Nissan #ProJackets Golf Report

April 5, 2017

THE FLATS – Three former Georgia Tech stars – Roberto Castro, Matt Kuchar and Larry Mize – are in the exclusive field this weekend for the Masters Tournament, the first major championship of 2017.

Castro and Kuchar are both in the field by virtue of reaching last year’s PGA Tour Championship and finishing among the top 30 in the final FedEx Cup standings. Both players also qualified for the U.S. and British Opens by doing so. Mize is in the field as a former champion (1987).

Mize, 57, an Augusta native, hit one of the most memorable shots in Masters history, chipping in from 140 feet on No. 11, the second playoff hole, to prevail over Greg Norman in the 1987 Masters. He has four PGA Tour victories and one Champions Tour title, and served as a member of the 1987 Ryder Cup team. Mize is playing his 34th Masters, every one since 1984.

, 31 and from Alpharetta, Ga., is playing in his second Masters, earning an invitation by finishing among the top 30 in FedEx Cup points in 2016. He made 27 PGA Tour starts in 2016 with four top-10 finishes. He finished as the runner-up at the Wells Fargo Championship after falling in a playoff to James Hahn, and also finished third at the BMW Championship.

is playing in his 11th Masters, having earned top-10 finishes in 2012, 2013 and 2014. He made his Masters debut after winning the 1997 U.S. Amateur while at Georgia Tech. The 38-year-old Kuchar posted 10 top-10 finishes in 26 starts on the PGA Tour in 2016, and won bronze for the United States at the 2016 Olympics. Kuchar won the 2012 Players and has seven career PGA Tour victories. He has been a member of four U.S. Ryder Cup teams and three Presidents Cup teams.

Mize tees off in the fourth group at 8:33 a.m. Thursday along with Americans Brian Stuard and Stewart Hagestad. Castro is in group 18 at 11:18 a.m. Thursday with 1998 Masters champion Mark O’Meara and former Georgia player Hudson Swafford. Kuchar is in group 23, teeing off at 12:24 p.m. along with last year’s Masters champion, Danny Willett and Curtis Luck of Australia.

|

Neither Castro nor Kuchar made the cut at last weekend’s Shell Houston Open. Kuchar currently ranked 73rd in FedEx Cup points, while Castro ranked No. 153. Of the seven former Yellow Jackets competing in in Houston, only Stewart Cink (T-23) and Bryce Molder (T-69) played the entire 72 holes. and made the cut but did not finish, playing only through Saturday, while did not play the weekend.

Mize took last weekend off from the PGA Tour Champions event in Mississippi, but has enjoyed a solid 2017 with four cuts made in four events, and ranks 44th in Schwab cup earnings.

Elsewhere: picked up a victory on the SwingThought.com Tour last weekend by two shots at Stone Mountain’s Stonemont course, winning $4,900 with a 2-under-par score of 278, spurred by a second-round 63. He ranks second on the tour’s earnings list for 2017.

Georgia Tech’s back in Masters again, and we shouldn’t be surprised.

— Jeff Schultz (@JeffSchultzAJC)

Walk Augusta with us.

18 holes.
18 players' opinions.

A course tour of :

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR)

So had another 4 cuts made this week on this week. Earnings now +$3M for the season and +$45M over the past 5 years.

— Rivals Cup (@RivalsCup)

UPCOMING EVENTS

PGA Tour: The Masters Tournament • April 6-9, 2017 • Augusta National Golf Club • Augusta, Ga. • Purse: $10,000,000 • FedExCup Points: 600
Web.com Tour: United Leasing & Finance Championship • April 20-23, 2017 • Victoria National Golf Club • Newburgh, Ind. • Purse: $600,000
PGA Tour Champions: Mitsubishi Electric Classic • April 14-16, 2017 • TPC Sugarloaf • Duluth, Ga. • Purse: $1,800,000
MacKenzie Tour: MacKenzie Tour Q-School • five sessions between Mar. 14-May 5 • various sites
PGA Tour China: Henan Open • May 9-15, 2017 • St. Andrews Golf Club • Zhengzhou, Henan
PGA Tour LatinoAmerica: 86 Abierto OSDE del Centro presentado por FiberCorp • April 20-23, 2017 • Cordoba Golf Club • Cordoba, Argentina • Purse: $175,000
Swing Thought Tour: Castle Bay • April 20-23, 2017 • Hampstead, N.C.