Harris walks down the first fairway with playing partner Fred Couples and their caddies. Harris, 47, was the U.S. Amateur champion in 1993. He said he shot a 77 Saturday, but his score was not officially recorded. (Jonathan Ernst/Augusta Chronicle)
Member steps in to even field
Web posted 04/08/00
The 47-year-old Harris, the 1993 U.S. Amateur champion and an Augusta National Golf Club member, played with the 1992 Masters champion Saturday as a non-competing marker.
``It was a lot of fun playing with Fred,'' said Harris, who finished tied for 50th in his only Masters appearance in 1994. ``I hit a couple of good shots. Mostly, it was fun watching him. I just tried to stay out of his way as much as possible.''
As a marker, his score was not officially recorded, but Harris said he shot a 77 - a few strokes off what he normally shoots when he visits Augusta National from his hometown of Edina, Minn., a suburb of Minneapolis.
``I shoot anywhere from 72 to 75 here, but I didn't get to hit balls before my round, and I've gone 10 days without hitting a shot,'' said Harris, who competed in the Azalea Amateur in Charleston, S.C., in late March. ``It's certainly not golf season yet in Minnesota.''
As for his own accomplishments, Harris has done it all in amateur golf. He won a state championship in high school, Big Ten team and individual titles at the University of Minnesota, nine state amateur titles and his U.S. Amateur crown in '93.
Along with the Masters in '94, he has played in the U.S. and British opens, and was a member of the past three U.S. Walker Cup teams, which compete every two years against the best amateurs from Great Britain and Ireland.
But back in 1970, his skills on the ice, not the links, earned him a full scholarship to play hockey at Minnesota. He played center on a Golden Gophers team that went from last in the league in 1971 to a national championship in 1974.
After college, Harris earned his PGA Tour card in 1975, but played poorly and lost it at the end of the season. He was reinstated as an amateur in 1983.
As an Augusta National member, Harris is serving this week on the tournament rules committee, and was notified about six weeks ago that he would be a noncompeting marker in the Masters should the need arise.
Whenever there is an odd number of players, the Masters Tournament committee selects someone familiar with Augusta National to even the field.
``Unfortunately, I didn't get to play off the member's tees,'' said Harris, who will play again in today's final round with Tommy Aaron. ``I wish I did. It was hard out there today. I'm not used to this much wind.''
While Harris' course knowledge of Augusta National certainly could have been an advantage, he said there is no comparison between the way the course plays during the Masters to the way it plays the rest of the year.
``We play the same pins they play during the tournament, but the greens aren't nearly this fast and aren't close to this firmness,'' he said.
