Perry on crumbling at finish:
“I’ve got two to think about" – The Masters Tournament
AUGUSTA, Ga. – Franklin, Ky., isn’t very big, but that was going to be one heck of a parade. Hold the parade.
Kenny Perry, after 70 holes of wonderfully solid golf, was just two holes – 905 yards – from becoming, at age 48, the oldest guy to win the Masters. Then he bogeyed Augusta National’s 17th and 18th – both for the first time all week -- with shaky play, shot 71, ended up in a playoff, and lost to Argentina’s Angel Cabrera.
He hit over the green at the 17th. Then --
“I hit a good drive on 18,” Perry said. “It just drew a little bit and got in that front bunker.”
Which made it a bad drive. He missed the green and bogeyed.
It’s a doubly harsh pill to swallow. He almost won the 1996 PGA, and was chatting on with the TV guys when Mark Brooks tied him. Then he got beat in a playoff that he hadn’t warmed up for.
“I’ve got two to think about now,” Perry said.
CHAMPS MEMORIES – “The best thing about coming back was hosting the Champions Dinner,” said Trevor Immelman, the 2008 Masters champ. “The next best was being with Mr. Player.”
A win would have been even better, but Immelman never even threatened, and finished with a 69 Sunday, his best of the week, for a 2-under 286.
And the second-best thing about winning? “It’s great to know that I can always come back here,” Immelman said.
MATTER OF TIME -- “I don’t like to say you’re got to do your time,” England’s Paul Casey was saying. “But every time you come here, you learn something more about the course. I always thought that of all the four majors, this one was my best chance to win, the way the course sets up for me.”
Casey had been stamped a sure winner since tying for sixth in his first Masters, in 2006. But he missed the cut in ’05, then tied for 10th and 11th in ’07 and ’08. He was still an aspirant this time, but he was just 1 under through most of the first 27 holes, and then wasn’t under again till the last 12 in a closing 69 and a 2-under 286 total.
“And now I know where to hit it,” Casey said, “so I hope it’s just a matter of time.”
YOUTH EARTHQUAKE – Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, 19, is not a one-kid youth movement. He’s looking like a youth earthquake. He spotted Augusta National a 4-over start with two bogeys and a double bogey through No. 7, then played the last 10 holes in 6 under, with six birdies and no bogeys. He even
ran of three straight from the 15th and shot 31 coming home, and finished with a 2-under 70 from No. 9 played the rest of the way with six birdies for his best round of the week, a 2-under 70, and a 2-under 286 total. It was pretty much an amazing show from a teenager in his first Masters.
“But I was hoping to do better,” McIlroy said. “If I could have finished on Friday the way I did today, I’d still be out there [playing among the leaders].”
What did he learn? “Not to dance in the bunkers,” McIlroy said, laughing, thinking of just missing a penalty for brushing the sand with his foot at the 18th.
Fondest memory? “Just being here has been great.”
And the difficulty of Augusta National? “It’s not difficult. It’s tricky, it’s different. You can get away with a lot of tee shots here, but around the greens is tricky.”
BUDDY BADINAGE – Japan-born Ryuji Imada, playing in his first Masters, was plenty impressed with the tradition, the beauty and the difficulty, but when the final round had run its course, his principal concern was how Bubba Watson, old pal from the University of Georgia, finished. A little higher, someone said.
“Good,” said Imada, laughing. He finished with 69-286 to Watson’s 73-290.
Then it was a matter of apparel. “He was giving me a little har
d time with my belt today,” Imada said, “but I think his outfit was a little like an ice cream man or something.”
MIZE RENEWED – “You know you left something out there, you could have maybe got a little closer, but I’ve got no complaints,” said Larry Mize, now age 50 and 22 years since he harpooned Greg Norman with that long chip shot in the playoff to win the 1987 Masters. He finished with a par-72 and a 1-under 287, tying for 30th. It was his best finish since 2000, and only his second cut since 2001. “It’s obviously encouraging to come here and play this well,” said Mize. “It gives me a lot of confidence to go out there and play well on the Champions Tour. So this is a nice shot in the arm.”
FIRST TIME, GREAT TIME – John Merrick, 27, a first-timer from Long Beach, Calif., booked himself a return trip with his closing 66, an 8-under 280, and a tie for sixth, well inside the top 16 guaranteed a spot in 2009. “Can’t wait,” said Merrick, who ran off four straight birdies from the 13th. “I wanted to finish strong. I’m happy with the way I played.”
And which was more exciting – getting into the Masters for the first time, or grabbing a spot for the second? “Definitely – playing well like this,” said Merrick, former Nationwide Tour player looking for his first PGA Tour win since joining in 2008.
WORST OF HOLES, BEST OF HOLES – No. 11, the downhill, 505-yard par-4, again was the toughest hole at Augusta National. It played to an average of 4.328, giving up just 17 birdies, but inflicting 85 bogeys and 15 double bogeys. No. 15, the uphill-downhill, 530-yard par 5, was the easiest hole, played at 4.571 (just a tad harder than the par-4 11th), logging nine eagles, 135 birdies and taking just 24 bogeys and two doubles. Overall, the course played to an average of 72.60, more than a stroke harder than 2008’s 73.791 and below the cumulative average of 74.24
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