MASTER CLASS
FOWLER AND GARCIA AMONG FOU TIED FOR LEAD AT AUGUSTA
AUGUSTA, Ga. — By the time the ball — flushed from the 6-iron of Stewart Hagestad — came to its resting spot about 18 inches from the flagstick on the Augusta National 18th green late Friday afternoon, a moment in Masters history was about to be secured.
Hagestad, a 25-year-old USC graduate from Newport Beach, Calif., who has been working as a financial analyst in Manhattan for the past year, was a tap-in birdie away from becoming the first Mid-Amateur champion ever to make the cut at the Masters.
Since 1989, the Masters has been inviting the Mid-Amateur champion into its field, and for the past 27 years, none has made it to the weekend.
Hagestad, who shot 73 on Friday, not only secured two weekend tee times at Augusta National, but he’s within striking distance of contention at 3-over, just seven shots out of the tournament lead with 36 holes still to play.
“My adrenaline was firing a little bit,’’ Hagestad said of his moment on 18. “Because I knew kind of where I stood and I obviously knew the history with Mid-Ams and the Masters and that’s been something that’s been on my mind the whole week.’’
A couple of days ago, Hagestad was in the middle of a practice round when he heard a fan yell to him, “Enjoy the ride.’’
“That kind of ticked me off a little bit,’’ he said. “I’m like, ‘Shoot, man, I feel like I’m generally a pretty decent ballstriker, like it’s not that hard, it’s just a golf course, come on, go out there and show them what you can do.’ ’’ And so he has. But even Hagestad’s father, John, had a difficult time imagining the unimaginable.
“I came down here with high hopes, but I didn’t have great expectations, because the chances of him making the cut were — let’s face it — not very good,’’ John Hagestad told The Post. “This is absolutely surreal.’’
Hagestad, who has insisted all along his plans are to remain an amateur, has been so poised these past two days alongside the world’s best players, it makes you wonder how strong the pull might be for him to change his mind and turn pro — particularly if he has a big weekend here.
“That’s my biggest fear: That he finishes well and he comes home and says, ‘You know, I can run with the tall dogs. I can compete with those guys,’ ’’ John Hagestad said. “In his sophomore year of college he came to me and said, ‘Hey, I need to graduate and I need to go to business school and I need to study hard, because I’ll never make it on the PGA Tour. I’ll never. be able to compete against these guys.’
“I said, ‘ How do you know?’ He said, ‘I’m good, but I’m not great, and I don’t want to be living in Motel 6s and eating at Denny’s. I want to be a top grade amateur golfer in the business world.’ ’’
Fear not. Hagestad didn’t even allow a reporter’s question on the subject of turning pro to finish before he politely interrupted and said: “Absolutely not. Nope. Nope.’’
What Hagestad wants more than anything — except for a Green Jacket — is to be a member of the U.S. Walker Cup team that will play in September at Los Angeles Country Club, where he is a member.
“This means the world to him,’’ said Hagestad’s caddie, John Doherty, a Jersey Shore resident from Red Bank. “This is something he wanted. He wants to play on a Walker Cup team, and he knew to make the cut in the Masters the USGA’s got to take notice. I know him, I know what kind of a player he is and I know how motivated he is. I believe in my player and I believe that he can do well.’’
He already has.