Ex-Moc carrying Quiros

AUGUSTA, Ga.-Alvaro Quiros and his caddie Gareth Lord have been strolling around Augusta National as if they're on a first date.

Lord will be more than willing to give his player a kiss should Quiros end the weekend dressed in a green jacket.

"Yeah, I'll kiss him if he wins," said Lord, who played golf at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga from 1992-95 for coach Reed Sanderlin. "It's my first week with him so I don't know how he reacts to stuff."

Lord prepared for his fifth Masters by spending a week in Chattanooga as a non-resident member of the Chattanooga Golf & Country Club where he is a two-handicap - he said for betting purposes at least.

He used to rent a condo downtown, but Lord spent his most recent trip in the basement of fellow former UTC golfer Mike Craig.

"We used to be kind of even, but now he beats me a lot," Craig said. "I think he plays more than he lets on."

Lord, who grew up in England, began caddying after his attempt at playing profession golf fell by the wayside.

He first caddied for Steve Webster in the German Open. Webster finished second and they paired for another tournament.

Webster finished fourth and thus began Lord's caddie career which has taken him to various corners of the globe including Amen Corner and the K-Club for the 2006 Ryder Cup.

He landed on Quiros' bag after about four years with Robert Karlsson. Quiros and Karlsson share the same agent and made the switch in time for the season's first major.

So far, so good.

Quiros is tied with Geoff Ogilvy for fifth at 6-under-par 138 following a 1-over-par 73 on Friday.

"He just didn't play as well today," Lord said. "I don't think it was because he was leading when he woke up. He didn't make as many putts."

Their communication has been excellent and Lord's four previous Masters tournaments helped Quiros shave 10 strokes off his previous best score on Thursday.

There is one oddity for the pairing. Quiros prefers to take his distances in meters instead of yards. But for Lord, that's no big deal because of how far Quiros hits a ball.

"It's kind of cool because he does his yardages in meters," Lord said. "His meters are normal people's yards because he hits it so far it brings it back to reality. If he were playing in yards, it would be a head-scratcher."

It's a no-brainer that Lord loves the Scenic City and has since he first arrived on campus.

"I used to enjoy playing in the lowballs with all the members at the Country Club, but more Valleybrook back when they just finished a PGA Tour run," Lord said. "I've always liked Chattanooga. I get a lot of reports about their golf team, and they're great."

Quiros and Lord and pretty great too.

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