Randolph, Inman Shoot 70s, Make It Amateur Day for a While

It was Amateur Day at the Masters Thursday.

While many of the professionals struggled, worrying about the treacherous putting surfaces, USC’s Sam Randolph Jr. and North Carolina’s John Inman treated the famed Augusta National Golf Club as if it were just another course.

Each of the amateurs shot a 70, two under par, in the first round either had ever played in the prestigious tournament. Only leader Gary Hallberg (68), Payne Stewart (69) and Tom Watson (69) finished the day ahead of them. Jack Nicklaus, five-time Masters champion, is a stroke behind them.

Although amateurs traditionally, have not done too well here--the Masters has never been won by an amateur--the late Bobby Jones, founder of the tournament, would have been proud of these two. Jones, for all of his titles, never did turn pro, remaining a gentleman golfer throughout his career.

The two amateurs admitted that they were scared to death when they stepped up to the tee for the first time. That fact and their scores, though, were just about their only similarities.

Randolph, 20, a junior on the Trojan golf team, was still in shock when he faced the press after his round. But Inman, last year’s NCAA champion, did not seem at all surprised to be among the leaders. In fact, he rather fancied his chances of winning it all.

Randolph, whose father is the pro at La Cumbre Country Club in Santa Barbara, said he had been so nervous on the first tee that his knees were shaking.

“I just wanted to get that first swing over with,” he said. “I pushed it way to the right, into the trees. I had to just knock the ball out onto the fairway. I was lucky to get up and down. After that I was all right.

“I sure didn’t expect to play that well. I have been having putting problems for the last six months. I would have gladly settled for a 72 or 73. I worked hard on my putting here, and it paid off today. I made some good putts.”

Randolph qualified for the Masters by gaining the semifinals in the U.S. Amateur last summer. He lost to Scott Verplank in the final round when his putter failed him. Verplank shot a 78 in his first round in the Masters.

“Friends at USC kept telling me how fortunate I was to get into the Masters,” Randolph said. “I kept playing it down and telling myself it was no big deal. But when I arrived here, I realized I had been kidding myself. I sneaked over Sunday night in the dark and got a look at the course.

“The excitement mounted when I played practice rounds with (Seve) Ballesteros and (Gary) Player, and Johnny Miller and Gary Hallberg joined us for the last nine yesterday. I sort of asked Ballesteros and Player if I could play with them. They were very good about telling me about the course.

“My goal when I came here was to make the cut. Now, I’m thinking of finishing in the top 24 so I can play again. If I do well tomorrow, maybe I’ll think about the top 10. But it isn’t in my mind to win it.

“I don’t think I really thought about anything except trying to stay within my game--until I looked up at the leader board on the 11th and saw my name on it.

“There was another exciting time when I hooked my drive on 17 into No. 7 fairway. Arnold Palmer was just putting out on 7, and there was a 15-minute delay. After he finished the hole, it took a long time to clear his big gallery and move the ropes. Then I hit a great wedge and managed to get my par.”

Randolph, one of the early starters, was three under par going to 18. But on the 405-yard dogleg-to-the-right, uphill finishing hole, he put his drive into the fairway trap on the left. He had a tough downhill lie and was short of the green on his second shot. He chipped to six feet below the hole but missed his par putt.

Even so, he was an excited leader in the clubhouse and the first to be interviewed.

“There is such a big difference here and in the U.S. Amateur,” he said. “I felt I belonged there. But here, I see all these fabulous golfers and wonder what I’m doing here. It was a good thing for me to get together with the other amateurs and find out I wasn’t the only nervous person around.”

Randolph is 6-0 and weighs 170. He doesn’t have to look up to the long hitters. A marshal, who was situated down the fairway on the 555-yard second hole, longest on the course, said that Randolph’s drive was the longest hit by anyone in the first half of the field. He also hit a long drive on the 405-yard 14th.

Randolph said he played baseball, basketball and other sports as a child but started concentrating on golf at 13 because he was too thin for most of them.

A winner of several amateur tournaments, he also played in the Los Angeles Open when he was 17, making the cut and finishing with a 290.

Randolph plans to return to USC and finish his college career next year before trying to qualify for the PGA Tour.

Inman, on the other hand, postponed turning pro just so he could play in the Masters. He graduated from North Carolina last February and last week won the Azalea Amateur at Charleston, S. C. He qualified for the Masters when he was named to the World Amateur team. If he had turned pro, he would have lost his chance to play here.

Inman, 22, is a brother of Joe Inman, a 13-year veteran of the PGA Tour. He will join Joe in the pro ranks after this tournament.

He admitted to first-tee jitters, saying: “I found you can really hit the ball even when you can’t breathe.”

But he left no doubt about his self-confidence. Asked why he thought two amateurs had done so well, he replied: “Because we’re good.

“I don’t think of myself as an amateur. I think of myself as a golfer. They classify you as a pro or amateur, but there’s amateurs who play well.”

Inman has been playing golf as long as he can remember. His brother is 15 years older and works with John only on the mental aspects of the game. Joe, who helped him get ready for the Masters, had played well here and set a record by making 19 birdies on the par-three and par-four holes.

“Once I got off the first tee, I expected to play well,” Inman said. “I wouldn’t rule out my chances of winning the tournament. I just have to play my game. The best part of my game is my wedge shots. I have three of them, and this is a course where you miss a lot of greens and need to be a good wedge player.

“But I’m not worried about tomorrow. You know, they don’t shoot you if you have a poor round.”