CRENSHAW SEES 2015 AS LAST STAND
Two-time champ Ben Crenshaw said that next year may be the last in which he competes at the Masters.
“I’ve been thinking about it a long time,” he said. “It won’t be long. I’m resigned to it. It’ll probably be soon. I’m thinking about next year, possibly.”
Crenshaw, who won his green jackets in 1984 and 1995, shot an 83 in Thursday’s first round and followed it with an 85 in Friday’s second round.
Reflecting his status as one of the tournament’s great champions, the operators declined to put Crenshaw’s inflated score on the scoreboard as he played the 18th hole. His 24-over finish was the highest score he has posted in his Masters career, which dates to 1972.
Crenshaw, 62, has made the cut twice in the past 17 Masters. He hasn’t broken par since shooting 14 under to win in 1995.
“I know I can play better than this, but my scores are a train wreck,” he said.
Just because he may stop playing doesn’t mean he won’t have an annual place at Augusta National.
Crenshaw said he would do whatever he could when asked if he was interested in becoming an honorary starter.
His day started poorly Friday when his drive on the second hole struck a spectator in the head. She later was treated and released.
Crenshaw was one of several of the older generation of champions who had difficulty in the first two rounds.
Craig Stadler, the 1982 champion, finished 15 over. Tom Watson, champion in 1977 and ’81, also finished 15 over. Ian Woosnam, the 1991 champ, finished 6 over. Mark O’Meara, the 1998 champ, finished 8 over.
NOT GROUNDHOG DAY
Branden Grace rallied from an 84 on Thursday to shoot a 69 on Friday, a 15-stroke turnaround. It matched the infamous Curtis Strange rally in 1985, when he shot 80-65 in the first two rounds and went on to tie for second.
Said Grace: “That’s the thing about golf that just doesn’t always go your way. Sometimes you get out to events like this and you try too hard. Maybe that was the big reason yesterday. Today was more relaxing play, more like playing with myself.”
The largest contrasting rounds in Masters history:
Strokes; Score, Year; Golfer; Finish
19; 88-67, 1936; Craig Wood; T20
18; 64-82, 1990; Mike Donald; 47
17; 69-86, 2010; Sandy Lyle; MC
KUCHAR GETS TO WEEKEND
It wasn’t the start he hoped for, but Matt Kuchar knows he’ll have the weekend — and that will have to do for now.
The former Georgia Tech star and St. Simons resident shot 71 in the second round. And while that didn’t necessarily put him in the hunt for a green jacket, his two-day total of 144 was well under the cut line.
“I’ve just got to play good golf,” said Kuchar, who had top-10 finishes his past two years at Augusta National. “I’m playing pretty nice, and I feel pretty pleased, not making a whole lot of mistakes.”
Even his mistakes have turned out OK. For the second day in a row, Kuchar knocked his approach shot in the water going for the 15th green in two. He made bogey Thursday, but managed to one-putt for par Friday.
“Fifteen has gotten me for two straight days,” Kuchar said. “I’ve been either in the front water or back water, so maybe I can figure out laying up there better. But all in all I’m really pleased with how things are going.”
Kuchar certainly has been consistent at the Masters. It was the seventh time in eight Masters he has made the cut and played on the weekend. He hasn’t finished outside the top 27 since missing the cut in 2002.
Tough conditions in the first two rounds have kept the field bunched for the most part heading into the final rounds. A lot can still happen.
“Major championship golf is tough,” Kuchar said.
MIZE GETS NICE SURPRISE
Larry Mize has made the cut at the Masters twice in the past 13 years.
After firing an even par-72 in the second round to stay at 2-over 146, the former Georgia Tech standout will make this year’s cut. Several past champions and Champions Tour players will make the cut as well. Fred Couples, nearly 55, is again contending for the lead. Past champs Bernhard Langer, Sandy Lyle and Jose Maria Olazabal also made the cut.
“It’s always great to be playing on the weekend,” he said. “It’s been … geesh, it’s been a few years. I’ve been looking forward to this week all year to get back to playing on a weekend. I’m excited to be playing.”
Mize, who defeated Greg Norman and Seve Ballesteros in a sudden-death playoff to win the Masters in 1987, said he didn’t see this coming because he hasn’t played well this year. He said he and his instructor, Mark Immelman, have been working hard this week on all facets of the game, especially his putting, because he said he wanted to get some momentum for next week, the Champions Tour’s Greater Gwinnett Championship.
Whatever they were doing worked. Because of his practice, combined with the experience has gained from playing in 95 rounds at the Masters, Mize needed 28 putts Thursday and 23 on Friday.
“I kind of got relaxed this week and said play and have a good time,” he said.
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