Even Mize surprised by his 67 to start Masters Week

There were no miracle shots like in 1987, but Larry Mize's game looked like it was in its prime Thursday. Augusta's hometown hero is savoring his day, and feeling confident about the rest of the week.

By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM Chief of Correspondents

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- The hair is much more salt than pepper now.

Not much else has changed, though. Larry Mize is still the same slender, soft-spoken man from Augusta who beat Greg Norman in a playoff at the 1987 Masters.

C’mon. You remember. And if you don’t, you must not have been watching much TV lately. Nearly every Masters promo showed Mize, wearing that gray-and-purple shirt, as he sprinted around the 11th green after holing that winner of a 140-foot pitch and run.

Both arms are raised over his head as he celebrates with that victory lap.
Norman stands nearby, looking on disconsolately, as he absorbs yet another heartbreaking defeat.

Mize, now 51, turned back the clock at Augusta National on Thursday, shooting 67, which is his lowest score there since the second round of the 2000 Masters. He’s two strokes off the lead -- and three shots ahead of a resurgent Norman, who is now 54.

As a former champion, Mize gets to play in the Masters until he is 65 should he so desire. Norman, on the other hand, earned his way back for the first time in seven years after tying for third at the Open Championship last year at Royal Birkdale.

The fire still burns in both, though.

“I just think my first thought is just we are older, but we are still competitors … and we love this place,” Mize said. “You want to come out there and play well. And Greg showed last year at the British Open, he can still compete and contend.

“So I just think at a place like this, experience is always a good thing. I think experience is good anywhere, but here maybe even more. But I don't know. We are old guys fighting as best we can.”

This particular old guy has only made the cut at the Masters once since the turn of the century, though, and he finished with a share of 42nd that year. In the last eight months, he has played exclusively on the Champions Tour.

Mize’s best finish since turning 50 came in his 2009 season-opener as he tied for seventh at the Allianz Championship. He credits the Champions Tour with keeping his enthusiasm for the game alive.

Still, Mize was surprised by how low he went on Thursday.

“I did not imagine a 67,” Mize said. “I came out hoping to play a good round. … I felt probably as good on the golf course as I felt in a number of years. I felt really good out there, and it was a good day for me to play today.

“The wind was a good direction for me. … . I felt good with my game and I felt good on the golf course. I wanted to be a little bit more aggressive out there and I did that today.”

Mize made six birdies and dropped just one shot to par in the first round. His birdie putts came from 4, 6, 4, 15, 10 and 5 feet -- and he made two clutch par saves from 15 feet on the final two holes to preserve the round.

For the record, Mize parred the 11th hole that proved so pivotal in his life. But like his gray hair, the hole isn’t quite the same now, with full-grown trees planted down the right side several years ago and a green that had to be reconstructed after a flood.

“It’s a different animal,” Mize said. “With the trees on the right, it's a lot tougher driving hole. The second shot is still similar to what it was. To the right of the green where I chipped in is a little different where they had to rebuild the green.

“… But the character of the hole is still there.”

Mize never walks very far -- especially here at Augusta National -- before someone stops him and asks him about that spectacular pitch-and-run. Not that he minds, though.

“It's a good subject for me,” Mize said with a smile.

Another thing that won’t change is the joy he gets from playing before the hometown fans at Augusta. He’s the only native son to have won the Masters, although Charles Howell III and Vaughn Taylor would dearly love to follow in his footsteps.

“The fans were great today,” Mize said. “There's as much whooping and hollering they have had for me as I've had in a while. I haven't given them much reason in the last few years to do it again. The fans were spurring me on and that made the day even better.”

Mize wants to continue to savor what happened Thursday. He might replay some of those precise approach shots as he drifts off to sleep. Regardless, he will try to draw confidence from his performance and see where it leads.

“I think a lot of it is, I just had a good attitude,” Mize said. “I wanted to come in with a good attitude and enjoy my time, play a little more aggressive, and I'm playing well. I think that was a lot of it.

“I love playing here, and I remember driving down Magnolia Lane Tuesday night to come to the (Champions) Dinner; reminds me how nice it is to come back here and how thankful I am to come back to this place every year.”