THE FLATS – Larry Mize reflects on his golf career as he plays his final Masters … Matt Kuchar comes up two strokes shy of victory (and a Masters berth) in San Antonio … More details below in this week’s Georgia Tech #ProJackets Report.
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“IT’S TIME,” LARRY MIZE SAYS OF PLAYING HIS FINAL MASTERS
On a trip last fall to Augusta National Golf Club, Larry Mize played the member tees for just the second time since he stunned Greg Norman in a playoff to win the 1987 Masters Tournament. It was a revelation, of sorts.
“It’s such a great golf course, and from the member tees … boy, it’s a lot of fun,” he said in a telephone interview Tuesday from his home in Columbus, Ga. “I love playing Augusta from the member tees. Anyone can play and enjoy it. It’s still a challenge, but it’s one I can handle.”
And with that, he hinted at another revelation.
Sixty-four years old and hampered by ongoing back problems, Mize said that the upcoming 87th Masters, which begins on April 6, will be his last as a competitor.
“Yes, this will be my last Masters. It’s time,” said Mize, who will be making his 40th start at Augusta. “I’m 64 and the golf course is getting longer, and I have found that I have not gotten longer as I get older. It is a young man’s golf course, there’s no doubt.”
Eighty-seventh Masters. An improbable victory in 1987. There’s some symmetry there.
Larry Mize is prepping for his 40th (& final) Masters start.
Ryan Fox is prepping for his first Masters start.
Fun content coming! pic.twitter.com/QBE8gll8q0
— Zephyr Melton (@zephyrmelton) April 3, 2023
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MIZE SHARES SOME INSIDER’S INSIGHT ON THE MASTERS
Earlier this year, 1987 Masters champ Larry Mize revealed that the 2023 edition of the tournament will be his last.
The Masters famously offers a lifetime exemption to its champions, and after playing Augusta National in his 40th consecutive Masters in April, the 64-year-old said he will call it a career.
Mize’s win in 1987 was his lone major championship, though he won a total of four PGA Tour events over the course of his career, and once on the PGA Tour Champions.
His win at Augusta came in dramatic fashion, when he chipped in from 140 feet on the par-4 11th during a playoff to defeat Greg Norman and Seve Ballesteros.
It goes without saying that Mize has acquired plenty of knowledge about Augusta National over the decades, and he recently shared some of his insider’s insight with GOLF.com.
3 days! In ‘87 Larry Mize shot -3 to force a 3 way playoff with golf legend Ballesteros and that Aussie choke artist. When Seve missed a 3 footer he was rinsed. Then Larry chipped in for a 3 in front of me to win and jumped 3 inches off the ground to sink Shark. He was so pumped. pic.twitter.com/DEXw25mwwj
— Most Famous Creek (@RaeRaesCreek) April 3, 2023
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LIVING A GOLF DREAM
Try to imagine peeking through the fence and trees and seeing Augusta National Golf Club just out of reach of the childhood course you played every day. Imagine peeking through the little windows of the third-hole scoreboard you operated as a teenager and seeing Tommy Aaron become the first Georgian to win the green jacket. Imagine peeking at the pictures on the walls at Georgia Tech of your school’s greatest golfer, Bobby Jones, as you yearned to make a career in the game.
Then imagine peaking as a 28-year-old professional in your hometown of Augusta, Georgia, with arguably the greatest shot in Masters history and having a seat at the Champions Dinner for the rest of your life.
“I don’t think my dreams ever got that far,” said Larry Mize, who in 1987 became the only native Augustan to win a green jacket.
Mize, 64, will tee off in his 40th and final Masters next month. It is a difficult decision for any major-champion golfer to stop competing, but it’s made easier by a course that has grown 640 yards in the 36 years since Mize won.
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MATT KUCHAR RALLIES LATE BUT FALLS SHORT IN SAN ANTONIO
Looking for a victory to get himself a spot in the field for this week’s Masters Tournament, Matt Kuchar stayed near the lead and made a closing bid in Sunday but fell short at the Valero Texas Open.
On a golf course where he has posted three top-15 finishes, including a runner-up performance last year, Kuchar tied for third with a 13-under-par total of 275, two strokes behind winner Corey Connors. Kuchar closed with three birdies in his last four holes and earned his 38th career top-3 finish, and his 115th career top-10 finish. He now stands No. 40 in the FedEx Cup points standings.
Kuchar stood at No. 66 in last week’s Official World Golf Ranking, well short of a position inside the top 50 required for a Masters invitation. His performance at the Valero Texas Open lifted him to No. 51. Larry Mize, the 1987 Masters champion, will be the only former Yellow Jacket in the field this week.
Chesson Hadley was the only other Jacket to make the cut in San Antonio, tying for 60th place, while Stewart Cink, Paul Haley II and Richy Werenski missed the cut.
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TRINGALE AND OGLETREE BOTH COMPETE IN LIV EVENT
Cameron Tringale and Andy Ogletree both competed in LIV Golf’s event last weekend in Orlando, tying for 11th and 41st, respectively. Ogletree has a break between International Series events on the Asian Tour, next playing in Vietnam next week … Seth Reeves missed the cut in the Korn Ferry Tour’s Astara Chile Championship in Santiago, Chile, and Will Dickson missed the cut at the G Pro Tour’s Forest Oaks Classic in Greensboro, N.C.
Read Will Dickson’s Journal in GolfNewsRI.com
