GC. The former North Carolina basketball star, who played for four different teams in the NBA, watched Phil Mickelson shoot three under on the front nine Friday before breaking for lunch in preparation for Tiger's afternoon round.

Like most Tar Heels fans, Wood is still in mourning after Carolina's beat-down at the hands of Kansas in the Final Four last Saturday.

"I think they got hit between the eyes at the start and didn't know how to respond,'' says Wood, a single-digit-handicapper who has made several trips to the Masters over the years. "They expended so much energy getting back into it that they ran out of gas. They actually lost it in the first eight minutes of the game.''

--*Pete McDaniel *