Larry Mize

Larry Mize
Personal information
Full name Lawrence Hogan Mize
Born September 23, 1958 (1958-09-23) (age 53)
Augusta, Georgia
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Nationality  United States
Residence Columbus, Georgia
Career
College Georgia Tech
Turned professional 1980
Current tour(s) Champions Tour
Former tour(s) PGA Tour
Professional wins 10
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour 4
Japan Golf Tour 3
Champions Tour 1
Best results in Major Championships
(Wins: 1)
Masters Tournament Won: 1987
U.S. Open T4: 1987
The Open Championship T11: 1994
PGA Championship T6: 1984

Lawrence Hogan "Larry" Mize (born September 23, 1958) is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and currently plays on the Champions Tour. He is well-known for one career-defining shot — a chip from off the green at the 11th hole at Augusta to win the playoff for the 1987 Masters Tournament, which was his only major title.

Contents

Biography

Mize was born in Augusta, Georgia. He attended Georgia Tech and turned professional in 1980. He finished in the top 125 on the money list (the level needed to retain membership of the tour) for 20 seasons from 1982 to 2001. His first PGA Tour win was the 1983 Danny Thomas Memphis Classic.

At the 1987 Masters, Mize was tied with Seve Ballesteros and Greg Norman after four rounds. Ballesteros was eliminated in the first hole of the playoff. On the second playoff hole, which was Augusta's eleventh, a par four, Mize's second shot landed well off the putting green. It appeared that a birdie would be impossible, and that even making par might be difficult. Meanwhile Norman's second shot landed on the edge of the green, giving him a potentially makeable birdie putt. On his third shot, Mize hit an incredible, memorable chip shot with a sand wedge from around 140 feet, giving him the birdie. Norman now had an opportunity to tie, but he failed to sink the putt. Mize's win was especially appreciated because he is an Augusta native and had worked on the scoreboard at Augusta National's third hole as a teenager. His Masters win and a tie for fourth at the U.S. Open in June briefly put him in the top-10 of the Official World Golf Rankings.[1]

Mize also won four international events and played for the U.S. teams in the Ryder Cup in 1987 and the Dunhill Cup in 2000. For many years Mize and Coca-Cola sponsored a successful charity golf tournament to benefit cystic fibrosis held at the Atlanta Athletic Club. Mize currently resides in Columbus, Georgia with his wife and three sons. His hobbies are fishing, basketball, and playing the piano.

Professional wins (10)

PGA Tour wins (4)

No. Date Tournament Winning Score Margin of Victory Runner(s)-up
1 Jun 26, 1983 Danny Thomas Memphis Classic -14 (70-65-69-70=274) 1 stroke Chip Beck, Sammy Rachels,
Fuzzy Zoeller
2 Apr 12, 1987 Masters Tournament -3 (70-72-72-71=285) Playoff Seve Ballesteros, Greg Norman
3 Jan 24, 1993 Northern Telecom Open -17 (68-66-70-67=271) 2 strokes Jeff Maggert
4 Aug 8, 1993 Buick Open -16 (64-69-71-68=272) 1 stroke Fuzzy Zoeller

Japan Golf Tour wins (3)

Other wins (2)

Champions Tour wins (1)

Major championships

Wins (1)

Year Championship 54 Holes Winning Score Margin Runners-up
1987 Masters Tournament 2 shot deficit -3 (70-72-72-71=285) Playoff1 Greg Norman, Seve Ballesteros

1Defeated Norman and Ballesteros in a sudden death playoff: Mize (4-3), Norman (4-x) and Ballesteros (5).

Results timeline

Tournament 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
The Masters DNP DNP DNP DNP T11 T47 T16 1 T45 T26
U.S. Open DNP CUT CUT DNP DNP T39 T24 T4 T12 T33
The Open Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP CUT DNP T46 T26 CUT T19
PGA Championship DNP DNP DNP T47 T6 T23 T53 CUT CUT T17
Tournament 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
The Masters T14 T17 T6 T21 3 CUT T23 T30 CUT 23
U.S. Open T14 T55 CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT T58 DNP 64
The Open Championship T31 CUT CUT T27 T11 CUT DNP DNP T52 DNP
PGA Championship T12 CUT T40 CUT T15 CUT T8 T58 CUT DNP
Tournament 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
The Masters T25 CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT T42 CUT CUT T30
U.S. Open T37 DNP DNP CUT DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
The Open Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
PGA Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
Tournament 2010 2011
The Masters CUT CUT
U.S. Open DNP DNP
The Open Championship DNP DNP
PGA Championship DNP DNP

DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10

References

  1. ^ 69 Players Who Have Reached The Top-10 In World Ranking

External links

1934 Horton Smith • 1935 Gene Sarazen† • 1936 Horton Smith • 1937 Byron Nelson • 1938 Henry Picard • 1939 Ralph Guldahl • 1940 Jimmy Demaret • 1941‡ Craig Wood • 1942 Byron Nelson† • 1943-45 Cancelled due to World War II • 1946 Herman Keiser • 1947 Jimmy Demaret • 1948 Claude Harmon • 1949 Sam Snead • 1950 Jimmy Demaret • 1951 Ben Hogan • 1952 Sam Snead • 1953 Ben Hogan • 1954 Sam Snead† • 1955 Cary Middlecoff • 1956 Jack Burke, Jr. • 1957 Doug Ford • 1958 Arnold Palmer • 1959 Art Wall, Jr. • 1960‡ Arnold Palmer • 1961 Gary Player • 1962 Arnold Palmer† • 1963 Jack Nicklaus • 1964 Arnold Palmer • 1965 Jack Nicklaus • 1966 Jack Nicklaus† • 1967 Gay Brewer • 1968 Bob Goalby • 1969 George Archer • 1970 Billy Casper† • 1971 Charles Coody • 1972‡ Jack Nicklaus • 1973 Tommy Aaron • 1974 Gary Player • 1975 Jack Nicklaus • 1976‡ Raymond Floyd • 1977 Tom Watson • 1978 Gary Player • 1979 Fuzzy Zoeller† • 1980 Seve Ballesteros • 1981 Tom Watson • 1982 Craig Stadler† • 1983 Seve Ballesteros • 1984 Ben Crenshaw • 1985 Bernhard Langer • 1986 Jack Nicklaus • 1987 Larry Mize† • 1988 Sandy Lyle • 1989 Nick Faldo† • 1990 Nick Faldo† • 1991 Ian Woosnam • 1992 Fred Couples • 1993 Bernhard Langer • 1994 José María Olazábal • 1995 Ben Crenshaw • 1996 Nick Faldo • 1997 Tiger Woods • 1998 Mark O'Meara • 1999 José María Olazábal • 2000 Vijay Singh • 2001 Tiger Woods • 2002 Tiger Woods • 2003 Mike Weir† • 2004 Phil Mickelson • 2005 Tiger Woods† • 2006 Phil Mickelson • 2007 Zach Johnson • 2008 Trevor Immelman • 2009 Ángel Cabrera† • 2010 Phil Mickelson • 2011 Charl Schwartzel
† indicates the event was won in a playoff ‡ indicates the event was won wire-to-wire
United States Ryder Cup team – 1987
Lost: 13 – 15