The Masters has always had an affinity for amateurs.
Maybe the reason is because Bobby Jones - the greatest amateur ever
- helped create the tournament and its host course, the Augusta National
Golf Club.
But the amateur storyline is as much a part of the annual proceedings
as the past champion's dinner, the Par 3 Tournament and the awarding
of the green jacket. Though no amateur has ever won the Masters, they
certainly have flirted with the notion.
In 1954, Billy Joe Patton led through 36 holes and for a spell in
the fourth round, but a double bogey at the par-5 13th ultimately left
him one stroke out of an 18-hole playoff with heavy hitters Sam Snead
and Ben Hogan.
In 1956, Ken Venturi opened 66-69 to grab the lead and held onto
it through the third round despite a 75. A final-round 80, though,
unraveled Venturi and he finished second to Jack Burke Jr. by one stroke.
There have been other amateurs who have caught the public's fancy
for a week. Most recently in 1998, effervescent Matt Kuchar shot a
third-round 68 and finished tied for 21st. The amateurs are great fodder
for stories as they tease us for a while and then step aside to let
the pros take over. This is the grandest stage in golf and it's hard
not to get overwhelmed.
"I think the only thing the amateurs probably lack is being in the
hunt," Kuchar said at the time.
This week, Ricky Barnes, 22, and Hunter Mahan, 20, were both in the
hunt and certainly captured our attention. Barnes, the U.S. Amateur
champion from Arizona, opened with a 69 and hovered as high as second
late in Saturday before sliding and finishing 21st, good enough for
the title of low amateur.
Mahan did not crash the leader's party like Barnes, but was no less
steady. His final-round 76 left him at 6 over for the tournament and
a tie for 28th along with the likes of Nick Price, Sergio Garcia and
Fred Couples.
Barnes and Mahan clearly brought their game and reveled in the trappings
of being amateurs, staying in the club's Crow's Nest. But these amateurs
brought a mindset that is becoming very prevalent among the fearless
generation.
"We're not worried about the hoopla," Mahan said on Saturday when
asked why he thought the amateurs were playing so well. "We're just
out there playing our game."
And what a game it is. Long, accurate, mature. Aside from Saturday's
bogey-bogey finish, Barnes showed he was resilient. Through three rounds,
Barnes followed five of his bogeys or double bogeys with an immediate
birdie.
And when Mahan's nerves were becoming tattered and frayed after going
3 over through his first seven holes on moving day, he responded by
playing the next 12 in 2 under.
As Kuchar said, about the only thing the top amateurs, generally
those coming out of college, lack is the taste of being in contention
at the highest level. Not long will that begin to change. Kuchar likes
to tell how he came through the junior ranks going head to head with
players like David Gossett and Charles Howell III. Such experiences
made him tournament-tough and allowed him to flash across the national
consciousness before his real time arrived.
Barnes and Mahan are two more in a long list of amateurs who held
their own at the Masters. There will be more in the coming years -
a lot more. And one of them will not only recognized as the week's
low amateur, but will also slip on the green jacket.
