For the guy in the green jacket:
It really is ‘Charl,’ without ‘es’
DUBLIN, Ohio – Beyond the coveted green jacket and a trailer load of money, winning the Masters carries with it an untold number of benefits and blessings. In the case of Charl Schwartzel, who won it about six weeks ago, perhaps the most satisfying was that writers have quit trying to stick an “es” at the end of his name. It really is “Charl.” And not long ago, the slight South African was answering to anything. But lately, as much fun as it was, a little peace and quiet were welcome.“It did take quite a bit out of me, just there being such a big hype about it,” Schwartzel was saying, on the eve of the Masters Tournament Wednesday. “Now a month and a half afterwards, things are settling down a bit and I feel I can start focusing on my golf again.
“I mean, it’s been all good. Winning a tournament like that obviously does change quiet a few things.”
Like putting the Masters on its heels, the way he won. He sent them scrambling through the record book, through the previous 74 Masters. Schwartzel was the first winner ever to birdie the last four holes.
“It was always going to come down to the back nine – who made the birdies coming in,” Schwartzel said. And he was the guy, after starting the final round four shots off Rory McIlroy’s lead. McIlroy contributed by blowing sky-high on the 10th and staggering home.
The name game started early in the final round. After he chipped in for a birdie at No. 1, then holed out for an eagle at the par-4 No. 3. (Who’s this Charlie Schwartz guy?)
The answer at the time seemed to be, he’s a no-one, this after a grind of 10-straight pars, predictable enough for a no-name who has found the Masters spotlight a little too hot. Then coming to the 15th, he glanced at the leaderboard, and lo, found himself tied for the lead. Doggone if the Masters wasn’t within reach – if he could get something going. “It was now or never,” he told himself.
Hence the historic four closing birdies from the 15th: from six feet, 15, 12 and 18 for a 66, a 14-under 274, a two-shot win, and his first win in a major. Now he finds himself at the Memorial, his second start since the Masters, with something to prove. He hasn’t exactly been knocking them dead. He’s won twice on the European Tour, and he leads it with a 69.29 scoring average, but apart from the Masters, he’s been lukewarm in the U.S., with finishes ranging from 14th to 30th in his other six starts.
“I’m just excited to get back and start playing again,” said Schwartzel, now ranked No. 10 in the world. “I haven’t been playing too much but my game feels good.”
Earlier, world rankings didn’t seem to mean all that much, mostly because the lofty perches were pretty much out of reach.
“Winning a tournament like that,” Schwartzel noted, “obviously does change quite a few things, but they’ve been all good for me. I’ve made a few adjustments and now I want to come out here and win a few more.”
Schwartzel didn’t wear his green jacket here. His host, Jack Nicklaus, has a record six of them. Well, one, but six times, and even he can’t wear just any old place. But the champ gets to keep it for a year, before hanging it in his locker at Augusta National.
“I take it pretty much with me everywhere,” Schwartzel said. “If you get to keep it only for a year ... you’ve got to pretty much enjoy it. I’m not going to wear it just everywhere, but it’s nice to have a look at it.”
He did sneak a wear of it at the European Tour awards dinner last week. “And they actually asked me to wear it,” he said. “It was a black tie event, and I’m dressed up in a green jacket.
“Most people,” he added, “thought I was a waiter.”
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