Four rounds in 60s improbable
Web posted 04/11/99
After the second round this year, Scott McCarron was the only golfer to shoot in the 60s both days (69-68). However, he had a 76 Saturday, and the record will stand for another year.
In 63 Masters Tournaments, 20 players have had three rounds in the 60s of the four regulation rounds. If McCarron shoots in the 60s today, he would join the list.
Of the 20, six players shot in the 60s in the first three rounds. In their final rounds, Arnold Palmer in 1964 and Fred Couples in 1992 both shot 70s. Of the other four golfers with a chance to break 70 all four days with a sub-70 final round, Ray Floyd had a 71 in 1992, Gary Player had a 74 in 1961, Ed Sneed had a 76 in 1979 and Craig Parry had a 78 in 1992.
Three rounds in the 60s hardly assures a golfer of victory. Of the 20 to do it, only 11 won.
Because no one has shot in the 60s all four days, some golfers realize the Masters is not going to be a birdie-fest and adjust their games accordingly.
``You know, last year 9 under won the tournament. Basically, every year it seems like the winner shoots three rounds in the 70s and a 69, and you only need a few birdies to do that,'' said Lee Janzen. ``I've realized you can play conservatively and take bogeys once in awhile.''
Watson and Couples expressed surprise when told that no one in Masters history had been in the 60s in every round.
``Most of the guys that win are very consistent,'' said Couples, who shot 69-67-69-70 -- 275 when he won in 1992. ``You really need to be on your game here.''
Ben Crenshaw said he doesn't think anyone will ever break 60 in all four rounds or shoot 20 under-par 268 for the tournament record. Tiger Woods has the record at 270, shot in 1997.
``With the greens, they've all been built with USGA specifications so there is never going to be an instance where the greens are going to be soft because they drain too quickly,'' Crenshaw said. ``Every USGA green is supposed to drain the same way across the green. If these greens are any bit elusive, it's hard to think about those records. They're safe.''
Not according to Floyd, who tied Nicklaus' tournament record of 271 in 1976. The record stood until Woods broke it by a shot in 1997.
``People said the record Jack and I had would never be broken,'' Floyd said. ``I think records are made to be broken. I think with technology, agronomy and equipment, and the evolution of the game, if we take the leaps and bounds in the next 20 years that we have in the last 10, I think everything is in jeopardy. We're having to build harder, bigger and longer golf courses because of all these factors.''
As for the 20-under par record, Floyd and Nicklaus came within three shots of it and Woods within two.
``Three guys have almost done it on the golf course,'' Davis Love III said. ``When Ben (Crenshaw) shot 15 under in 1995, you say, `Look, it's possible.' ''
``You know, it puts the thought in your head that, hey, you can go around here,'' Love added. ``You can make putts and you don't have to be scared of it. Sure, you're going to make mistakes and you're going to have putts you can't make. But if you're patient and take the ones you can and knock some in, you'll do well. To me, that's the key -- going out there and making putts and having some fun on the greens. You should use your imagination and not get defensive.''
Scott Hoch said shooting 20 under would be tougher than breaking 60 all four days.
``It would be very difficult to shoot 20 under,'' Hoch said. ``It would have to be somebody like Tiger Woods. But they're (the Augusta National competition committee) going to make it such that if the first two days are a certain way, they're going to make so it doesn't happen the last two. That's the way they do things.''
``I think,'' said Jim Furyk, ``the Augusta National and the Masters committee here can dictate what scores they want to win the golf tournament. If they want the score to be lower, they could do that by the way they set the golf course up.''
Asked before the tournament what he thought the winning score would be, Furyk said, ``Maybe you should ask them (the Augusta National).''
