|
Palmer's 13th hole eagle wins Masters by stroke
Ford, Hawkins miss tie at 18th
By Johnny Hendrix
Chronicle Sports Editor
Augusta, Ga. -- The biggest and one of the most exciting Masters Tournaments was won yesterday afternoon by Arnold Palmer with one-over-par 73 for a hole total of 284. Palmer, who went our tied for the lead with Sam Snead, sat and watched a breath-taking finish in which Fred Hawkins and Doug Ford missed birdie putts on the 18th hole that would have tied him. The victory for the 28-year-old Latrove, Pa., professional was worth $11,250, by $3,000 the largest cash prize in Masters history.
His finish with a three-putt bogey five at 18 was something of an anticlimax after he had eagled the 13th with a magnificent three-wood shot and an 18-foot putt. He drew bogeys on two of the last three holes, but Ford and Hawkins, the only men with a chance to catch up, couldn't pick up the necessary stroke for a tie.
For Palmer, who won the U.S. Amateur championship in 1954 and has been a consistent big money winner since he turned professional in 1954, it was the greatest thrill of his career. He was somewhat disappointed that he could not have finished stronger, but in the end this did not detract from his tremendous feeling of pride and satisfaction at putting his name alongside the great champions of the Augusta National classic.
The largest crowd in history, estimated at 30,000 or more, watched the final day's play under sunny skies. The pin placements and gusty winds made par an elusive number of most. The best efforts against regulation were owned by Ford and former winner Claude Harmon at the end of the day. Both had two-under 70's.
Venturi in Tie
Venturi, who led the field for two days, finished with an even par 72 in a tie for fourth with Stan Leonard, who rammed himself into the picture with a 33 on the front side, but had a finishing nine of 38. They totaled 286, two under par for the route. At 287 came Art Wall Jr. and Cary Middlecoff, the 1955 Masters champion. Wall, who started out two strokes off the pace, had a finishing 74, while Middlecoff, who started just one stroke off, was three over par.
Billy Joe Patton, who was one out after two rounds, slipped to three going into the final round and had a two-over 74, finished at 288 to become the tournament's leading amateur for the second time. He was alone at that figure.
Finished With 79
Locked at 289 were Harmon, Jay Herbert, who had 71, Billy Maxwell, who shot 76 and Al Mengert, who also finished with a 76. Snead, who was favored to come home in front after being tied with Palmer at the end of three rounds, shot a seven-over-par 79 to finish alone at 290, one stroke better than two-time winner Ben Hogan, who had a 73 for 291.
Also at 291 were Mike Souchak and Jimmy Demaret, like Snead a three-time Masters champion. It took a score of 295 or better to finish in the top 24. Although he was tied through the fifth hole with Venturi with a 232, Palmer never trailed. Time and again as other hopefuls made their move, Palmer kept at least no worse than a tie and then when he picked up the eagle at 13, it was virtually decided.
Snead started out with a double bogey six on the first hole was never in contention after that. Leonard moved to within one stroke, but he too fell off, and when it came down to the stretch, it was Hawkins and Ford who had the only chance to nip Palmer at the wire for a dead-heat finish.
Sensational Start
Venturi got off to a sensational start with a birdie at the first hole to pull within two strokes and then when Palmer bogeyed the fifth, they were even. But Venturi then bogeyed six and was the eventual champion. There were three significant points in the Palmer round. The first was at the 12th hole, where his tee shot carried over the green and the ball became imbedded in the turf between the actual putting surface and a sand trap. He played this ball and made five with it, but also played a provisional ball and made three.
It was later ruled that he scored three because the tournament was being played under U.S.G.A. rules which, because of the wetness of the course, gives relief in this instance. The second and actually deciding point of significance was at 13. Palmer hit a long drive and found himself in a perfect swing to the 13th green. The ball stopped 18 feet from the cup and he made it.
Out Of The Picture
Although in his own mind he had made three at 12, he was not officially notified until 15 and by this time, Venturi was out of the picture. At 15 he played short of the water and pitched up past the pin but didn't get down. Then, after trapping to the right at 16, he went to the 17th tee convinced that he wanted to hook the ball to get a better shot at the pin.
In the terminology of the golfer, ``he snipe hooked'' the ball off the tee into the pine which is just to the left center and some 200 yards up the fairway. The ball hit the trunk of the tree and kicked right, however, stopping on the slope of the hill, almost dead center of the fairway. Ordinarily, Palmer would have played a seven iron or less to the green after a good tee shot, but after hitting the tree, he had to hit a four, yet still got it on and down in two putts. Using only 28 putts in the round, he used the short club once at the first, third, seventh, eighth, 12th and 13th. He had but one three-putter, this coming at five where he hit a three iron shot on the front edge of the double level green and couldn't get close to the hole with his first. He got that stroke back against par at the eighth hole when he hit a three-wood second shot to the right edge of the green, pitched it eight feet from the cup and holed it for a birdie four.
At the 10th hole, he drew what was his only bad break of the round. His tee shot landed in a soft area and the ball, although not buried, was partly covered with mud. His three iron try for the green squirted off to the right and wound up in the trap. He came out well, but was 10 feet from the hole and couldn't get it down in one putt. The 11th was a regulation four, a four-iron to the green and two putts from 20 feet, and then came the momentous 12th. Wanting to make certain he wouldn't dump it into the water as he had done the day before, Palmer chose a four-iron for his tee shot. The wind was much more a factor than it had been the day before, and he hit the ball strongly. It carried over the green and struck dead in the area between the back sand trap and the green.
Chips In Close
After a brief discussion with an official, he played this ball and a provisional ball, taking five with the buried ball and a three with the second when he chipped to within two feet of the cup and holed it for a par. ``There was no doubt in my heart that it was a three,'' he said later. ``It was just a matter of the officials having to make a decision and I thought I had a three, I wanted to protect myself, though, and that's the reason I played both balls so there could be no question one way or the other.'' Palmer said his bogey at the 16th hole came after what he considered one of his best shots of the tournament.
``When I went to that tee, I had but one thing in mind - not to make six like I did last year on the last day. I kind of pushed it a little and it caught the trap, but I thought when I hit it out of the trap it was one of the greatest shots I made during the tournament. ``The ball had it gone six inches more over the top of that hill could conceivably have gone into the cup.
Didn't Make It
``But it didn't and stopped and I thought I might make three, because it wasn't too hard a putt, but I didn't make it. ``At 17, I tried to hit to the left just a little because I saw where the pin was sitting when I played from the 15th tee. I turned it too quick, but it came out of that tree.
``The only thing I regret about the tournament is the way I played the 18th hole. I hit a good drive, but I had a kind of fluffy lie and I wanted to make sure I had enough club, so I hit a seven. As it turned out, it could have been as easy seven iron, but I hit it hard and wound up to the back. I just missed the green on the first putt.
``But no matter about that. I couldn't be happier.''
|
