Voges Misses Cut at Masters After Round of Near-Misses

Mitch Voges of Simi Valley, whose golfing life had been a long dream since winning the U.S. Aateur title last summer, was awakened with a jolt Friday by a monster called the Augusta National Golf Club course in Augusta, Ga.

Voges, 42, failed to make the cut at the Masters, golf’s most prestigious event. He shot a 1-over-par 73 on Thursday while paired with defending champion Ian Woosnam of Wales, but on Friday he watched several putts come agonizingly close to the cup without dropping and he carded a 75. His two-day total of 148 was three strokes higher than the 36-hole cut, and his Masters came to an abrupt end.

Also missing the cut was Dave Berganio, 23, of Sylmar. The 1991 U.S. Public Links champion opened with a round of 76 and Friday, paired with Spain’s Seve Ballesteros, shot a 1-under 71 but still missed the cut by two shots.

Voges, paired Friday with veteran Tom Watson, played a solid round. The slick, undulating greens, however, left him in shock.

“I’m crushed,” Voges said. “Not only did I intend to make the cut, but I also fully planned on being in the top 24 to earn an invitation to next year’s Masters. But I burned the edge of the cup all day. Nothing would fall.”

The most frustrating hole was No. 15, a par five, where Voges hit a perfect drive and then pounded his second shot to within 18 feet of the pin. But his downhill putt for eagle lipped the cup and kept rolling, moving eight feet past the hole.

“The eight-footer for birdie stopped with half of the ball hanging over the cup,” Voges said. “The ball was just hanging over the hole. It just wouldn’t fall in. Instead of an eagle, I get a par.”

Voges said his play from tee to green was everything he hoped it would be.

“On Thursday, I really feel I played better than Ian Woosnam,” he said. “But he putted and got a 69 and I didn’t and got a 73. And I played dead even with Tom Watson everywhere except on the greens too. He shot a 70 and I get a 75.

“To be honest, with the speed and severity of the greens, I have never seen anything like it. And I have played a lot of golf.”

Voges will play next week in the PGA Tour’s Heritage Classic at Hilton Head, S.C. He said he will carry his early exit from the 56th Masters with him.

“You play and practice hard for a long, long time for a chance at something like this,” he said. “And then you watch the ball skip all around the cup for two days, a dozen or more putts that easily could have gone into the hole but didn’t, and you say, ‘No, not in this tournament.’ ”