The Masters tees it up Thursday at the venerable Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia. The Masters is the first major golf championship of the season, it is the youngest of the grand slam events, and it is the only major to be played on the same golf course every year. With the azaleas and magnolias in full bloom, it is also the first outward sign that spring is here and the major championship part of the golf season has begun.
The Masters is primed for a big-time golf story this year with the emergence of Rory McIlroy, the return of Tiger Woods, the rejuvenation of Phil Mickelson, and the solid brilliance of Luke Donald. Of course, that could mean that the exact opposite will happen and the Augusta National folks might be handing over the green jacket to Harrison Frazar or Brendan Steele, but then again, we live in a world where Keegan Bradley holds more major titles than Sergio Garcia, so anything is possible. At least that”s what Masters history tells us.
It was 50 years ago that Arnold Palmer ruled the world of golf. He had won the 1958 and 1960 Masters, had captured the 1960 U.S. Open in dramatic fashion, had prevailed at the 1961 British Open, and was the game”s marquee figure. In 1961 Palmer hit his approach shot on the final hole into the greenside bunker, chunked it out, three-putted, and lost the Masters by one stroke to South African Gary Player.
Palmer almost did it again in 1962, shooting a final-round 75 at the Masters to let Dow Finsterwald make up a two-shot deficit and to allow Gary Player to come from four back to tie him at 8-under-par 280 at the completion of play. It would be the Masters” first three-way playoff. It would be an 18-hole playoff on Monday as that was the nature of the game back then. Palmer got his mojo back during the play off and shot 68 to beat Player by three strokes and Finsterwald by nine. Palmer would go on to win the British Open later that summer. Tied for 15th place was a rookie golf professional from Ohio by the name of Jack Nicklaus.
Some 10 years later, Nicklaus had three green jackets in his closet and was as much of a favorite in 1972 as Palmer had been in 1962. To go along with his three Masters titles, Nicklaus had three wins in the U.S. Open, a pair of British Open triumphs, and two victories in the PGA Championship. It was the Jack Nicklaus era.
The Masters played tough in 1972 and when Jack opened play with a 68 on Thursday, he jumped out to a four-stroke lead. A second-round 71 gave him a three-stroke margin over journeyman Jim Jamieson. A third-round 73 kept Nicklaus ahead of Jamieson by just one. On Sunday, Nicklaus shot even higher, a 2-over-par 74, and still ended up winning by three strokes over the trio of Tom Weiskopf, Bruce Crampton and Bobby Mitchell. Jamieson shot 77 and came in fifth.
Nicklaus won the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach two months later and talk of the grand slam was prevalent throughout the world of golf. However, the dream of the grand slam was squashed by two of the game”s biggest names as Lee Trevino repeated as British Open champ and Gary Player prevailed in the PGA Championship.
It was 20 years ago that Freddie Couples arrived at the 1992 Masters as the game”s top-ranked player. Unlike Palmer in 1962 and Nicklaus in 1972, Couples had exactly zero majors to his credit. After rounds of 69-67-69, Couples led Ian Baker Finch by two strokes and Raymond Floyd by three. Couples was able to hold off Floyd and a fast-charging Corey Pavin through 11 holes. On the water par-3 12th hole, Couples aimed for the middle of the green and pushed his shot to the right. It landed short of the green and started to roll backward toward Rae”s Creek. Inexplicably, Couples had dialed double-bogey into the equation and his well-earned lead would suddenly be gone.
However, as fate would have it, gravity took a moment off and Couples” ball stopped several feet above the water. He chipped it next to the flagstick, tapped in for par, and went on to shoot 70 and win by two over Floyd. It would be Couples” only major title.
Ten years later at the 2002 Masters, Tiger Woods was atop the world of golf. He was five years removed from his stunning triumph in the ”97 Masters, and since then he had won the 1999 PGA, the 2000 U.S. Open, British Open and PGA, and the 2001 Masters. Woods was the Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus of his era.
Woods shot 70 on Thursday and trailed Davis Love III by three shots. His second-round 69 put him four behind Vijay Singh. On moving day Saturday, Tiger shot 66 and found himself tied atop the leaderboard with Retief Goosen, two strokes ahead of Singh and four clear of Ernie Els, Sergio Garcia and Phil Mickelson. Woods carded a safe and solid 71 on Sunday to successfully defend his Masters title and win by three over Goosen.
Yet it was 25 years ago at the 1987 Masters that the world”s top two golfers, Greg Norman and Seve Ballesteros, found themselves tied after 72 holes with journeyman golfer and Augusta native Larry Mize. The three-man playoff would be sudden death on the back nine. Ballesteros was eliminated with a bogey-five on the 10th hole. On the difficult 11th hole, the start of Amen Corner, Norman hit the green in regulation while Mize fanned his second shot and found himself some 90 feet right of the green. One miracle moment later, Mize chipped in for a birdie-three and the 1987 Masters had a most dramatic ending.
So, what will the 2012 Masters bring us next weekend? Will Phil put an exclamation point on his career? Will Tiger show that he returns as the game”s dominant force? Will No. 1 Luke putt his way to his first major? Will Rory make amends for last year”s meltdown?
The 2012 Masters tees it up Thursday at Augusta National in Georgia. It has all the makings of a most dramatic weekend of major championship golf.
