1969

By Robert Eubanks
Chronicle Sports Editor

Augusta, Ga., Monday, April 14, 1969 -- Super Cool George Archer, who admitted he never had been so scared for so long, never wavered under a wild finish as he shot a steady par 72 for a one-stroke victory in the 33rd Masters Golf Tournament Sunday at Augusta National Golf Club.

The 6-6 former cowboy from Gilroy, Calif., ended with a 281 which was barely enough to edge Billy Casper, who had led or shared the lead for three rounds, long-hitting Tommy Weiskopf and Canadian George Knudson. Casper blew his one-stroke lead by bogeying five of the first 10 holes, but made a tremendous comeback that just fell short.

Long shot Charlie Coody bogeyed the last three holes and finished at 283 with former PGA champion Don January, who had a blazing 66 for the day's low round.

At 284 was Miller Barber, who was two shots back going into the final day but shot a 75. Gene Littler, Lionel Hebert and Tommy Aaron ended at 285.

Archer and his playmates had this big battleground to themselves as the Masters titans all ran into trouble. Three-time winner Jack Nicklaus, who had been established as a solid favorite to win, had a 76 for 291, four-time champion Arnold Palmer had 74 for 292 and Gary Player of South Africa ended with 76 for 295. After Casper folded on the front, Archer suddenly found himself with a three-shot lead.

``WHEN I WENT THROUGH No. 9, I saw I was eight under and the closest guy was five under,'' Archer said, ``but I knew this is the kind of course that can reach up and grab you.''

It almost did because he missed the green and two-putted for a bogey at 10, and after chipping to five inches for a birdie at 13, he missed the green, hit a poor chip and two-putted for another bogey at 14. Then came the most crucial hole of the day for Archer. He pulled out a four iron, the same club he had used for his second shot at 15 on Saturday, hit it good, but it plunked into the lake fronting the green.

``I hit the ball solid and that is the first thing a golfer tries to do,'' he said. ``When I saw the splash, I was very surprised.'' However, he made ``a pretty good chip'' and ran in a 13-foot putt for a par. ``That definitely was a big putt,'' Archer said. ``If I don't make it, I don't win'' By that time, Coody had gone to eight under par for the tournament and taken a one-shot lead.

COODY STARTED the charge at 11, after stringing together 10 straight pars, by hitting a seven-iron within 10 feet and sinking it for a birdie.

He followed up with an eagle at 13 where he hit a two-iron within 25 feet. At 14, Coody hit his six-iron approach over, chipped back short and missed a seven-footer for a bogey. He recovered a stroke at 15 with a chip to one foot.

But then came No. 15 where he hooked his six-iron tee shot into the bunker, blasted out 20 feet short of the pin and two-putted for a bogey four.

Coody caught an eight-iron heavy, came up short of the green, chipped weakly and missed the putt. At No. 16, he had another bogey when his tee shot went left of the first bunker. After getting a free drop due to a television tower, he missed the green, chipped up and two-putted form 10 feet. Weiskopf, who turned even par and five under of the tournament, birdied 13 from two feet and barely missed a 12-foot eagle putt on 15 to tie Archer and Coody for the lead going into 17.

He also had troubles on 17 when his tee shot hit a tree and rolled back into some high grass. He said it wasn't a bad lie but he just hit a nine-iron heavy and the ball landed in a front bunker. He came out 12 feet from the hole and missed it for the bogey that cost him a tie.

Knudson, who birdied No. 1 from 12 feet and reeled off eight straight pars to turn one-under for the day and five-under for the tournament, made his move on 15 and 16. After a bogey at 10 when he hit his approach into a trap, he birdied 15 from six feet and 16 from 20 feet.

Casper started his recovery with a 30-foot birdie putt at 11, then birdied the back nine par fives by reaching No. 13 with a two-iron and No. 15 with a four-wood. This is exactly what he had planned to do all week. He played the par fives safe, but figured he would have to go for them if he was behind coming down the stretch on Sunday. It turned out that it wasn't enough, although Archer wasn't so sure. Archer had a 10 to 12-footer on 18 that ``looked like a makable putt,'' he said.

``When I walked on the green, I thought I could two-putt and win, but I looked at the scoreboard and I knew Casper could still tie. ``When I hit it, I thought I had made it but it was just short.'' However, Casper pushed his second shot to the right fringe of the green, chipped past the cup and lost his chances of gaining a playoff spot.

ARCHER CAME OUT of a trap and sank a 10-footer for a birdie at two and then saved a par at three when he hit his approach over on the fourth tee but chipped back to eight inches.

On four, he shot at the fat part of the green, chipped it seven feet past the hole and missed for a bogey. He had to scramble with a 10-foot putt for a par at five and a chip to one foot at six. On seven, he hit a sand wedge to 3 feet and holed it for a birdie.

At eight, he was near the green in two but chipped it 40 feet from the hole, and had his return putt not hit the cup, he would've been left with a 10-footer instead of a tap-in. It was a heartbreak day for Casper who had suffered a severe reaction to some pesticide and weed killer sprays in Miami two weeks ago and almost didn't make it here.

He had played steady and had only two bogeys for three days.

``I've played with 14-handicappers who hit the ball better than I did through 10 holes,'' he said. He hit only two greens during that span but saved pars on one, two (from woods) and three. At four, his tee shot went on the back edge and he almost putted the ball into the trap. He missed it coming back and said, ``I three-putted and I was on the green only one time.'' Traps cost him bogeys on six, seven and nine and that made him turn in 40.

At 10, he missed the green with another in a continuing series of bad swings and recorded a bogey. Weiskopf missed an eight-footer for a bogey at three, missed a six-foot birdie putt on four, missed a three-footer for a bogey at five.

He got back to even par with a pitch to three feet at eight. Barber, his infected left thumb bothering him, started only two back of Casper but quickly fell back.

He three-putted No. 1, bogeyed three and saw his hopes completely dashed when he drove into a clump of pine trees, hit his second against another tree and spent four shots before he could reach the green on seven.