At 58, Langer enters final round among the contenders
MASTERS NOTEBOOK
AUGUSTA, Ga. — On the 30th anniversary of Jack Nicklaus’ final Masters victory, another ageless blond is making a run at the green jacket. This one would be even more remarkable. Fifty-eight-year-old used all his wits and guile to shoot a 2-under 70 on another challenging day at Augusta National, giving himself a shot Sunday at becoming the oldest major champion in golf history.
The German finished out his stunning round on a bit of a downer, making a bogey at the 18th after an errant drive left him behind a giant magnolia tree.
Still, Langer walked off Saturday just three shots out of the lead, assured of playing in one of the final groups Sunday. He flipped his ball to a fan and headed off to ponder the idea of beating the record for the oldest major winner by a full decade.
“I’ll put my feet up, get some rest, and hopefully have a late tee time,” Langer said with a smile.
was 48 when he captured the PGA Championship in 1968. Nicklaus remains the oldest Masters champ, taking his sixth title at 46. And it was Nicklaus who contended again one final time at Augusta in 1998, at roughly the same age as Langer, before settling for sixth.
“I’ve been saying it’s going to happen sooner or later,” said Langer, mindful that two other players over 50 —
and — also made the Masters cut. “Guys like Davis Love and Vijay Singh and Fred Couples are long enough to win the majors. I’m not quite at their distance, but I try to make up for it in other areas.”
WIND TAKES CONTROL
Billy Horschel
felt blown away. His second shot Saturday on No. 15 at the Masters came to rest 10 paces onto the green. He marked the ball, put it back down and took his time sizing up the putt. Suddenly, a gust of wind kicked up. The ball rolled down a slope, off the false front and plunked back into the pond. “I didn’t have my scuba gear,” he said. A windbreaker would’ve worked better. Five minutes, one penalty shot and one animated discussion later, what could’ve been an eagle wound up as a bogey for Horschel. It was all par for the course on a day when gusts reaching 30 mph were the only things roaring through the famous Georgia pines.
“I did a really good job of maintaining some composure,” said Horschel, who made headlines by ripping the USGA about greens at Chambers Bay at last year’s U.S. Open. “It wasn’t their fault. They can’t do anything about it.” Other players felt pretty helpless, too. Long before Horschel’s debacle, took the putter back for a 7-foot tester to save par on No. 7. A gust of wind picked up just after he hit it. A few seconds later, he was standing behind the comebacker — 40 feet away on the opposite side of the hole.
“Every shot is just guessing and hitting and praying,” said who played alongside Thomas.
FINAL-ROUND COMEBACKS NOT UNCOMMON
No lead is too safe at the Masters. No deficit is too daunting. And no one can appreciate that more than Twenty years ago, Faldo won his third green jacket in what remains the greatest collapse in major championship history over the final 18 holes. Six shots behind going into the final round, Faldo closed with a 67 that will never get enough credit because shot a 78.
That was the most famous turnaround. It wasn’t the only one involving Faldo.
Faldo was five shots behind in 1989 when he closed with a 65 and beat in a playoff. A year later, he was three shots behind when he shot 69 and beat Raymond Floyd on the second hole of a playoff.
“You know if you keep clawing away, it is so easy to make a birdie and somebody makes a bogey, and there it is,” Faldo said. “The other thing about the Masters is the fact it’s played there every year, and there’s a history. You know there are guys that have had a big lead and lost.” Augusta National is filled with such stories.
bogeyed the last three holes in 1979 and lost in a playoff. had a four-shot lead in 1956, shot 80 in the final round and lost by one. Five years ago, Rory McIlroy had a four-shot lead going into the final round, shot 43 on the back nine and wound up 10 shots out of the lead.
“As you’ve seen before, a lot can change on that last day,” McIlroy said. “If you’re three or four behind going into the final nine holes, you feel like you still have a chance.”