Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, April 16, 1991 TAG: 9104160059
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Bill Brill
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Or, in Great Britain, where they have some really good players (check recent results for reference), the big deal is The Open, referred to as the British Open hereabouts, the land of also-rans.
But the Masters is unique among golf tournaments, and most sporting events in general.
For starters, the Masters is an invitational, which means your average "I'm happy going to the bank after making the cut" American pro must seek his paycheck at something called the Deposit Guaranty Open.
The DGO typifies the attitude of many American athletes: "If you put up the money, I shall come."
The Masters invites more foreigners than PGA Tour events, plus more amateurs and seniors. There were only 87 people teeing off at Augusta National and perhaps one-third of them were there for the scenery.
But what happens far more often at Augusta than in any other tournament, is the high drama that comes as often from a bungled play as a great shot.
Nick Faldo won back-to-back green jackets because (a) Scott Hoch choked on a two-foot putt and (b) Raymond Floyd hit a ball in the water.
Gary Player once was a Masters champ because Arnold Palmer blasted out of the bunker on the 18th across the green into another bunker, and made double bogey.
Ian Woosnam won Sunday despite a high handicapper's snap hook into Rae's Creek on No. 13, and because (a) Jose-Maria Olazabal bunkered on the 18th and bogeyed and (b) Tom Watson drove in the woods and made double-bogey.
There are countless other miracle shots in Masters lore, from Gene Sarazen's double-eagle to Larry Mize's chip-in.
I have a theory on why so many astonishing things happen at Augusta, which may not be new, but CBS' talking heads didn't bring it up.
Unlike other courses, especially others in the United States, the Masters has positively no rough. Golfers can hit the ball 100 yards off line - Woosnam's drive on the final hole, for example - and still have a shot.
The par-5s are all inviting, daring to receive a second shot and thus a putt for an eagle, so gambling is encouraged.
It is possible to come from a long way back because you can shoot a 30 on the back nine. Jack Nicklaus did it in 1986 to win. Steve Pate did it Sunday to come from nowhere and tie for third. You do not shoot a 30 on the final nine at the U.S. Open.
It is possible to pick up two or three shots at both par-5 holes on the back - Watson made eagle on each - and it's also possible to make a 7 (Nicklaus did) or a 5 (Watson did) on the devilish 12th, the shortest hole on the course.
Olazabal made a seven on a par-3 and still was tied for the lead coming to the last hole. Lanny Wadkins missed a 6-inch putt and was a shot out of the lead. Almost all of the leaders had some sort of horror stories.
My theory is that even the best pros don't hit the driver as straight as we might think, especially when they swing from the heels on nearly every hole. At Augusta, it's better to be long and a little wild than down the middle and short.
In many PGA events, and certainly the Open, the leaders often go with irons off the tee, just to keep the ball in the fairway. They do not attack. Cautious play rarely results in a serious scoring swing on any hole. Somebody might birdie while somebody else bogeys, but that's about it.
Woosnam's final drive - the winning drive - would have been off the universe almost any place else in this country, although, it must be said, not necessarily in England or Scotland. Yet, he had a wide-open shot remaining, and was much better off than Watson, who was in the woods.
Modern-day architects ignore the way Augusta is built, presumably because great rewards and serious penalties create too many daily problems. They don't want anybody playing 100 yards off-line.
At Augusta, as no other golf course, it ain't over until it's over. Seems to me that's the way it should be.
by CNB