A Masters’ Story With an A-Mize-ing Finish : Mize’s Shot Sinks Norman on 74th Hole

For Larry Mize, a pitch-in birdie that won the Masters in sudden death was “the dream of a lifetime.” For Greg Norman, it was worse than a bad dream--it was a recurring nightmare.

“I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t think it was possible,” said Norman, who is becoming practiced in his role of runner-up at golf’s major tournaments.

This one approached the impossible--even more unlikely than his loss to Bob Tway in last fall’s PGA championship.

There, too, a shot from off the green--an explosion shot from a 72nd-hole bunker--made Norman a runner-up in one of golf’s great championships.

“I thought Larry’s shot was harder that Tway’s. It was 30% harder than Tway’s,” Norman said.

Mize’s dream pitch came on the second hole of a sudden death playoff between a native son of this southern city and the outstanding player in worldwide golf.

Mize, winner of only one previous professional title, missed the green far to the right. And it appeared the 51st Masters title would go to Norman, who won the British Open last year and challenged strongly in other three events that make up golf’s Big Four, the Masters, U.S. Open and the PGA.

But that was before Mize played his delicate little pitch to the fringe of the green, then stood frozen in fascination as the ball took off, running straight into the cup.

The ball disappeared into the hole like the flash of a cotton-tail rabbit ducking into its burrow. The quiet, soft-spoken Mize leaped high into the air, then went hopping around the green, raising both hands in elation, clasping them to his head.

“I’ve dreamed of winning the Masters,” Mize said, “but I never dreamed of winning it like this--beating two of the greatest golfers in the world.

“Reporters have asked me all week if I ever dreamed of winning the Masters. I did.”

There were three players at 3-under-par when regulation ended, but Seve Ballesteros of Spain bogeyed the first sudden death hole, No. 10, and he fell by the wayside. Ben Crenshaw and Roger Maltbie, who shared the lead going into the final round, and Jodie Mudd each missed the playoff by a single shot.

The playoff was the climax of a multiple-man struggle in which six men either led or shared the lead at one time or another in this 51st Masters, perhaps golf’s most prestigious tournament.

And it continued a string of Grand Slam frustrations for Norman, who led all four of golf’s majors going into the final round last year, winning only the British title.

“I didn’t think it was possible when I saw Larry hit his second shot,” Norman said. “I’m more disappointed now than I’ve been in any tournament I ever played. This is the toughest loss I’ve ever had because Larry’s shot was harder than Bob’s.”

“I just don’t believe it,” Norman repeated.

Neither did Mize.

“I don’t think I really realize what has happened yet,” Mize said.

Mize, Norman and Ballesteros finished the regulation 72 holes in a tie for the top at 285, three shots under par on the Augusta National Golf Club course.

Mize birdied the 72nd hole from about three feet to finish a 71 and was the first in the clubhouse.

Ballesteros was next, and he saved par from from a bunker to set up the playoff. He, too, had a 71.

Then came Norman, the outstanding golfer in world golf last year, who moved into a tie with a 20-foot birdie putt on the 17th. Norman parred the 18th to complete an erratic 72 that included six birdies and six bogeys.

The ninth playoff in Masters history began on the 10th hole.

Ballesteros was eliminated there. He 3-putted for bogey, missing a 5- to 6-foot second putt. Mize had a chance to win it all, but he left a 10- to 12-foot birdie attempt hanging on the lip of the cup. He tapped in. Norman, who had missed a birdie from about 20 feet, also made par and they went to the 11th.

Mize and Norman both drove the fairway.

Mize pushed his approach to the right and turned his back on the shot while it was in the air. Norman, perhaps the most feared competitor in the game today, also put his approach to the right, on the fringe.

Mize needed to get up and down from a difficult spot to have any chance of extending the playoff.

Instead, he pitched the ball into the hole. Norman, now needing a birdie to tie, missed his long putt and became a Masters runner-up for the second year in a row. It marked the third time in the last five major championships that he has been second.

For Mize, it was only the second victory of a six-year PGA Tour career. The other came in the 1983 Memphis Classic. Mize had a chance to win last year’s Kemper, but he lost to Norman on the sixth hole of a sudden death playoff.

Mize has had a half-dozen runner-up finishes since the 1983 victory, and questions were being asked about his mental toughness.

He answered them in a strong, firm voice, saving a bogey from the water behind the 15th green, gaining a playoff spot with a last-hole birdie, then beating the best the game can offer.

The victory was worth $162,000 to Mize, who was born and “spent most of my growing-up years” in Augusta. He now resides in Columbus, Ga.

Crenshaw, the soft-spoken Texan known as “Gentle Ben” to his fellow pros, held or shared the lead most of the warm, windy day and relinquished a share of the top spot only when he took three from the back fringe to bogey the 17th.

Crenshaw, the 1984 Masters champion, was in the last group to finish regulation play and came to the 18th needing a birdie to tie.

He faced a 20-footer and watched in dismay as his putt slid by the hole.

He and Maltbie, an easy-going 35-year-old who hung around the top most of the final round, each shot 74 over the last 18 holes and finished at 286, two shots under par.

Mudd, the beneficiary of a magnificent start, also was at that figure after a closing 69. Starting play five shots back, he bolted into contention with a birdie-eagle-birdie beginning.

All three either led or shared the lead at one point or another over the last 18 holes.

Curtis Strange and Bernhard Langer of West Germany each got to within a single shot of the lead.

But Strange played the back nine in 40 and fell out of it. Langer’s last hope disappeared with his second shot into the water of the 15th hole.

Langer dropped back into a tie for seventh at 289, three shots back of the group tied for fourth.

Also at one over par were Tom Watson, Jay Haas, D.A. Weibring and Jack Nicklaus, who made a gallant attempt at defending the sixth Masters title he won a year ago.

“A lot of funny things can happen in the last round of the Masters, so you just keep playing and hope you don’t hear any singing,” Nicklaus said.

He ran in a 15-foot putt for an eagle on the 13th but couldn’t make anything else happen and finished with a 70.

Watson, twice a winner here and still trying to fight his way out of a slump, had a 72. Weibring shot 71, Haas 73 and Langer 76.