Augusta native Larry Mize slam-dunked his way to a 2-under-par 70 in Friday's second round of the Masters to make the cut.
Mize, the 40-year-old 1987 Masters champion, was even par for his round when he reached the 365-yard seventh hole. Mize hit 3-wood off the tee and flew his wedge approach into the hole for an eagle-2, one of two eagles on par 4s on Friday. Colin Montgomerie scored the other on the 350-yard third hole.
``I hit a good shot, but I didn't expect it to fly in the hole,'' said Mize, who said he thought it was his first eagle on a par 4 at the Masters. It was the sixth eagle on No. 7. ``It didn't hurt the cup, but my ball mark was on the back right of the hole.''
Mize was just happy to reach the weekend. In Thursday's first-round 76, he made only one birdie, on No. 13. Friday, he followed the eagle with a birdie on No. 8 and turned in 33. He made a lone bogey on the back, on the 17th. He is 10 strokes back at 2-over.
``If I can get out there tomorrow and post a good number, there might be a chance,'' Mize said. ``If I shoot 67 or lower, you never know.''
MISSING GROUP: The oldest threesome of the tournament, at a combined 210 years, didn't make it through Friday's second round of the tournament. Doug Ford, 76; Billy Casper, 67; and Gay Brewer, 67; all withdrew before or during the second round.
Ford, who has played in more Masters than anyone, 47, withdrew before the start of the second round. Ford shot a first-round 88 Thursday, the worst score of the day.
Ford, 76, has withdrawn after the first round four of the past six years. The 1957 champion, who lives in Lake Worth, Fla., hasn't broken 80 since a second-round 78 in 1993.
Casper, the 1970 champion, and Brewer, the 1967 champion, both shot 42 on the front nine Friday as a twosome, then opted not to play the back nine. Casper hasn't made the cut since the 1987 Masters. Brewer drew attention last year when he shot 72 in the first round, but came back with 86 in the second round to miss the cut. He hasn't made the cut since 1984.
MCI TIGER: MCI Classic officials can take the extra-strength gallery rope and jumbo ``Quiet Please'' signs out of storage.
Tiger Woods is going to Hilton Head Island's PGA Tour event for the first time.
Golf's most recognizable player committed to the field for next week's Heritage on Friday morning before playing his second round in the Masters at Augusta National. Woods' representatives phoned PGA Tour officials, who called Heritage tournament director Steve Wilmot by 9:30 a.m. Friday. Within an hour, Wilmot had met with his staff, security officials and the PGA Tour to prepare for the arrival of the world's second-ranked golfer and top fan attraction. Woods will play in next Wednesday's pro-am also.
``We're thrilled, just ecstatic. I got chill bumps when I got the phone call,'' said Wilmot, who has suspected for nearly two months that Woods would play at the Harbour Town Golf Links this year. ``I'm excited, and I know our fans are going to be excited.''
Accommodating larger galleries could be particularly difficult at Harbour Town, a heavily wooded course with less room on the side of holes and between holes than most courses.
Wilmot said about 1,000 tournament badges remain and that no additional tickets will be produced when those sell out. The ticket booth at Sea Pines will be opened today, earlier than usual, and the tournament office will continue to accept phone orders for tickets until they are sold out. The tournament office is at (800) 234-1107.
MORE TO COME: Arnold Palmer gave the gallery a thrill by finishing his second round with a birdie on the 18th hole. He missed the cut with rounds of 83-78.
``I had a little wager with one of my players, and I needed to get inside to collect,'' Palmer joked after his round.
Palmer, who has played in a record 45 straight Masters, said he will be back for the 2000 Masters at age 70.
``I will look forward to a few more,'' Palmer said. ``I won't say anything for sure. But I'm planning on it.''
PARTNERSHIP: PGATour.com and GolfWeb.com have merged to produce possibly the largest golf site on the Internet, the two Web sites announced earlier this week.
The new site will continue to have real-time scoring from the PGA Tour, Senior Tour and Nike Tour. The PGA Tour will have editorial control.
The new site, at PGATour.com, will debut July 1.
THE KNIFE: Mark Calcavecchia played with a cut left forefinger, an injury sustained Tuesday night when he was making a sandwich at his rental home and cut the finger with a butter knife. The 1988 runner-up shot 75-77 to miss the cut.
SHORT PUTTS: Two-time champion Seve Ballesteros turned 42 on Friday. He shot 78-79 to miss the cut for the third straight year. ... Two-time champion Bernhard Langer shot a 66 Friday, his lowest Masters round. His previous low round was 68, shot six previous times. ... Kellie Bulcak serves double duty on the Augusta sports scene. She works on the Augusta National maintenance crew and also drives the Zamboni for the Augusta Lynx, the East Coast Hockey League's first-year franchise. ...David Duval continues to draw support from fans in the msnbcsports.com poll, getting 34 percent of the votes, followed by Tiger Woods (25 percent) and Davis Love III (7 percent).
WIND, RAIN MAKE COURSE TOUGH: A windy Friday left many players in the Masters field gasping for breath as the weekend of the 63rd Masters Tournament arrives.
Wind gusts up to 20 miles per hour and occasional light rain made the already difficult Augusta National Golf Club course even tougher on Friday. Case in point: Tiger Woods thought his 8-iron on the 155-yard par-3 12th was plenty, but it dropped just halfway across Rae's Creek. He made double bogey.
``The wind cropped up and it ballooned on me,'' Woods said.
Lesser winds are expected today and Sunday. But expect warmer temperatures, with the highs in the mid-80s.
Masters notebook