Miracle finish for hometown boy

Augusta native Larry Mize celebrates after chipping in to hole No. 11 for a birdie to beat Greg Norman in the 1987 Masters Tournament.File

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Special to the Augusta Chronicle

People always ask me where the ball and club I used to chip in from 140 feet to win the 1987 Masters in a sudden death playoff are now.

I still have the ball, but you'd have to ask my wife Bonnie where it's at. It's probably in a drawer somewhere in our Columbus, Ga., home. She's kept all the balls of the tournaments I've won.

The Augusta National Golf Club has the club, which is a MacGregor sand wedge. I gave it to them 1´ years after I won. It usually takes me that long to wear out a sand wedge. When I did, I sent it to Augusta.

The first time I used that club was in the Masters the year I won. My regular wedge was getting worn out. I thought about changing at The Players Championship, which was the last tournament I played in before the Masters. But I didn't want to change then because there are a lot of flop shots and funny lies at The Players Championship.

It's a different kind of chipping at Augusta. It's more in front of you and more bump-and-run. So I decided to change that week.

I trailed by two shots going into the final round. There were enough people there in front of me and enough big names that I was kind of lost in the crowd. I think that was really a good thing. There wasn't much attention on me. I took that as a positive. I thought it would be perfect for me to slip in there on Sunday and win the thing.

I was up against Seve Ballesteros and Greg Norman in the sudden-death playoff. I was by far the lesser known player of the three. How did I feel? I was nervous and excited all in one. But I was probably more confident than you think I would be. I felt that way because of how I'd played all week, plus I'd just birdied the 18th hole to get in the playoff.

After I hit a really good drive on the first hole of the playoff, which was the 10th, I obviously felt a lot better walking down that fairway.

My caddie when I won the Masters was Scotty Steele. He started with me in January 1985 and we stayed together for five years, so the Masters win was just short of the mid-point for us. The biggest thing I remember about him that week was if I messed up, he'd say it was no big deal. He was always trying to keep me calm. When I hit that 5-iron to the right of No. 11 in the playoff, he said something to the effect of don't worry about it, that it would work out somehow. He was a real comfort to me there.

After I won and did the press conferences, the people at the Masters told me there was a dinner for the champion that night. I had no idea. Bonnie went home to get me a shirt and she changed into a dress.

You're eating dinner and everybody is very nice, coming by and congratulating you. We finally left about 11:30 p.m. It was a long evening, but there was no problem. I'd love to do it again. It was a fun evening.

Masters bio Go to Larey Mize's Masters bio   Leaderboard Final leaderboard from 1987   SI Flashback Chronicle flashback The word on Mize ``I guess it wasn't meant to be. I thought Larry's shot was harder than Bob Tway's (bunker hole out) in the (1986) PGA. It was probably 30 percent harder. I couldn't believe it. I thought if he missed, it would be 4 or 5 feet by. He might stand there for three days and not make it.'' -- Greg Norman ``That this miracle shot was hit by 28-year-old Larry Mize, a local boy, no less, who had won only one tournament in his six years on the PGA Tour, and that it beat the luckless Norman, the premier player in the world, on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff, made it downright unbelievable.'' -- Sports Illustrated's Sarah Ballard ``Larry never had to mow the grass because he might get a blister that would affect his golf.'' -- Mize's sister, Lisa, on his golf upbringing. ``He was 13 when he first beat me. I shot 75 and he shot 74, and I haven't beaten him since.'' -- Charles Mize, father of Larry Mize ``With the flick of his wrists, Augusta native Larry Mize hit the shot of a lifetime on the second hole of sudden death to turn back hard-luck Greg Norman and win a dramatic 51st Masters Tournament Sunday at Augusta National Golf Club.'' -- The Augusta Chronicle's David Westin ``You wonder when it will change. You feel as if you've got to fight for everything yourself, that nothing ever comes your way, as if they'd never give it to you. I've holed 10-, 15-, 20-foot putts to win, but not bunker shots or chip shots from 140 feet. I couldn't believe it. I saw the ball rolling in and thought, `Well, if it misses it'll probably go 4 or 5 feet by. I was just watching for the speed of the green, and I watched, and then the closer it got to the hole the more it looked like it was going in, and then - oh my God.'' -- Greg Norman ``When you're playing somebody like Greg Norman, you can't be trying to make pars.'' -- Larry Mize on his intentions on his chip in

Masters Record Year Place Score Round Money 1 2 3 4 1999 23 290 76 70 72 72 $41,600 1998 CUT 152 73 79 0 0 $5,000 1997 T-30 294 79 69 74 72 $17,145 1996 T-23 291 75 71 77 68 $25,000 1995 CUT 147 76 71 0 0 $1,500 1994 3 282 68 71 72 71 $136,000 1993 T-21 288 67 74 74 73 $17,000 1992 T-6 281 73 69 71 68 $43,829 1991 T-17 283 72 71 66 74 $18,920 1990 T-14 288 70 76 71 71 $20,650 1989 T-26 293 72 77 69 75 $8,240 1988 T-45 304 78 71 76 79 $3,400 1987 WIN 285 70 72 72 71 $162,000 1986 T-16 286 75 74 72 65 $12,000 1985 T-47 298 71 75 76 76 $2,115 1984 T-11 284 71 70 71 72 $13,200