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A Faldo's long putt wins Masters
Hoch blows chance in playoff
By David Westin
Staff Writer
Augusta, Ga., Monday, April 10, 1989 -- A wet and wild 53rd Masters Tournament that had a little of everything ended in the gathering gloom Sunday when England's Nick Faldo rolled in a long-distance birdie putt for a sudden death victory over a ``frazzled'' Scott Hoch.
The 31-year-old Faldo coaxed in a putt of ``a good 25 feet'' on No. 11, the second hole of sudden death, to eliminate Hoch, a 33-year-old Floridian.
On the first hole of sudden death, Hoch missed a two-foot-par putt that would have given him his fourth career victory and his first major title.
Faldo, who had stumbled to a 77 in the third round to trail by five shots after 54 holes, was a wizard on the greens after switching to a Taylor Made putter for the final round.
The Englishman, who had used a Bullseye in the first three rounds, canned birdie putts of 17 feet (No. 1), 12 feet (No. 2), 15 feet (No. 4), 20 feet (No. 7), 12 feet (No. 13), 5 feet (No. 14), 15 feet (No. 16) and 30 feet (No. 17) en route to a closing 7-under-par 65, the low score of the tournament.
``After the 77 (third round), I was really despondent with my putter,'' said Faldo. ``When I came back (for the final round) I had a go with the Taylor Made putter on the putting green and decided to use it.''
Winning the Masters ``means the world to me,'' said Faldo, of Surrey, England. ``Words don't describe it. To have a day like today. I've seen other guys do this. You see Jack Nicklaus shoot 65, then go out and win the playoff. I sit and watch TV and think it is unbelievable when that happens. Then for you to do it yourself, it's a tough feeling to have. To think you're standing over a putt and you've got the world looking at you and you knock it in..."
``It was ecstasy to make that putt,'' said Faldo. ``It was a dream. You dream it was going to happen. When it does right before your eyes, you can't believe it.''
In the playoff, on No. 11, Hoch missed the par-4 green in regulation, chipped on and left himself an 8-footer for par. Before Hoch could putt, Faldo sank his putt to become the fifth foreign winner of the Masters in this decade, and the second in a row.
It was the second time in the last three years that the Masters was decided in sudden death. The last one, in 1987, also ended at No. 11, with Larry Mize holing out a chip shot for birdie to beat Greg Norman.
Hoch, playing in his sixth Masters and admitting that he didn't know the greens well, had victory in sight on No. 10, the first hole of sudden death.
After Faldo bunkered his approach shot to the par-4 hole, Hoch hit the green, leaving himself a 25-footer for birdie. Faldo blasted out, but had 12 feet for par. After Hoch's first putt went two feet past the hole, Faldo missed his par putt, then tapped in for bogey. All that stood between Hoch and the Masters title was the 2-footer. He missed it, the ball sliding by the hole four feet. He made the comebacker.
``It was a terrible putt,'' said Hoch of his second one. ``I hadn't three-putted all week. That's a nice place to do it. I had to give it a chance to go in. I'd been dropping in those putts all week.''
``When he missed, I said, `He's opened the door for me,''' said Faldo. ``I believed then it was my destiny. On No. 11, when he chipped up eight feet short, I thought, `I'm going to two-putt and I can win this. We've just got to stay loose on the putt and stroke it up there.' I don't believe it went in.''
Ironically, Falco didn't par No. 11 all week. He bogeyed it in the four rounds of regulation play. Then, the birdie in sudden death.
The low-key Faldo opened with a 4-under-par 68 and added rounds of 73-77 and then the blistering 65 for a 283 total, or 5-under for the tournament.
Faldo's 283 was the highest winning score by one shot this year on the PGA Tour. It also marked the third straight year that the winning score was in the 280s. Scotland's Sandy Lyle had a 281 last year. The tournament record is 271.
For Faldo, who had won just once before in America in nine years on the PGA Tour, it was his second major championship. He won the 1987 British Open and lost to Curtis Strange in a playoff for the 1988 U.S. Open.
The playoff started in the gathering darkness, at 7:10 p.m. Had the two men tied No. 11, Faldo said he didn't think they could have played No. 12, the famous par-3. ``You couldn't see the pin,'' he said.
Hoch, solo leader after 16 holes, sliced his drive on No. 17, a par-4. His second shot flew the green, leaving him a challenging 70-foot chip shot. After knocking it to within three feet, Hoch had the par putt slip by the hole. That dropped him back to 5-under-par for the tournament, tied with playing partner Ben Crenshaw, who had birdied No. 17, and Faldo, who had finished four groups earlier.
Hoch and Crenshaw went to the home hole with the tournament hanging in the balance. With pars, they would tie Faldo and head for a sudden death playoff.
Hoch and Crenshaw's drives were almost identical, in the right center of the fairway. Crenshaw hit first, his shot landing in the deep left greenside bunker.
Hoch followed with an iron shot that found the green, 18 feet to the right of the pin, which was cut in the left-front of the green.
Hitting out of the deep-face bunker, Crenshaw blasted to within eight feet. Hoch was up next. His putt was long enough but just inches below the hole. Crenshaw's par putt, which would have sent him into the playoff, was off line all the way.
Crenshaw and Norman, who also suffered a bogey on No. 18, tied for third place, one shot out of the playoff. Two-time Masters champion Seve Ballesteros, who started giving shots back to par at an alarming rate on the back nine after a sensational front nine, finished with a 69 and in fifth place on his 32nd birthday. Mike Reid, who led the tournament after 12 holes, finished sixth after a 72. Reid played his final four holes four-over-par.
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