Waldorf’s Round Is Especially Colorful

He is 5 feet 11, weighs 240 pounds and wears a size 48 regular jacket. The last time Duffy Waldorf pulled a green jacket out of his closet, it was 11 years ago when he played for the Walker Cup team.

For Waldorf’s third round Saturday at the Masters, Vicky Waldorf decided to decorate her husband’s golf balls with a special design.

She drew tiny green jackets on them.

“Just to remind me I’m at Augusta, in case I forgot,” Waldorf said.

There’s little to forget about Waldorf’s round Saturday. He eagled the eighth hole, finished with a three-under-par 69 and managed to make everybody notice him for something besides the usual stuff.

That would be the the loud, patterned shirts, the graffiti-marked caps, the colored golf balls and the carefree attitude.

Actually, the entire Waldorf repertoire remains intact as the final round of the Masters begins today with D. Waldorf listed up there on the leader board.

Yes, he has it all working--the caps, the shirts, the colorful golf balls, the whole thing. But this time at the Masters, Waldorf also has an interesting score to match.

His 54-hole total of 212 is four under par, the same as another former UCLA player, Scott McCarron. They trail Greg Norman by nine shots.

Waldorf was asked if he would be able to run down Norman from behind.

“I don’t know,” he said. “This golf course is a bear. I’m just trying to see if I can beat it one more day.”

Not long ago, Waldorf wasn’t beating any golf course. He had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee in February and had to take four weeks off.

When Waldorf came back, he played three tournaments and missed three cuts. Knee surgery, four weeks off, then three missed cuts is not your ideal preparation for Augusta National, but it worked for Waldorf.

The 33-year-old from Newhall said his knee was affecting his swing, so he knew he had to do something about it.

“When you weigh as much as I do, you really need to have some strength there,” Waldorf said.

For his round Saturday, Waldorf’s strength came from the usual sources, namely his hat and his golf balls. Not counting his golf game, of course.

Tommy Aaron, Davis Love III and two therapists from the fitness trainer signed Waldorf’s hat. The golf ball he used Saturday included one with the message “Rise and Shine” and another had a map of the United States with a flagstick in it, sort of like the official Masters logo, the one trademark logo that the tournament jealously protects.

“I hope they don’t mind,” Waldorf said.

Waldorf said the colored golf balls are never a distraction.

“Only when they’re all white,” he said.