Matt Kuchar in 1998
(Golfweek photo)
Of all the intriguing storylines each year at
The Masters, the performance
of the amateurs in the field is among the
hottest topics (certainly from our perspective).
With a chance to gaze into the eyes of golf's
likely future and to, perhaps, connect us everyday
golfers to the magic of driving up Magnolia Lane (as
a contestant) we
watch intently each and
every year as the juniors, collegiate stars, and even
mid-amateurs get a chance to compete in a major at
Augusta
National.
It's the stuff of dreams for
scratch mid-amateur golfers like 36-year-old Scott
Harvey, of Greensboro, North Carolina, who will be
in the 2015 field by virtue of his 2014 U.S. Mid
Amateur win. If you qualified to play Saucon Valley
in 2014, there were about 250 players between you
and a Masters invitation like the one received by
Harvey.
"It's unbelievable, walking this golf course," Harvey
told Golfweek. "It's the most perfect piece of
property ever. I still can't believe it's all happening."
Last year, the only amateur to survive the cut was
2014 U.S. Amateur runner-up Oliver Goss of
Australia.
Goss posted disappointing rounds of 75-76 over the
weekend, but he was there, walking Amen Corner on
Masters Sunday. And he claimed the Silver Cup for
low amateur.
Here is a look back at some of the more memorable
amateur performances at The Masters:
2013: Guan Tianlang makes cut at 14-
years old
In 2013, the 2012 Asia-Pacific Amateur
winner captivated viewers with
his steady -- albeit sometimes slow -- play.
The deliberate Tianlang
navigated Augusta's length with a steady dose
of fairway woods and
hybrids and showed an amazing short game to
make the cut and finish
as the low amateur.
2005: Ryan Moore has arrived
It wasn't quite with the fanfare Tiger Woods
had, but Moore arrived at
The Masters after what is still considered to
be
perhaps the greatest
season of competitive amateur golf in history.
Moore, then a golfer at
UNLV, went to Augusta after winning the
NCAA Championship, U.S.
Amateur, Western Amateur, U.S. Public Links
and the World Amateur
Team individual title. How did he follow it up?
With a T-13 and Silver Cup
at The Masters.
1999: Garcia wins Silver Cup for
Spain
The same year countryman Jose Maria
Olazabal
won the Green Jacket for the
second time, Masters rookie Sergio Garcia,
who
later that year turned
professional, won low amateur honors.
1998: Matt Kuchar smiles his way to a
Top
20
Among the contenders this year, Kuchar shot
72-76-68-72 to finish tied
for 21st and earn a return invitation in 1999.
He went on to finish in the
Top-15 at the U.S. Open.
1961: Nicklaus wows in final Masters as
amateur
Jack is king at Augusta — and in majors, in
general. But before his six
Masters titles, Nicklaus tied for seventh at
Augusta less than a year he
took second at the U.S. Open. He ultimately
won the first of his six Green
Jackets two years later.
1960, 1961: Charlie Coe competes
Coe, a lifelong amateur considered by Jack
Nicklaus as one of the world's
finest golfers, finished tied for second
alongside Arnold Palmer in 1961. In
1960, Coe was second in the race for the low
amateur. Nicklaus took the
honor, though, setting the stage for future
Masters lore.
1956: Ken Venturi nearly wins it
Before his memorable professional career,
Venturi held the 54-hole lead at
The Masters. In the end, he couldn't pull it
off, losing by a shot to Jack
Burke, Jr. He did, however, defeat Sam Snead
and Ben Hogan.
1934: Charlie Yates the original low
am
Local knowledge at Augusta National, of
course, is everything. And in the
first ever event, Augusta National member
Charlie Yates finished as the
low amateur. He would go on to play in 10
more Masters. The same year,
Bobby Jones tied for 13th.
- Ben Larsen of AmateurGolf.com contributed to this
story
ABOUT THE The Masters
One of Golf's four professional majors
traditionally invites amateurs who have reached
the
finals of the US Amateur, or won the British
Amateur
or
the US Mid Amateur. Also included are
the winners of the relatively new Asia Pacific
Amateur
and Latin American Amateur.
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