Kelly not surprised by career-low round

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- For a guy who'd only broken 70 once in his seven Masters appearances, Jerry Kelly was hardly surprised by his 5-under 67 Saturday at Augusta National GC, which established a personal best by two strokes.

"Honestly, I saw this coming," said Kelly, who moved from a tie for 33rd at 2 over into a tie for 11th by the time he'd finished. "I've been driving the ball well and hitting my irons better, making a few putts. Sometimes I get in danger of overusing my brain, and around this golf course that can be a real problem, but, you know, you're thinking seems to get better when you're hitting it better."

Kelly, 43, whose best Masters finish is T-5 in 2007, hit 13 fairways and 13 greens Saturday to make seven birdies against two bogeys. "I beat my best score by two shots, and I really feel like I'm two shots better right now," said Kelly, who defends his title at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in two weeks. "I feel like I'm improving all the way through my game, and I finally had a round like this to prove it. I'm pretty pumped for tomorrow and for the next few weeks."

In 22 rounds over his six previous Masters appearances, Kelly was 34 over in relation to par with a stroke average of 73.55.

-- Dave Shedloski