Mize is upbeat on his future
Larry Mize said he "didn't have enough guns" off the tee in the 70th Masters Tournament.
Maybe so, but he did make it to the weekend, which the other two golfers with Augusta connections couldn't do.
Mize, the 1987 Masters champion who was one of the shorter hitters in the field, closed with even-par 72 on Sunday to finish at 8-over 296.
It was the first time the 47-year-old Augusta native has made the cut at Augusta National Golf Club since 2000.
Augusta resident Vaughn Taylor (75-74-149) and Augusta native Charles Howell (80-84-164) missed the cut, which fell at 148.
Mize opened with rounds of 75-72-77 before his 72.
"Overall, I was very encouraged," Mize said. "I was disappointed with my round Saturday. I felt like I did some good stuff out there today (Sunday) and in the first and second rounds."
Mize's third-round 77 was marred by a triple bogey on No. 11. That's the same hole he chipped in for birdie to win the 1987 Masters in sudden death. Instead of his ball going into the hole on No. 11 on Saturday, it went into the water.
"Yesterday, it was one of those things," Mize said. "The pitch shot, I thought, I'd hit it fine. I just misjudged it.
''It was an optical illusion. Maybe I need to have my eyes checked."
Mize extracted some revenge on No. 11 on Sunday; he birdied it with a 20-foot putt - the only one on the hole in the final two rounds.
He also birdied Nos. 15 and 16 on the back nine.
"That was a lot of fun coming in," Mize said.
Mize said he was concerned about how Augusta National would play after being lengthened to 7,445 yards. He has averaged 275.7 yards per drive this year on the PGA Tour.
But on a course that was firm and fast the first two rounds, Mize averaged 279 yards per drive for the week, and was even credited with a 333-yard drive on the fifth hole in the first round.
"I'm not sure they got those numbers right," Mize said jokingly.
Though the alterations to the course didn't bother Mize, the greens did. He averaged 29.5 putts, including 34 in the first round.
"I misjudged the speed a little; my putting was inconsistent all week," he said.
After making only four birdies in the first three rounds, Mize had five in the final round. In addition to the 20-footer on No. 11, Mize birdied No. 1 (10 feet), No. 9 (6 feet), No. 15 (6 inches) and No. 16 (20 feet).
Mize isn't sure where his next tournament start will be. He has limited status on the PGA Tour as a former winner and is partially exempt on the Nationwide Tour.
"I'm going to go home and relax after four days here and continue to work on what I'm doing," Mize said. "I'm going to continue to do golf fitness work. To come back here with 10 or 15 more yards next year would be good."
Mize is expected to be a factor on the Champions Tour when he turns 50 on Sept. 23, 2008.
"I'm not ready yet; in 2 years I'll probably be ready," he said. "But yeah, I'm looking forward to it when the time comes."
Reach David Westin at (706) 724-0851 or david.westin@augustachronicle.com.
