Posted 4/14/03 9:57 am ET

Amazing Amateurs - Ken Venturi

Second-place winner relates to 4th-day flop

Ken Venturi, one of only three amateurs to place second in the Masters, blew a four-shot lead in the final round of 1956. File/The Augusta Chronicle

By Mike Garbett
The Augusta Chronicle

Ken Venturi sat in the CBS television tower high atop No. 18 that Sunday afternoon in 1996, a firsthand witness to Greg Norman's inexplicable collapse during the final round of the Masters Tournament.

Overwhelmed by a feeling of helplessness, and often at a loss for words, Venturi - perhaps better than anyone on the Augusta National's grounds that afternoon - could relate.

He knew exactly what Norman was feeling as his six-stroke lead somehow disappeared.

He knew exactly what Norman was thinking as he missed one short putt after another on the back nine.

He knew exactly what Norman was going through as he came to grips with losing the Masters.

``To go through all of that,'' Venturi said, ``with all the pressure and all the nerves that go with playing on Sunday at Augusta ... It's happened to the best of them.''

FORTY YEARS EARLIER, a 24-year-old car salesman from San Francisco was in a similar position heading into the final round of the 1956 Masters, the 20th edition of the tournament.

Venturi opened with rounds of 6-under-par 66 and 3-under 69 before some of the worst winds in Masters history arrived in time for the weekend.

Even after shooting a third-round 75 on Saturday, when winds gusted up to 45 mph, Venturi had a four-shot lead entering Sunday.

He shot 80 that day.

Seventy-eight would have won.

He needed 42 putts that day.

Forty-one would have forced a playoff.

Jack Burke Jr., who carded a 71 and was one of only two players to post a subpar round on the final day, beat Venturi by one stroke, rallying from eight shots back to win at 1-over.

Venturi, cast in the role of tragic hero in only his second trip to the Augusta National, is one of only three amateurs to finish second at the Masters.

``I played about as good as I could,'' Venturi said. ``I felt like I was very much in control. I was aggressive for 63 holes, but I got protective on the back nine on Sunday (four 3-putts) instead of staying aggressive like I was for 63 holes.''

FOUR YEARS LATER, Venturi again finished second, again one shot back. This time, 1960, it was behind the 6-under 282 total of Arnold Palmer, who won the second of his four green jackets.

But Venturi's misfortune in '56 is what helped earn him a place in Masters history.

Venturi's final-round struggles were not at all similar to those of Norman 40 years later.

Except on the scorecard, of course.

From his first swing - a hook into the woods - Norman appeared uncomfortable that Sunday, as if fighting himself. Remember, he had been throughthis several times before.

Venturi, only 24 years old and enjoying just his second trip to the Augusta National, hit his first nine greens in regulation (14 total) and put himself in position to score throughout the final round.

Inexperience, nerves, unrelenting winds and an unreliable putter ultimately contributed to his unraveling.

Still, as he walked up the 18th fairway and approached the green, Venturi had a chance.

A birdie putt from about 18 feet would have tied Burke and forced a playoff. But the putt never had a chance, missing to the right.

``The wind played havoc with us on the greens,'' Venturi said. ``I haven't seen conditions like those in all of the years since.''

FORTY YEARS LATER, as Norman's well-chronicled Sunday collapse led to Nick Faldo's third Masters win as much as Faldo's play, Venturi was reliving 1956 all over again.

Surprisingly, Venturi made no on-air comparisons in regard to the final-round struggles of the two.

``I related to it. I felt for him,'' Venturi said, as quoted in Curt Sampson's book, The Masters: Golf, Money, and Power in Augusta, Georgia. ``But run it into the ground? No, I would never do that.''

Venturi at the Masters
Year	Place	Score
1954*	T16	76-74-73-74-297
1956*	2	66-69-75-80-290
1957	T13	74-76-74-70-294
1958	T4	68-72-74-72-286
1959	Missed cut	75-76-151
1960	2	73-69-71-70-283
1961	T11	72-71-72-73-288
1962	T9	75-70-71-72-288
1963	T34	77-74-77-71-299
1965	Missed cut	77-80-157
1966	16	75-74-73-74-296
1967	T21	76-73-71-73-293
1968	T50	75-74-73-75-297
1969	Missed cut	83-77-160
*-amateur

 

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