The Masters Tournament was trying to bring back 1986, and it brought back 1987 instead.

Larry Mize hits from the sand on No. 17, where he made par on his way to 67, his best round at the Masters since 2000. (Rainier Ehrhardt/Staff)

The spate of low scoring at Augusta National Golf Club uncovered a hometown favorite who qualifies for the AARP discount: Larry Mize.

With a first-round 67, the 50-year-old put himself into the mix at the Masters.

"I did not imagine a 67," said the Augusta native, who won the green jacket in 1987. "I came out hoping to play a good round. ... I felt probably as good on the golf course as I felt in a number of years."

Mize's presence on the leaderboard -- tied for fourth, two shots behind leader Chad Campbell -- was probably the biggest surprise of the torrid-scoring first round.

Hardly a day goes by at the Masters that Mize isn't asked about his famous chip-in birdie on the 11th hole that torpedoed Greg Norman in a playoff in 1987. That's fine with him.

"That's a popular question for me," he said. "You know, it's OK. I don't mind. It's a good subject for me."

That senior golfers Mize, Norman and Bernhard Langer were all in the red again Thursday said something about the quality of play from people past their prime.

"We are older, but we are still competitors and we love to compete and we love this place," Mize said. "Greg showed last year at the British Open he can still compete and contend. So I just think at a place like this, experience is always a good thing."

It's been a long time since Mize had the experience of being invited into the interview room at the Masters. He made it in Thursday for the first time since 2006. The last 67 he shot was in the second round in 2000, and before that in the first round in 1993.

His only better Masters rounds were a 65 in the final round of 1986, when he tied for 16th, and 66 in the third round of 1991.

Larry Mize celebrates on No. 18. "I don't know what tomorrow holds, so I'm just going to enjoy today," he said. (Michael Holahan/Staff)

"There's as much whooping and hollering for me as I've had in a while," Mize said of the fans following him. "I haven't given them much reason in the last few years to do it again."

The firmer, faster course with favorable winds allowed Mize to compete Thursday with younger players, a few of which are less than half his age. But the course remains a stern test for a shorter hitter who hasn't seriously contended at Augusta National since finishing third in 1994.

"Well, it still didn't feel like '87," he said. "It's a different golf course, and it needs to be a different golf course. The game has changed. These kids hit the ball a long way. But some of the tees were up today, which I think was a good thing. Some of the holes did not play quite as long as they can play."

That will certainly change in the next couple of days, so Mize isn't getting ahead of himself after one good round that included long par-saving putts on the last two holes.

"I don't know what tomorrow holds, so I'm just going to enjoy today," he said. "There's a long way to go, but this is a good start and I have a long way to go to get to Saturday and Sunday."

For a guy who first fell in love with the Masters as a 10-year-old kid collecting autographs and tees and later working the scoreboards on the third hole, playing in the tournament is still a dream come true. Mize has never lost sight of that, even when his game hasn't been up to his old standards in recent years.

"I love playing here," he said. "I remember driving down Magnolia Lane on Tuesday night to come to the dinner. It reminds me how nice it is to come back here and how thankful I am to come back to this place every year."

If he can keep producing birdies on a course that will surely grow increasingly harder each day until Sunday, Mize would relish the chance to be the host of the Champions Dinner one more time. He kept it simple in 1988, with steak and peach cobbler.

"I'd love to do it again and have the chance to get it right," he said.

1st Round
Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Out	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	In	T
Par	4	5	4	3	4	3	4	5	4	36	4	4	3	5	4	5	3	4	4	36	72
Rnd	4	4	3	4	3	3	4	5	4	34	3	4	3	4	3	5	3	4	4	33	67
Tot.	0	-1	-2	-1	-2	-2	-2	-2	-2	-2	-3	-3	-3	-4	-5	-5	-5	-5	-5	-5	-5