Augusta, Ga. – One of the Wednesday traditions at Augusta National is the annual par-3 tournament, an afternoon in which players put decidedly more emphasis on fun than performance. One reason is the fact that in 47 years, no player has won the par-3 and then gone on to win the Masters.
Zach Johnson, however, came close to doing just that. Needing a chip-in on the final hole to tie Mark O’Meara, Johnson’s attempt lipped out.
On Wednesday and again Sunday, Johnson said he didn’t care about the alleged jinx that supposedly haunts the par-3 champion.
“I was trying to make it,” he said. “It’s never happened before, but I was kind of thinking, ‘I have a better chance of winning the par-3 than the tournament.”‘
The closest anyone has come to getting a double win was Tom Watson, who claimed the Masters in 1981 and the par-3 the following year.
Place your bets
Want an early line on someone to look out for at next year’s Masters? You could do worse than, say, Trevor Immelman or any other player from South Africa. Rory Sabbatini and Retief Goosen matched Johnson’s 69 for the day’s best round, finishing in a tie for second with Tiger Woods.
It marked the second straight year that a South African has been the tournament’s runner-up, following Tim Clark a year ago.
Clark, a co-leader after the first two rounds, finished in a tie for 13th. Only two players from the country’s five-man contingent failed to make the cut – 71-year-old Gary Player, competing in his 50th Masters, and Ernie Els, who also knows something about runner-up finishes here. Els came in second in 2000 and 2004.
Gee, thanks
Although disappointed in the eventual outcome, Goosen acknowledged that he owed Johnson a small debt of gratitude. When Johnson bogeyed the final three holes in Friday’s second round, it helped move the cut line down to plus-8, which Goosen made on the number. Over the final two days, Goosen shot 5-under, moving up from a tie for 46th.
“It’s probably thanks to him that I’m here now,” Goosen said.
About time
Jerry Kelly’s tie for fifth was not only his best finish in five Masters starts, it marked his first top-10 in 28 major championship appearances. …
After missing the cut the past three years, David Toms finished ninth. …
Evergreen’s Craig Stadler shot a final-round 79 and finished at 17-over 305 and tied for 49th.
