McGirt realizes lifelong dream
He is at Augusta for the first time
AUGUSTA, Ga. – William McGirt turned pro in 2004 and spent a halfdozen years beating around the bushes in golf’s minor leagues
“There have been a few times that I thought it might be time to do something else,” he said. “I had no clue what I was going to do. So I figured I’d better get out there and start practicing again.”
The 37-year-old McGirt finally made it to the PGA Tour in 2011 and broke through last year by winning the Memorial Tournament in a playoff.
On Thursday, he teed it up in the Masters for the first time and shot a 3under-par 69, good for second place, four shots behind leader Charley Hoffman.
“This is a lifelong dream and it’s one of those things, when you’re going through (struggles), you don’t know if this moment will ever come,” McGirt said. “When I heard, ‘Fore please, William McGirt now driving,’ I almost shed a tear.”
He made four birdies against a lone bogey, hit 11 greens in regulation and needed 27 putts. McGirt and Hoffman were the only players to break 70 on a cold, blustery day.
“What was playing through my mind?” McGirt said. “Let’s get this thing to the house without hurting ourselves.”
Spieth’s latest mishap: Jordan Spieth has an enviable record at the Masters, with a pair of runner-up finishes sandwiched around a victory in 2015.
Also on his résumé, however, are two quadruple-bogeys within a 22hole span.
Last year, he hit two balls into Raes Creek on the par-3 12th hole in the final round, ruining his chance to win. On Thursday, after laying up on the par-5 15th, he splashed two wedge shots into the pond fronting the green and walked off with a 9.
“I just hit the wrong club,” he said of his first shot from 98 yards, which spun off the green and into the water. “I moved up (to 78 yards) on the next one and I clubbed down and that one just didn’t have the same wind.” Spieth shot a 75. Nothing to it: One of the most feared shots in major championship golf is the tee shot on the par-3 12th hole at Augusta National on a windy day.
Masters rookie Daniel Summerhays nearly aced the test.
He hit an 8-iron that landed a couple yards past the hole and spun back to within a few inches for a tap-in birdie.
“For a minute there I definitely had some thoughts of throwing the arms up in the air watching it disappear,” said Summerhays, who shot a 74. “I’ll definitely remember that shot for the rest of my life. First shot on 12, 2017 Masters, almost making it.”
He’s a poet: Threetime Masters champion Gary Player told a hilarious story about the late Clifford Roberts, the taciturn and iron-fisted co-founder of Augusta National and the Masters.
Years ago, Player went to Roberts on behalf of the players and complained that the grass in the fairway was too long, making it difficult to spin the ball and stop it on firm greens.
“So he says, ‘Do you know anything about poetry?’ ” Player recalled. “I said, “‘Yes. Yeats, Wordsworth, Shakespeare.’
“He says, ‘I’m impressed.’ Then he says, ‘Listen carefully: The mowers are as low as they can go. Good morning.’ ”